Thursday, March 24, 2016 | 12:30 – 2:00 pm | Room: J B1 - 075

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Description:

Research at George Washington University has documented the favorable economic and social role of walkable urban places over other drivable locations in metropolitan areas.  Results are in line with other research showing that higher density walkable urban development results in less energy consumption, lower greenhouse gas emissions, healthier lifestyles, and higher revenues for local businesses.

The presentation is based on an ongoing interdisciplinary research project on how the management of walkable urban places stimulates economic development and enhances the overall attractiveness and sustainability of cities, especially in historic cores. This research project is developed at the George Washington University’s (GW) School of Business by Dr. Don Hawkins, Eisenhower Professor of Tourism Policy and Dr. Clavé, Research Scholar of the International Institute of Tourism Studies (IITS) and by Dr. Chris Leinberger, Research Professor/Chairman and Michael Rodriguez, Research Director of Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA) at GW.

The presentation will discuss practical tools that can be applied when managing walkable urban places and historic cores with the aim of ensuring inclusion of local communities (local users) and an authentic experience to tourists (external users).  The presentation will focus on the design of walkable urban places as a way to manage access to heritage and facilitate positive relationships between local communities and visitors, with the adoption of a place making approach to enhance the attractiveness and the sustainability of the use of the city and the development of missing levels of governance to engage citizens and tourists in place management. The ongoing research is measuring the importance of tourism in walkable urban places and historic cores, where most city tourist facilities, cultural attractions and heritage assets are located, considering key issues such as authenticity, historic preservation, creative use of public spaces and transportation access models.

For further information on the presenters work, you may contact him directly at salvadoranton@gwu.edu.

Chair:

Sameh Naguib Wahba, Practice Manager, GPSURR, The World Bank Group

Presenter:

Salvador Anton Clavé, Research Scholar at the International Institute of Tourism Studies, George Washington University

Discussant:

  Jon Kher Kaw, Sr. Urban Development Specialist, GPSURR, The World Bank Group

Salvador Anton Clavé is currently Research Scholar at the International Institute of Tourism Studies at the George Washington University. He is a Full Professor of Regional Geographical Analysis at the Rovira i Virgili University in Catalonia, Spain, where he serves as director of the Doctoral Program in Tourism and Leisure. He has served as director/dean of the Tourism and Leisure School/Faculty of Tourism and Geography at the Rovira i Virgili University between 2002 and 2014. His research concentrates on the evolution of tourist destinations, urban and regional tourism planning, the analysis of the globalization of leisure, the impact of ICT in tourism destinations and issues concerning tourism policies and local development. Among his most relevant major publications are his books entitled The Global Theme Park Industry (CABI, 2007) Análisis Territorial del Turismo y Planificación de Destinos Turísticos (Tirant lo Blanch, 2011, co-authored with JF. Vera, F.López and M. Marchena), Geographies of Tourism: European Research Perspectives (Emerald, 2013, co-edited with J. Wilson) and (forthcoming) Tourism Destination Evolution (Routledge, co-edited with P. Brouder, A. Gill and D. Ioannides).