Matt Root and his two cargo bike under 95cm ‘city experts’. Image: Radio Adelaide.
Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Matt Root, an avid bike rider and dad of two toddlers present a session called ‘Going Dutch, cargo bikes for kids’ – and it was really great!
His presenation focused on what life on a biek and in the city is like from the point of view of his two young sons. Perspectives like child-centred research and having chilldren activitely participating and informing research and policy is a key step in better redesigning more liveable cities for all.
So I was most intrested to hear what emerrged from the two young experts (Matt’s two sons, aged 2 and 4) while Dad (Matt)* rigged on-board GoPro cameras to capture all the fun and sense of adventure.
In this session, we heard what the pre-schoolers liked and disliked about our streets from their unique vantage point (see below).
From this vantage, Matt draws out aspects of what new ideas we can learn from these young experts.
Below are a few of those insights. All images by Matt Root.
After Matt’s presentation, I went looking for more information about this and was happy to see Victoria Local Goverance Association has a Child Friendly Cities and Community focus.
*Matt Root is a co-owner of Flyt transport planning consultancy based in Perth and he is focused on the planning of safe and convenient bicycle infrastructure across the city. Between 2018-2020 Matt led the State Government’s planning for Perth’s Long Term Cycle Network to accommodate the city’s population in 2050.
From the front box of a cargo bike, how do our streets and
built environment look and feel to a 2 & 4-year-old?
The Urban95 initiative asks this simple question to leaders, planners, and designers.
Urban95 design principals focus on family-friendly urban planning and those designs can help us active transport professions in our work.
The Urban95 project has at its heart a focus on children-friendly cities and urban development.
Urban95 interventions help cities increase positive interactions between caregivers, babies and toddlers; increase access to — and use of — the services and amenities families need; and reduce stresses on caregivers. They are organised into two categories of policies and services:
Family-friendly urban planning and design, including the planning, design and regulation of a city’s space, land use, infrastructure and services
Healthy Environments for children, including improving air quality and access to nature
The Urban95 background states that more than a billion children live in cities, and rapid urbanisation means that number is growing.
Babies, toddlers and caregivers experience the city in unique ways.
They need safe, healthy environments, where crucial services are easily accessible, frequent, warm, responsive interactions with loving adults are possible, and safe, a stimulating physical environment to play in and explore abound.
The City at Eye Level for Kids (Ebook pg 54 & 55).
The City at Eye Level for Kids
From Urban95 comes The City at Eye Level which, as their website explains, develops and shares knowledge about how to make urban development work at human scale.
A collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s Urban95 initiative, this – The City at Eye Level for Kids – book contains over 100 contributions from across the world on work to improve cities for children and the people who care for them.
It shares practices, lessons, perspectives and insights from 30 different countries around the world, that will be useful to urban planners, architects, politicians, developers, entrepreneurs and advocates for children and families.
In this video (see below), we meet Evan Kay, his wife Ella, their dog, their bikes, and the railbike project they designed to use on rail trails to access more nature and adventure.
Evan and Ella ride MTB – a lot. Like most other MTBers, off-trail riding is their passion and purpose. They like to explore remote places and go on adventure rides.
Evan is an engineer who grew up loving farming, fishing, and family – and combining these passions with his technical skills is at the heart of this project.
Evan and Ella live in Vermont (New England, USA) where there are several disused railroad lines. There are many similar remnants of the old train networks across the USA, and seeing these got Evan curious about how to use these railroads to reimagine family adventures.
The challenge was to combine his technical skills with his love of outdoor MTB adventures. Inspired by seeing other riders adapting their bikes for railroads, Evan and Ella started working on ideas to use the rail to reach ever further and remote locations.
In this video, we see the evolution of their project to adapt their MTB bikes to ‘ride the rails’ – or railbiking as it is known.
A central aim of this project was to experience nature using active pedal power generated through their mountain bikes.
The initial design was based on three main needs. First, they wanted to use their mountain bikes as the drive mechanism. It also needed to be stable and safe. And third, they wanted both riders to be parallel (side-by-side) and not front-to-back (as in tandem like other designs). There is a platform between them that carries all their cargo and the dog with minimal effort.
I was really inspired by Evan’s ingenuity and skills in being able to utilise what is already there, yet often overlooked (in this case the abandoned rail trails) as an opportunity to extend their bike riding adventures – as well as creatively self-manufacturing an adaptive MTB frame that is unique and purposeful. So inspiring to see a design makes it easier and more comfortable to go further, for longer on a bike.
I also love that the whole family can literally ‘go along for the ride’ together!
Gives a new meaning to ‘off-(t)rail mountain biking’!
Celebrating diversity in bike ridership is a key theme for this blog. This blog actively promotes a fuller range of rider experiences, alternative bike set ups, and projects and events that are inclusive of more-than-the-mainstream-norm kinds of bike riding. Sadly, many of these initiatives do not receive adequate attention and often remain invisible and un(der)recognised. Some examples are:
So I was delighted this year to see rider diversity being represented in one of my favorite annual bike events, the Indian Pacific Wheel Race.
The IndyPac (or IPWR) is an epic, unassisted 5, 550kms adventure ride going from Fremantle to the Sydney Opera House that few attempt. It is the most prestigious bike touring race in Australia. I got especially interested in IndyPac 2017 when my dear friend Jackie Bernardi rode it (only one of seven females). That was also the year the event was cut short after the tragic death of rider Mike Hall.
Each year since, I’ve kept my eye on the IndyPac.
This year, the story of Ed Birt (Chief Operating Officer for The Disability Trust) caught my eye as he was riding to raise funds and awareness for their CycleAbility program. Below is an article about Ed’s IPWR participation, which I found via The Disability Trust news.
There were many aspects of Ed’s approach to the IPWR that stood out for me (balls in just attempting the event itself, but also supporting a good cause, positive awareness raising for greater diversity in ridership, and more) was the terminology shift from Indian Pacific Wheel Race to Indian Pacific Wheel Ride employed in communicating his involvement. I appreciated the subtle vocab shift to focus more on participation as opposed to competition.
Ed Birt and bike. Image: The Disability Trust
With tenacity, tailwinds and a passion for cycling Ed Birt, Chief Operating Officer of The Disability Trust, has successfully completed the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride, a solo unsupported, 5,500km ride ocean-to-ocean across Australia.
Ed, a keen cyclist who recently celebrated his 50th birthday decided to undertake the personal challenge whilst on annual leave and use the experience to raise money to purchase bicycles, tricycles, recumbent bikes and frames to support The Disability Trust’s new CycleAbility program and other existing programs such as Vacation Care and Getaway Saturday.
The course does not follow the most direct route from coast to coast making it a truly memorable adventure through deserts, wine districts, rolling hills, winding coastal roads and tough alpine regions riding through the heart of Australia’s major cities. Starting at Freemantle Lighthouse at 6.22am on Saturday 20 March 2021, nine riders dipped their wheel in the Indian Ocean with the goal of being able to do the same in the Pacific Ocean once reaching Sydney.
After 23 days on the road Ed arrived at the steps of the Sydney Opera House on the 11th of April, cheered on by family, friends and supporters. He was the second rider to complete the challenge with only four completing the race with other participants retiring due to injury or bike issues.
“It’s just empowering to get from A to B under your own steam,” Mr Birt said. “It’s a big country and lots can happen, but I was pretty well-prepared. The bike performed really well,” Mr Birt said.
The highlight for Ed, as well as enjoying the beautiful countryside he travelled through, was the support and generosity of the people he met along the way. Avid “dot watchers”, people tracking the riders online, will often join the cyclists on their own bikes as they head through their towns, providing riders with refreshments or a place to rest.
“There were people who put me up in their homes, or truck drivers who stopped and made me a peanut butter and banana sandwich in the middle of the desert,” Mr Birt said.
Fundraising has surpassed his goal of $10,000 and is over $11,000 with The Figtree Lions Club and Resin Brewing also set to bolster the fundraising with charity events.
The CycleAbility program will be supporting independence, fitness and social inclusion through the use of bicycles as active transport. The program will provide skills, knowledge and safety in using bicycles and Wollongong’s cycling infrastructure.
The empowering CycleAbility program will be facilitated through The Disability Trust’s Sport and Recreation team and will run on the last Saturday of every month commencing 29 May 2021. The program will be run from The Disability Trust’s head office car park in Wollongong (5 Edney Lane Spring Hill) with a focus on
Fun
Skills development
Safety while riding
Bicycle maintenance and repair and
Getting to know the Wollongong Cycle network
100% of funds raised will go towards purchase of equipment for CycleAbility and other The Disability Trust programs.
Everyone knows the Netherlands are trailblazers when it comes to bike riding.
Utrecht Central Train Station is a model example of how city planning and design can prioritise and integrate urban biking riding, walking and transportation.
This three-story bicycle park can store 12,656 bikes.
If you have not seen this building before – you need to check it out – it is AMAZING!
(*Apologies for the white space below. It is a tech gremlin I can’t debug!*)
Completed in 2019, this train station is now the world’s largest underground bicycle parking garage, overtaking Tokyo’s 9,000 former largest bike storage capacity.
Utrecht is a medieval city and this building is part of a forward-thinking approach to reducing congestion and pollution, promoting bike riding and making the city more sustainable.
A key feature is the ‘flow of bike riders’ – so you can ride your bike into and around the inside of the building. This means you can ride into the building, park your bike and be on a train in 5 mins or less.
Users ride-into and around the actual building from the street for direct access to bike storage.
The building also has a repair service and bicycle hire outlet.
A digital system guides cyclists to parking spots, to the quickest access to the train platforms, the main terminal building and public square. Paths are clearly signed and thoroughfare is managed to maximise ride-ability (‘flow’), ease, and safety for all users.
As well as ‘normal bike’ storage (which make up the bulk), there are special bays for modified bikes like Christianas, bikes with trailers or modifications and large cargo bikes.
The building is a landmark attraction in itself and is beautifully designed by Ector Hoogstad Archeitecten, who won an award for the design. There are lots of glass walls, skylights and staircases which maximise natural light inside the building.
I’m can’t wait to see more bike-centred buildings like these in the future!
All images and parts of this content sourced from De Zeen.com.
Innovative technology is increasingly being applied to bike riding to address some very pressing issues, such as increasing bike participation and rider safety.
Previously I’ve posted on the pioneering work of Griffith researchers working on the world’s first ‘thought-control’ bicycle for spinal injury rehab (see more here). This story details Dr. Dinesh Palipana who is a Griffith University medical graduate. Dinesh became a quadriplegic after a car accident partway through his medical degree. Despite this, Dinesh completed his degree and has since been collaborating with a Griffith research team on the world’s-first integrated neuro-musculoskeletal rehabilitation recline bike that will enable quadriplegics to use ‘thought control’ to ride a specially adapted bike. This project uses ground-breaking 3D computer-simulated biomechanical model, connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to capture Dinesh’s brainwaves that then stimulates movement that not only push the pedals for him but also helps revitalise is neuro pathways for eventually recovery.
I recently came across an article written last year by Timna Jacks for the Sydney Morning Herald that looked at a ‘mind-reading- bicycle designed to save lives by improving riders’ safety. I was particularly curious about this article as the researchers were using e-bikes in this case Timna makes links with the unprecedented surge in bike use due to COVID-19 – something we have all noticed. So, if you missed this article, I’ve included it in full below.
The ‘mind-reading’ bicycle that could save lives
Cycling in Melbourne might seem a dangerous game, but what if the bike was so intuitive that it could detect when you were in danger and manoeuvre you to safety?
Researchers at Monash University, IBM Australia and the University of Southampton in the UK have invented an e-bicycle which they claim can “read” people’s minds and detect when a cyclist is in danger.
The electroencephalogram-supported e-bike prototype, built by the researchers over more than a year, scans the electrical activity in the cyclist’s brain to detect the nature of the rider’s field of view.
An EEG electrode cap measuring electrical signals in the cyclist’s occipital lobe, the visual processing area of the brain, feeds into a small computer in their backpack, which converts the signals from brain activity to instructions for the bike’s engine.
If the rider’s peripheral vision is narrow – a neurological response when a cyclist detects a danger ahead such as a car cutting them off or an obstruction to a bike path – the bike’s accelerator halts. The cyclist can still move forward by pushing the pedals, albeit more slowly.
Conversely, if the rider has a wide peripheral vision because there is no threat in sight, the bike accelerates.
Changes in peripheral awareness are often linked to a person’s awareness of their surroundings, and their physical performance and co-ordination.
Researchers at Monash, IBM and University of Southampton Josh Andres said cycling accidents often occurred at intersections where cyclists needed a heightened awareness of their environment.
He wanted to find a technology that gave riders extra time in critical situations, but instead of outsourcing this skill, he wanted to build a technology that helped riders connect more with their bodies.
This e-bike, named Ena, would provide a feedback loop for cyclists, enabling them to improve their peripheral vision.
“This is a problem right now. Many of the technologies we are building are teaching us how to outsource how we feel, whereas we should try to be more in touch with our bodies, more in tune with our bodies,” Mr Andres said.
He has previously built e-bikes that connect the bike’s motor to traffic light signals and instruct the cyclist to speed up or slow down.
Monash University researcher Floyd Mueller said the new bike was aimed at boosting people’s confidence in cycling, allowing them to feel in control.
“We know from good cyclists that they talk about how they become one with the bike … what this technology allows is for the cyclist to be an extension of their body. The bike knows when the cyclist is in danger or having fun without being explicitly told.”
Cycling is having an unprecedented surge in popularity because of the COVID-19 lockdown. A Bicycle Network count of 8800 riders on April 25 showed the number had increased by 270 per cent compared with November last year.
But Uber this week confirmed that its shared e-bike outfit Jump would be taken over by Lime and pulled off Melbourne’s streets, in line with similar moves overseas.
The program launched in early March and paused three weeks later as COVID-19 lockdowns began.
It is understood the decision was made in the face of financial strain wrought by the virus, with the company reportedly expected to lay off more than 100 Australian employees as part of its major global job cuts.
Cyclisk is a 65-foot high (five-story), 10, 000 pound (4,535 kg), Egyptian-style obelisk made from 340 recycled bicycles. This commissioned artwork was created in 2010 by artists Mark Grieve and Ilana Specto and installed in Santa Rose, California (USA).
EPIC!!!
Mark and Illana collected unusable bicycles and cleaned them up, then welded together into a steel superstructure to create a towering obelisk form.
This project is considered to be a landmark in gateway public work.
Here is more about it…
Project background
The Santa Rosa’s City’s Art and Culture Element in the General Plan 2020 calls for creating inspiring places for the residents and visitors.
By law in Santa Rosa, any construction project costing over $500,000 must put 1% of their budget toward public art.
This has led to the creation of hundreds of benches and murals in the city, along with the Cyclisk.
The project site for Cyclisk was chosen because of its proximity to the Nissan car dealership, who funded the funded the “1% for Art” requirement.
Cyclisk is one of the largest public art projects in the region.
The project budget was $37,000 and included expenses related to design development, engineering, collecting and disassembling bike parts from nonprofit bike bicycle groups, insurance, fabrication, special inspections, transportation, installation of the artwork, and all other project-related expenses.
All work was completed by artists and Grieve and Spector who chose not to take an artist fee in order to create the necessary scale required for such a work.
Architect Daniel Strening and ZFA Engineering also donated time to make the project happen.
Bicycles were collected from the debris bins of the following bicycle kitchens: Trips for Kids/Recyclery in San Rafael, Bici Centro in Santa Barbara, and Community Bikes in Santa Rosa, as well as individual donors who formed integral partnerships.
Every bicycle (and the monument’s one tricycle) were beyond the point of riding.
Besides bicycle parts, the monument was sprayed with a treatment to help preserve its color and integrity.
The towering traditional Egyptian-style obelisk made of reclaimed bicycle parts brings a sense of whimsy and regal ridiculousness to a previously downtrodden section of the City of Santa Rosa.
It also shows you can shape a landfill-bound material into a polished form.
According to the artists: Cyclisk creates a series of intersecting rhythms – a visual metaphor for the human experience exploring technology and the humanities – history and possible futures – individual as well as collective for the City of Santa Rosa landmark, evoking a “world of possibilities,” for years to come.
A long time ago I read an article onDesign Boom by Juliana Neira detailing an incredible underground automated bicycle parking system in Japan. The first installation was in 2013 and since then, many of these systems have installed around Japan. The ECO cycle system is a remarkable technological design and as our cities become more and more crowded, solutions such as these that are not common in Western countries (but are elsewhere) might offer some ideas for how innovative technological designs could help address issues of urbanization and contested spaces. Enjoy. NG.
Watch the video above for a great demo of how ECO cycle works.
Created by Giken, ECO Cycle was launched in 2013. It is as an automated mechanical underground parking lot for bicycles and today there are over 50 parking stations in Japan (with plans for global expansion on the way).
ECO Cycle is an automated bicycle parking facility developed with the concept of ”Culture Aboveground, Function Underground”. With a compact entrance booth, it requires minimal space above ground and provides more than 200 parking spaces underground.
The entry to ECO Cycle is compact and unobtrusive. It has a unique press-in technology, making it a powerful option in urban districts where it is difficult to acquire land. The entrance/exit booths are above ground (at street level), while the rest of the ECO cycle structure is underground and it is completely computer-controlled automated. Surveillance sensors make sure the bikes are safe, eliminating theft through the use of a personal tag or card, making it easy for anyone to use.
Average storage and retrieval time is 13 seconds. (I know right….WHATTTTT!!!??) . To dock your bike, you push the bicycle forward to the front of the entrance door. The front wheel shutter opens, activated by the IC tag attached to the bike. When ready, you push your bike forward and insert the front wheel into the slot. After it has been inserted, it is clamped and fixed. You then step off the sensor map and press the ‘drop-off start’ button and the rest of the operation is completed by the machines which take your bike underground to storage.
You retrieve your bike by using your storage card and your bike is automatically retrieved for you. Amazing!!!
Gilken also says that ECO Cycle is earthquake resistant – a big plus in places like Japan where earthquakes are an ongoing issue.
Image: Design Boom
I can see there are many benefits of ECO cycle not least of all because it saves (above ground) public space and offers great protection for bikes from theft, weather and damage.
From a sustainability perspective, I am concerned about the amount and source of power needed to operate the whole venture – it seems ironic to ride a bike to support the environment, only to have your storage methods produce a bigger carbon footprint than you just saved by riding.
As we move towards a more contested and complex future where riding bikes is going to play a critical role, it will be imperative to be open to experimenting with new designs that encourage biking, active transport and more sustainable practices. In highly populated cities (like in Japan) have accessible, cheap and reliable bike parking is a great way to encourage more people to cycle.
Although not 100% perfect, the ECO cycle provides an innovative example for considering new ways in which technology, space, people and bicycles might be better accounted for in large cities.
This August, we have a 5-part series written by Laura Fisher exploring how bicycles are used as a dissident object in contemporary art. The first post looked at the importance and impact of one of Ai Weiwei’s most iconic bicycle-based artworks ‘Forever’. In this second instalment, Laura looks at the refashioned (literally) ‘reversed engineered’ bike project entitled Returnity by German art duo Elin Wikström and Anna Brag. Enjoy! NG.
They engineered nine bicycles to travel backwards when they were pedalled forwards, and equipped them with training wheels and a rear-view mirror.
A bicycle club was set up in a public park for three months, providing instructions to members of the public who attempted to ride the altered bicycles. In the end, over 2,000 people participated with about a quarter of these returning again and again to improve their skills.
These bicycles were a prop for heightening people’s spatial and sensory awareness. They also created an unusual social space. As Maria Lind remarked, it “was a playful test that referenced lifelong learning [and] connectivity in a globalised world” and an exercise in “radically rethinking and deliberately disorienting one’s naturalised behaviours”
Lind’s comments about Returnity are a reminder that the bicycle’s humility as a human scaled machine paradoxically gives it great power. Not only is it open to inexhaustible experimentation, it can engage the body and mind in such a way as to galvanise both personal autonomy and social affinity.
Laura Fisher is a post-doctoral research fellow at Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney. In October 2015 she co-curated Bespoke City with Sabrina Sokalik at UNSW Art & Design, a one night exhibition featuring over 20 practitioners celebrating the bicycle through interactive installations, sculpture, video, design innovation, fashion and craft. This event was part of Veloscape, an ongoing art–research project exploring the emotional and sensory dimensions of cycling in Sydney.
Reference: Kirkpatrick, S. J. B. (2018). Pedaling disaster: Citizen bicyclists in disaster response—Innovative solution or unnecessary effort? Natural Hazards, 90(1), 365-389. doi:10.1007/s11069-017-3048-3
Image: CBC.com
Citizen bicyclists in disaster response
This post looks at the 2018 academic publication by Sarah Kirkpatrick from North Dakota State University. In this article, Kirkpatrick explores how citizen bicyclists might be used in times of disasters. A very interesting topic!
In this article, natural events where bicycles could be used is focused on the US context, so includes tornadoes, hurricanes, and severe storms. However, bicycle response to events like travel hazards, flooding, blizzards, and wildfire events was almost universally rejected.
The post-impact disaster actions Kirkpatrick says local bicyclists can do include: conducting search and rescue, evacuating survivors, giving medical care, consoling survivors, providing needed supplies, directing traffic, extinguishing fires, and removing debris.
This paper suggests that the involvement of citizen bicyclists in disaster response, the outcome could be very beneficial for both bicycling and emergency management communities.
The idea of citizen bicycle response stems from the growing popularity in the USA of Disaster Relief Trials (DRTs). DRTs are community events organised by local bicycling enthusiasts that demonstrate how bicycles can be used in disaster situations. Community emergency response team (CERT) programs were also highlighted as possible sources of training for bicyclists, as well as a means for bicyclists to be integrated into disaster response operations.
The article discusses current DRTs and how bicycles have been used in relief efforts, including:
USA During the response to the September 11th attacks in 2001, bicycle couriers could be found riding along the secured perimeter and delivering food (Kendra & Wachtendorf, 2003).
Japan In the immediate aftermath of the 2011 To ̄hoku earthquake, the combination of traffic gridlock and the shutdown of train services in the Tokyo metropolitan area compelled stranded commuters to mount bicycles—included ones purchased in the immediate aftermath of the event—to make the commute home (Takahara, 2011).
USA In the days following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, a group of bicyclists strapped a variety of donated goods ranging from diapers to blankets to their backs and bikes before pedaling the 15 or so miles through debris-laden streets from Brooklyn to the Rockaways to deposit their commodities (Goodyear, 2012).
Sri Lanka During disaster recovery, the period when activities are being undertaken to restore all stakeholders to self-sufficiency (Alesch et al. 2009), bicycles gifted to survivors of the 2005 tsunami in Sri Lanka proved a key element in assisting people with recovering their economic livelihood and social connections, as well as increasing their accessibility to service providers (World Bicycle Relief 2007).
Kirkpatrick argues that implementing citizen bicycle responders would be best suited to communities that already have an established bicycle-friendly locale. In these places, bicycle response take-up, use and engagement would be less resistant.
The discussion of citizen bicyclist disaster responders is also valuable in exploring alternatives to current approaches and in shifting attitudes of policy, organisational and emergency managers towards the use and engagement of citizen responders more broadly.
Citizen bicycle responders are identified as being particularly useful in specific tasks such as messaging/communication, commodities distribution, messaging, and casualty evacuation—as a ‘‘last mile’’ solution. The idea is that bicyclists can make short runs to create the final link between information hubs, centralised distribution points, or evacuation locations
I loved this quote from the article:
For bicycles to reach closer to their potential as a cure for urban maladies, they must advance beyond the dominions of mall-bound middle schoolers and lycra-clad weekend warriors to a broader ridership.
Gold!
Certain bicycle types or accessories are highlighted as serving as a sort of force multiplier for task execution, particularly related to commodities distribution or casualty evacuation. Specifically, the use of cargo bicycles, bicycles with attached trailers, and electric bicycles were mentioned as ways to enhance the ability of citizen bicyclists to move goods or other people through a disaster area.
The article also points out that there are some concerns about citizen bicyclists in disaster response. A principle example of this is that responses rely heavily on the actual person who is riding the bicycle—and the knowledge and skills that person brings—that matters to the response and dictates the bicyclists’ ultimate response value. Additionally, responders will need some sort of training (or have a base understanding) of bicycle maintenance, safe riding, how to communicate/coordinate/operate within the response network, general safety and first aid/CPR.
Some research participants further suggested that citizen bicyclists receive the full gamut of CERT training, with modules on disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, disaster medical, light search and rescue, disaster psychology, and disaster simulation exercise. The type of training frequency, responsibility, and depth would need to be formalised.
There have been several papers that have considered the safety aspect, weighing the costs of increased injury risk and exposure to pollution against the health and communal benefits of regular bicycling. The table below shows some examples of studiescoering a few of these factors.
Image: Kirkpatrick (2018).
Some essential tasks citizen bicycle responders can undertake are:
movement of needed commodities like food, water, medication, other supplies
delivery of messages within the impacted area
bicycles and their riders providing power generation
casualty evacuation
first aid
safety and wellness checks
search and rescue
damage assessment
Overall, this article opens up a meaningful conversation about considering bicycles use in disaster relief.
The most appealing aspect of this article is the focus on the citizen bicyclist – a largely untapped and little-discussed potential asset.
I love the idea of local riders and their bikes being integral to disaster responses efforts.
Just another way bicycles could create change!
Abstract
Citizens have historically become involved in response to disasters by helping both themselves and others. Recently, the idea has emerged of individuals providing this assistance in the response period using bicycles. Community events have been organised by bicycling enthusiasts in US cities to demonstrate how bicycles could potentially be of use in disaster situations. Yet, there has been no empirical research around the idea of citizen bicyclists in disaster response.
This study explored the potential use of bicycles and their citizen riders in disaster events in the USA—specifically considering what role, if any, citizen bicyclists could play in such scenarios. Data were initially collected through 21 in-depth, telephone interviews with emergency management officials and bicycling advocates from bicycle-friendly cities in ten different states. Grounded theory was used to conceptualise the overall research design and analyse the data.
Based on theoretical and snowball sampling, an additional six interviews were completed with individuals who had requisite knowledge and experiences applicable to the research question. Participants indicated that there are a variety of tasks and activities citizen bicyclists could undertake in disaster response; however, it would have to be an event of significant scope and magnitude for bicycle usage to be widespread—an unlikely occurrence for many jurisdictions.
Concerns about training and integration with the formal emergency management structure were also identified. Implications for potential citizen bicyclists—and citizen responders more broadly—are discussed.
Image: Little Rock Air Force Base News
Some content of this post is adapted from Kirkpatrick (2018).
I am delighted to share this story. As well as being an incredibly inspirational story and testament to Dinesh Palipana’s unique fortitude and character, this story showcases some of the pioneering work that my university is doing. …And it is totally bike related! I’ve been working at Griffith for over 5 years now. I am continually impressed with the reach, impact and significant contributions Griffith makes to improve society. Last year, I posted about Griffith design graduate and PhD candidateJames Novak’s global award-winning world’s first 3D printed bicycle – also unreal!! This story is about how Dinesh and his team turned an accident he had during his PhD into a scientific-bike research breakthrough. This article was originally published by Griffith News earlier this year. Here it is in full. Enjoy! NG.
Griffith medical graduate and Gold
Coast University Hospital junior doctor Dinesh Palipana thinks about
walking a lot, since a car accident left him a quadriplegic part-way through
his medicine degree.
Now he’s thinking about pushing the pedals of a
specially-adapted recline bike, and thanks to electronic muscle stimulation,
he’s actually moving, in what is the first step towards a world-first
integrated neuro-musculoskeletal rehabilitation program, being developed at the
Gold
Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct (GCHKP).
Griffith biomechanical scientists and engineers Professor
David Lloyd, Dr Claudio Pizzolato and his team, together with Dinesh as
both researcher and patient, are aiming to use their ground-breaking 3D
computer-simulated biomechanical model, connected to an electroencephalogram
(EEG) to capture Dinesh’s brainwaves, to stimulate movement, and eventually
recovery.
Thinking about riding a bike
“The idea is that a spinal injury or neurological patient
can think about riding the bike. This generates neural patterns, and the
biomechanical model sits in the middle to generate control of the patient’s
personalised muscle activation patterns. These are then personalised to the
patient, so that they can then electrically stimulate the muscles to make the
patient and bike move,” says Professor Lloyd who is also from Griffith’s Menzies
Health Institute Queensland.
“It’s all in real-time, with the model adjusting the amount
of stimulation required as the patient starts to recover.
“We’re in the early stages of research and we’re having to
improvise with our equipment, however we know we have shown our real-time
personalised model works, basically like a digital twin of the patient.”
Dr
Palipana is excited to be part of such novel research in his own backyard.
“I
have a selfish and vested interest in spinal cord injury research and I’m
completely happy to be the guinea pig,” Dr Palipana says.
“We’ve
had equipment for many years where people passively exercise using stationary
bikes, and stationary methods where people get on and the equipment moves their
legs for them. The problem is you really need some stimulation from the brain.
“As
the years go by we’re starting to realise that the whole nervous system is very
plastic and it has to be trained, so actually thinking about moving the bike or
doing an activity stimulates the spinal cord from the top down and that creates
change.”
This
top down, bottom up approach is novel, with the model effectively providing a
substitute connection between the limbs and the brain where it was previously
broken when the spinal cord was injured.
The
neuro-rehabilitation research will dovetail with exciting research by Griffith
biomedical scientist, Associate Professor James St John, who has had promising
results for his biological treatment using olfactory (nasal) cells, to create
nerve bridges to regenerate damaged spinal cords.
Establishing new neural pathways
“You use the modelling to recreate the connection, and over
time, with the science of Associate Professor James St John, you establish new
neural pathways. So over time patients will be less dependent on the model to
control the bike movement and it will move back to their own control, with
their regenerating spinal cord and their reprogrammed neural pathways,” says
Professor Lloyd.
Associate Professor James St John hopes to move into human
clinical trials in the GCHKP within the next 2-3 years, and in parallel
Professor Lloyd and his team hope to refine their rehab testing with Dinesh,
and develop the technology with leading global companies in exoskeleton design.
These companies, could in turn, be attracted into the 200-hectare GCHKP.
“In ten years we want to be a one-stop shop for spinal cord
injury and complex neurological patients,” Professor Lloyd says.
“I’m just really lucky to be well-positioned here where
it’s all happening and I want to be involved as much as possible as a doctor
and a potential scientist,” says Dr Palipana.
“It’s my university, my hospital, my city – it’s just
really nice to be a part of that.”
