A convergence of circumstances, including energy security, climate change and air quality concerns, have led to a rapid push toward sustainable transportation. Experts from across North America will present solutions and ideas related to sustainable transportation at the first-ever Forward Motion: Advancing Mobility in California & Quebec symposium organized by Art Center College of Design, the Quebec Delegation in Los Angeles and the Universite de Montreal.
Earlier this year, the Quebec government unveiled its 2011-2020 Action Plan for Electric Vehicles, intended to transform Quebec into a North American leader in the field of sustainable mobility. Similarly, in 2009 California became the first state in America to mandate carbon-based reductions in transportation fuels in an attempt to cut the state's overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
In support of these larger sustainable mobility goals, Forward Motion will feature experts in the fields of electric vehicles and public transit as selected by the three partnering organizations. The experts will discuss the experimental programs, groundbreaking initiatives, new technologies and advanced materials developed in California and Quebec that are rapidly driving North America forward.
In advance of the half-day symposium, taking place on September 21, 2011 at Art Center's Hillside Campus in Pasadena, attendees have the option of attending a special keynote luncheon during which award-winning transportation designer Jean Labbe, founder of Labbe Designers & Associates-and a graduate of both Art Center College of Design and Universite de Montreal-will address "How Design Is Shaping Public Transportation."
"Our collaboration with the Quebec Delegation and the Universite de Montreal comes at an exciting time for Art Center," said Geoff Wardle, Director of Advanced Mobility Research at Art Center College of Design. "We are developing a new program in Graduate Transportation Design, which will expand the College's already significant impact on the automotive industry and the broader field of transportation design. As symbolized by the Forward Motion symposium, the curriculum will be heavily influenced by our relationships with outside partners from a diverse community of industry, government, urban planners, manufacturers, think tanks and other educational institutions."