<div dir="ltr">Steven,<div><span id="docs-internal-guid-ca0b8dcd-46f7-8655-2578-ffc8c9a23eb4"><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Thanks for raising the question about affordability. It is a key consideration in terms of the ability of the FOSS4G event to bring together a broad, diverse community from around the world. While it is tough for us to provide a complete cost breakdown at this stage, we believe that Philadelphia is particularly strong on this front for the following reasons:</span></p><br><ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Low land and housing prices make Philadelphia, in general, one of the most affordable large cities in North America - </span><a href="http://www.flyingkitemedia.com/features/philadelphiacostofliving1101.aspx" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">http://www.flyingkitemedia.com/features/philadelphiacostofliving1101.aspx</span></a></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Philadelphia hotel prices are generally $50 - 100 lower than most east coast US cities, including Boston, New York and Washington DC.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Philadelphia is the largest city in the United States to legalize AirBnB and similar rental services. This has removed a great deal of uncertainty on the part of homeowners and has expanded the supply of hosts - </span><a href="http://fortune.com/2015/07/07/philadelphia-airbnb-legal/" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">http://fortune.com/2015/07/07/philadelphia-airbnb-legal/</span></a><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent"> </span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Philadelphia serves as a hub for both American and Southwest airlines and also has robust competition on many routes. In the most recent airport affordability report, Philadelphia was ranked #6 among the 100 largest airports in the United States - </span><a href="http://www.cheapflights.com/news/2015-airport-affordability-report/" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">http://www.cheapflights.com/news/2015-airport-affordability-report/</span></a></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">For international travelers, Philadelphia has a large number of daily non-stop international flights. Further, it’s location within 1 hour train ride from Newark Liberty International airport adds many more international direct flights within a reasonable distance from Philadelphia.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">For those traveling on a budget, there are robust train and bus links to major cities throughout the east coast as well as an extensive rail, subway and bus public transit system.</span></p></li></ul><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Our organizing committee includes several people involved with organizing the 2015 FOSS4G North America event and the 2015 State of the Map US event. We plan to implement a similar set of measures to reduce the cost of attending, including:</span></p><br><ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Free passes for speakers</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Reduced price student passes</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Provide special pricing for local universities</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">A limited number of targeted scholarships aimed primarily at improving the diversity of attendees</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">A reduced “non-corporate rate” for people paying out of their own pockets</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Early bird registration pricing</span></p></li></ul><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">If I’m traveling on a budget, here’s how I might keep my costs down:</span></p><ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Travel - train or bus from most large east coast cities</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">Hostel or AirBnB: $35 - 125/night plus tax</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:transparent">If I’m a speaker, I am attending for free; if I’m a student, I would receive a significant discount; and we are proposing this new “non-corporate” rate for people who are paying their own way</span></p></li></ul><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We believe that we can provides a substantial number of options for people traveling on a budget as well as limiting the costs for all attendees through the general affordability of the location.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Best regards,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="font-size:13.3333333333333px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Robert</span></p><div><br></div></span></div><div class="gmail_extra"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">------------------<br>Robert Cheetham<div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 7:11 AM, Steven Feldman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:shfeldman@gmail.com" target="_blank">shfeldman@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">A question for all 3 cities:<br>
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I am worried about the cost for a delegate to attend including hotels, food, workshops and conference fee. We know from past experiences that this can be an issue for people who are not sponsored by large organisations. We want to make FOSS4G accessible to as many people as possible and a few bursaries aren’t sufficient.<br>
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Can you provide some estimates of all in cost for a delegate on a budget.<br>
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OSGeo Board needs to give a clear steer on ‘surplus objectives’ to the bidding teams before they finalise their budgets in the next round<br>
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To Ottawa:<br>
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I agree with Jeff re co-chairs, for 2013 we had a single chair and 2 very strong vice-chairs who took on large portfolios of responsibility.<br>
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Steven<br>
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