If I were to say the words "open cities," what kinds of images come to mind? What is your vision of an open city, and how can we bring that vision to Toronto?

These are the kinds of questions that are going to be discussed at Open Cities 2007, a weekend-long jamboree of conversations about urban openness and community creativity. Taking place here in Toronto, Open Cities combines an unconference at the Centre for Social Innovation, a barbecue at Fort York, and a special edition of Pedestrian Sundays at Kensington Market.

According to the website:

Open Cities Toronto 2007 is a weekend-long web of conversation and celebration that asks: how do we collaboratively add more open to the urban landscape we share? What happens when people working on open source, public space, open content, mash up art, and open business work together? How do we make Toronto a magnet for people playing with the open meme?

The vision of the Open Cities initiative is simple:

Inspired by the open source software movement, people around the world are increasingly embracing open business, culture and education. Open Cities are places that accelerate this process, encouraging investment, implementing policies, creating spaces and holding events that encourage all that is 'open'. In doing so, they thrive economically while at the same time producing a new generation of artists, teachers and inventors who understand the power of the collective. They are hubs in the global growth of open societies and economies.

For more information about Open Cities Toronto 2007, to register, or to share your dream of an Open City, visit the Open Cities website at OpenCities.ca. Look for more coverage from theGentries leading up to the weekend festivities, including interviews with organizers and participants, and updates from the event itself.

(Photo: Crowd at Nathan Philips by Reza Vaziri)