Category: Global initiative

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Rotorua’s Tree of Bikes

Imagine my surprise when arriving in New Zealand, I saw another bicycle-inspired ‘Christmas’ Tree! After having just left Brisbane a week ago and seeing Brisbane’s bicycle-powered Christmas Tree at South Bank, I found that New Zealand have their own spin on the bicycle-themed (Christmas) Tree.

 

NZ’s Tree of Bikes

Just like my PhD topic, NZ’s Tree of Bikes was specifically designed to raise awareness of the vital role that bicycles play in getting children who live in extreme poverty to school – awesome!

The NZ Tree of Bikes is the brain child of ChildFund and was created in collaboration with Enterprize Steel and Beca Engineers. It was originally erected in Queens Street Wharf, Auckland for Christmas last year (2014/5). Aside from raising awareness about bicycle-for-education needs in developing nations, the tree was also a focus point to promote ChildFund’s Gifts that Grow program during Christmas. Although the Gifts that Grow program doesn’t have a specific bicycle-for-education option, it does provide aside range of immediate, sustainable, community-orientated and positive present-giving replacement options in a similar theme to Bicycle Create Change’s previous post of bicycle-inspried alternative ethical gift alternatives to help support other less fortunate and those living in extreme poverty.

 

The Tree of Bikes Origin

There are two versions of the NZ Tree of Bikes. Bother trees have the same structure, features and function.

For example, the first Auckland Tree of Bikes was a 7-meter high Bicycle ‘Christmas’ Tree that had a central steel structure that was adored by 120 up-cycled bicycles and an array of bike parts. The 120 bicycles that make up this tree were all donated by local Aucklanders and after the tree was exhibited over Christmas, the tree was dismantled and the all the bicycles were donated to local community groups like the Refugee Centre.

The Auckland Tree of Bikes was so popular and successful, that a similar, second tree was organised and installed in March 2016 by the Rotorua Lakes Council to coincide with Crankworx Rotorua. It was great to see local council getting behind the intiative and fully supporting the project by providing with a donation drop-off point, publicity and clearing the red tape to ensure that such a great project is endorsed, encouraged and prioritised. As with the Auckland Tree of Bikes, the local residents of Rotorua donated 150 bicycles and parts to create the 2016 Bike Tree public art instillation that featured prominently at the Crankworx Village Green.

 

Rotorua Bike Tree
Source: Radio NZ:Andrew McRae

Why can’t all local councils be as forward thinking as Rotorua?

Although a seemingly small project, the Rotorua Tree of Bikes is yet again another example of how NZ finds innovative, community-based initiatives that are interesting, promote cycling and increase positive community participation.

Last year when we came to Rotorua for a similar mountain bike trip, I posted on the impressive infrastructure plans and that the local, regional and national NZ Municipalities had in relation to the Rotorua Urban Cycling Strategic Plan 2015-2018. Previously and currently, the local Rotorua Council continue to invest and support development that ensures and cements Rotorua as the premier mountain biking Mecca for the Southern Hemisphere. With such committed political and community investment, the benefits are paying off as word spreads in the mountain bike and enduro scene that Rotorua is the one of the best places to ride.

Why is it so hard for the rest of the world (and Brisbane in particular) not to see that investing in road and trail cycling is profitable, positive and socially beneficial? Rotorua is a fantastic example of this can be mutually advantageous for  tourism and local businesses, as well as for bikers of all ages and stages.

So when you get here, I’ll either see you on the trails or under the Tree of Bikes!

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Ethical Bicycle Christmas Gifts

Christmas is nearly upon us.

In our house we have a strict no present policy. This is primarily for environmental and ethical considerations, but also because we are consciously and actively reducing our impact on the environment and our reliance of material possessions to more towards a more sustainable, thoughtful and minimal existence.

Within the confines of our house, this is easy to enforce and has been the rule for many years. My immediate family and friends know, appreciate and support our no gift position and reasoning. However, in cases when outside our immediate circle (like work) or when have to interact with other families (or other people’s kids), it can still be a little tricky. As much as I detest the mainstream practice of over packaged, wasteful, plastic commodification of expected entitlement that goes along with normative practices of Christmas gift giving, this idea can be quite hard for a four-year old to grasp.

I am fortunate to have years of practice in explaining my gifting approach in a way that can be heard – but not always understood or accepted. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that some people just won’t understand – or will think I’m crazy (..or lazy, forgot, a miser or whatever else). So be it.

I’m at the stage where I don’t care what other people think. But for others who are moving in a similar direction, it can still be difficult if your placed in situations where it might still be necessary/expected to give a present  (work Chris Cringles). So  for those who are in this kind of situation – and for any other bike crazy people who also want to support a more ethical and sustainable Christmas – here are my suggestions for alternative bikivism gift giving techniques.

 

10 Ethical, community-supportive, green, fair-trade, sustainable, bike-inspired gifting alternatives (phew!)

  1. Adopt a ‘make, bake, sew or grow’ gift that is bicycle relate – for example: make a bicycle helmet bag, bake a bicycle theme cake (as featured two posts ago) sew a bike courier patch onto a bag, or plant some flowers to grow into an old upturned bike helmet
  2. World Bicycle Relief – Support bikes, education and developing nations by buying from WBR shop where there are prints, cards, t-shirts and bikes-for-education sponsorship options
  3. Literacy on two wheels – (Room to Read/Global Girlfriend): $50 can provide a bicycle for a girl. School can often be a 2 to 3 hour walk from home along remote roads, making school an impossibility for millions. A bicycle can cut that time down dramatically
  4. Sponsor a Bike – For our UK friends – this organisation has programs starting from £10 a month to support a refugee to start cycling safely. Thi minimal cost includes: a bike, brand new lights, a lock and a helmet, unlimited repairs (if necessary), a road safety session – and you as the donor will receive one free bike service a year. There are also other upgrade options.
  5. Bike Gifts is a South African organisation that aims to add to the South African economy, to support local entrepreneurs and produce new and exciting products. they source quality, local bespoke products
  6. Create your own bicycle gift voucher or gift someone a card that you made with bicycle on the cover, or ethically source it from somewhere else like recycled artists on Etsy, and write: Happy Christmas! This card can be redeemed for an afternoon picnic ride with me. Call me to arrange the date. I can’t wait to share some quality time with you and build more happy memories together!! Happy Christmas!
  7. Check out Shared Earth for a range of fair trade, recycled gifts and home wares made from recycled bike chains. This organisation aims “to improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged people in developing countries, benefiting local community projects and keeping alive traditional skills that would otherwise be lost”.
  8. The Intrepid Foundation $25 Bicycle Helmet – The Green Gecko Project cares for former street children and their families by providing them with education, security, love and opportunity. This gift will provide four young people with a bicycle helmet for safe riding on the streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia. The best thing about this gift is that for every dollar you spend on this project – The Intrepid Foundation will match with all proceeds going to Green Gecko. Green Gecko also has some other fantastic projects.
  9. Gift a bicycle for 5 children to ride to school in Vietnam through Caritas’ Gift of Education Card program to help support “overcoming poverty, promoting justice, upholding dignity”.
  10. Support women artisans from the slums of Chennai, working with Baladarshan SPEED Foundation that promote local women’s employment opportunities by buying fair-trade recycled Indian Billboard Panniers  (see below)…. you can also select which deities you want to ride with!

Best of luck and I applaud your sustainable and environmentally/socially aware choices in gift giving this Christmas.

I wish you a minimalist and very happy time!

Baladarshan
Source: The New Internationalist – Baladarshan
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Invisible Bicycle Helmet

There are a number of things I love about this innovation – the invisible bike helmet.

Yes, it is primarily about bikes and most certainly about creating positive and safe biking change.

However, it is a reinvention of the normal and breaking many (social and technical) barriers. Here are some reasons why this innovation is so special:

  • it is NOT from an English-speaking country (and not presented in English – how refreshing!)
  • it took the two inventors sooo long to get the research right (seven years!!)
  • their overall commitment, passion and teamwork is inspiring
  • and most importantly … the creators are two Swedish female Industrial Designers leading the (male dominated) field …. and kicking ass!!

How the hell…

I like the revolutionary and stylish innovation they have come up with.

It directly responds to current changes in urban biking as well as being understated and no fuss (the model only comes in black  – how Swedish chic!).

I’m still in awe of the engineering behind how it is deployed and works and I think the concept is magnificent.

The speed and responsiveness of the sensors and algorithms they have used are quite remarkable.

In Australia?

It is tempting to look into the legality of using one of these helmets in Australia.

I know you have to have a registered Australian Safety Approved helmet here. But let’s face it, in some respects Australia can be so far behind the times and considering this is a recognised international safety and protection device…. the larrikin bugger in me would love to use it and see what happens!

The company who is producing it Hovding, have them currently retailing for €299. They are up to their second model already and have won an European Patent Office Award (2016) patent. Models can come with stylish personalised covers. Sign me up!!

“Cars are so yesterday, bikes are the future.”

 

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Japan: Bicycles that expand children’s potential in Cambodia

by Sachie Togashiki

 

In my research about the positive contribution of the use of bicycles to children’s education in developing countries, I found CBB Cambodia. This is a Japanese NGO (non-governmental organisation) consisting of about 20 university students who support Cambodian children by providing bicycles. In spring and summer 2015, the CBB Cambodia devised and managed microfinance to provide Cambodian children with bicycles. A member of the organisation engaged in this project recorded her experience in the organisation’s blog.

The writer, Kumi Sakahashi, realised the influences of bicycles on Cambodian children’s dream job. This is because she encountered a Cambodian boy, Kea, who was about to drop education in his elementary school to support his parents. After CBB’s intervention, Kia did not have to leave school and went to a junior high school. It was because, in spring 2015, CBB Cambodia provided 33 people including Kea with a bicycle. This helped Kea to reduce his commuting time to the school and spend more time on housework and his study. This experience enabled Kea to raise his expectations from becoming a teacher to a doctor. Ms. Sakahashi heard this from Kea in summer 2015. She concludes the blog post by stating that the use of a bicycle enabled Kea to go further places where he saw many different people, resulting in a change of his dream job.

This blog post is significant because it shows the importance of bicycles in terms of widening children’s future possibilities. Ms. Sakahashi explains that without access to advanced education opportunities, children in Cambodia can only be a teacher or a farmer. Jobs requiring far more training such as being a doctor, require much greater opportunity. However, most children in Cambodia give up to go to a junior high school. This is because, according to a crowdfunding website that CBB Cambodia devised in 2014, although there is an elementary school per a village, there is only one junior high school per 3-4 villages, which makes it difficult for children to go. Ms. Sakahashi also argues that, however, with a bicycle, they might be able to continue their education and to aim to get their dream job because bicycles save the time. The children can save money as well as time by helping their parents work. Therefore, bicycles might play a significant role to help children get an education.

 

Source CBB Cambodia: Ready for Japan - Bicycles beyond borders
Source CBB Cambodia: Ready for Japan – Bicycles beyond borders

 

Sakahashi, K. (2015, September 4). A bicycle that expands children’s potential [Web log post].Retrieved from http://cbb-cambodia.org/a-bicycle-expands-possibilities-of-kids.

CBB Cambodia [NGO] (2014, November 28). 100 bicycles for children in Tomato who cannot go to their school. Retrieved from https://readyfor.jp/projects/cycle_beyond_the-borders.

Sachie Togashiki is our Guest Blogger, unveiling some of Japan’s bicycle culture for the fortnight from 11th April to 24th April.

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Guest Bloggers – Country Specific Fortnights

Starting next week, Bicycles Create Change is proudly hosting a fortnight of Country Specific blog posts from each of the Bicycles Create Change Summer Program Participants who will be our guest bloggers.

This means that the home country of each writer will be featured for a fortnight, and a selection of unique bicycles stories, local to that region, and inaccessible by English Speakers, will presented. Each writer brings their own distinctive take and will provide genuine and invaluable cultural interpretations on how bicycles are utilised in their home country in 5 posts.

Tomorrow we start with Japan by Sachie Togashiki, then in succession; Cameroon by Gabriel Besong Etch; India by Beula Juliet Alfred; Columbia by Mauricio Gonzalez Betancur. Each country will have an interval of 1 week of regular blog posts.

So, the upcoming schedule will look like:

Sachie 11 April – 24 April

Normal posts: April 25 – 1st May

Gabriel 2 May – 15 May

Normal posts: 16th May – 22st May

Juliet 23 May – 5 June

Normal posts: 6th June – 12th June

Mauricio 13 June – 26 June

I am very excited by this format, as it means that the expertise, personal experience and local cultural insights that each of these young professionals will inject into each of their posts will enhance the meaningfulness, imperative and authenticity for each story.

It also means that given the linguistic expertise of these researchers, we will able to gain far greater insights and access more content than those just published in English.

I am delighted that these four professionals have agreed to share their unique research translation and analysis with us and I can’t wait to read about how they perceive bicycles to create change in their home countries.

Enjoy!!

Guest Bloggers - Country Specific Fortnights
Guest Bloggers – Country Specific Fortnights
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Billions in Change – Free Electric

Billionaire entrepreneur Manoj Bhargava has a philanthropist side project, Billions in Change, which could well be set to change the lives of half the world’s population. Aside from giving 90% of his money to the Giving Pledge charity, he is also very heavily involved and passionate developing approaches to address issues of poverty and energy resource equity through Free Electric.

The focus of Billions in Change is “to build a better future by creating and implementing solutions to serious problems facing the world in the areas of water, energy and health.” This project has produced a series of quite remarkable innovations that aim to address these issues and increase the quality of life for the world’s poorest people.

Free Electric Bike

Billions of Change looks at three major global problems: Health, Water and Energy. To address the issue of energy – the project’s website outlines their solution as “The Free Electric machine gives people the power to generate electricity themselves – pollution free. The machine is small, light and simple. Here’s how it works: A person pedals a hybrid bicycle. The bicycle wheel drives a flywheel, which turns a generator, which charges a battery. Pedaling for one hour yields electricity for 24 hours with no utility bill, and no exhaust, no waste.”

Manoj’s company makes some impressive claims:

  • They will be able to produce these bikes in India for under $200 per unit – making it much more affordable for local councils, communities, schools and NGOs in developing countries – especially if resources and finances are pooled and shared.
  • 25 bikes have already been installed at no charge to a sample of energy-poor households, schools, and small businesses in Indian villages close to Lucknow, Amethi and Raebareli to assess functionality.
  • Manoj has collaborated “with a local distributor and non-profit group to help with assembly and to train others on how to assemble and troubleshoot the bike. We’re also conducting pre/post surveys with recipients to learn their perspectives on the benefits of the bike, as well as to get their feedback about how we can improve it” .
  • Later this year, there is a pilot plan to implement 10,000 of these bikes in India.

It is quite exciting to think that such a contraption has the potential to literally revolutionize the lives of so many people – the fact that it is not a conception or theoretical model, but has actually been manufactured – is a massive step towards production for greater practical utility and for streamlining the design for cheaper and easier implementation.

This is yet another innovation similar to the bicycle-washing machine from a previous post, which seems to show that India and bicycle innovations have a very strong affinity for each other to create positive change.

Full Documentary

There is a post on Treehugger which gives some more details about this project – and it was there that I also saw that  there is a full Billions of Change documentary (45 min) which outlines Free Electric, and also details some other inventive approaches that his Lab called Stage 2 Innovations has also created, such as the Rain Maker seawater car, and the geothermal Limitless Energy resource among other designs.

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World Naked Bike Ride Day

There have been many culture shocks for me moving from Melbourne to Brisbane, but none more so than daily being confronted by the restrictive, narrow-minded, risk-adverse and controlling authority that Queensland has over its residents. In every other major city around the world, today is the World Naked Bike Ride Day 2016. This is a peaceful political demonstration to protest against the burning of fossil fuels and climate change, as well as promoting naturism, biketivism and environmentalism (all the best -isms!).

Only In Brisbane

I laughed myself into a stitch, when I inquired about the event last week about the WNBR Brisbane chapter. I read that in Queensland, ONLY women can ride completely nude. For reasons of ‘indecency’, men had to wear a G-string – WTF!!!

No other city I know of has this rule – and I mean nowhere around the WORLD that I can find!

(Having said that, if I was a man who wanted to participate in the Brisbane ride – personally, I would wear the G-string on my head, around my wrist or my ankle).

Talk about ridiculous laws!!

World Naked Bike Ride Day
World Naked Bike Ride Day 2016

Authority control = no Brisbane WNBR

Not only that, but the route that the WNBR Brisbane was to take, was deemed to have too much ‘exposure’ (teehee) to the general public as it tool in taking in parts of the M1. So the police knocked back the proposal. This sparked a series of run arounds for the organisers by police, local officials and council  – so much so, that the process and permit got bound up so tightly (and effectively) that the event in Brisbane had to be cancelled.

What a crock!

That meant that the closest WNBR event for Brisbanites was in Byron Bay – 2 hours away!

Brisbane is notorious for previously having a pitiful turnout for this event because the participants get such a hard time when it does go ahead.

This year it was a definitive and flat out red-ribbon stitch-up for good. Problem sorted.

Queensland is old-fashioned, risk-adverse and draconian – and quietly but effectively, authorities are pairing back on civil liberties one small step at a time. Not enough that people get concerned, but just enough to ever so convincingly restrict locals’ choices in lifestyle, activities and access.

Whether you agree or not with the World Naked Bike Ride, in Australia we supposedly have ‘the right’ to hold and/or participate in this event.

I think if people want to cycle nude to highlight what they feel is an important social issue, all the more power to them!

But the way Queensland authorities handled this event – flat out sucks!

What a good job of cutting Brisbane out of one of the most fun, colourful and popular international peaceful bike protests.

Well, kudos to every other cosmopolitan, contemporary, inclusive,  progressive and intelligent city in the world who enjoyed a gorgeous day of free speech, community participation and environmental awareness. I hope you had a massive blast, got your message out there and bless you brave souls and awesome supporters who attended!!

I hope all those beautiful riders had a massive blast, got thier message out there.less you brave souls and awesome supporters who attended!!

Bless those brave souls and awesome supporters who attended!!

It is days like this that I sorely miss living in Melbourne.

I was genuinely sorry to have missed out on supporting one of my favourite lively, refreshing and community-driven annual biking events.

If Cape Town in South Africa (see video below) can still manage do it in the midst of all their economic, political and social issues – then shame on you Brisbane. You are miles behind the times!!!

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International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day! There is much going on internationally to celebrate this day. I was very impressed with the diverse and comprehensive coverage that the ABC had on offer for the whole week, in fact, to draw attention to all manner of issues relating to gender, women and equality.

Filipino and Timorese experiences

Given my specific interest in gender education, this day provides a great platform to access and interact with the political and social milieu surrounding women’s issues. It is troubling that so much of the discourse surrounding gender issues is interrelated with other sociocultural problems such as poverty and violence. I caught an interesting item from RN Breakfast, where a former Filipino politician Liza Maza was being interviewed about the state of women in her country, which has seen an increase by 200% of violence against women and children in the last 5 years.

In many places around the world, many of these issues are systemic, ingrained and normalised. When I was working in Timor-Leste, I remember hearing a Development Facilitator tell his story of introducing and running a Gender Mainstreaming Program there. It was very well received and involved a lot of topics related to gender sensitivity. The workshop had great attendance and interest by community leaders and locals – both men and women. At the end of this intensive course, during the debriefing session when they were reflecting about the most significant changes and outcomes, one male participant said that it had all been very interesting, but that the biggest change for him was that he had to ‘beat his wife more now than before’ because the workshop had given her ‘ideas’.

These Filipino and Timorese realities are so far outside my own daily experience, yet it is paramount to be mindful that such situations occur daily for other women – and to do what little we can in our own way to effect positive change for all. I heard a call to action during Liza Mazza’s interview for people to do one thing each day that moves us towards some kind of positive change.

Salute the strong men!

My one activity to bring about change in light of insurmountable and devastating statistics about gender-based violence elsewhere in the world is to recognize and move towards the positive – and to thank the beautiful, brave and progressive men around the world who support and champion women’s issues, in little and big ways. On days such as this one, when the focus is squarely on women, I’d like to give my sincere gratitude to the amazing men around the world – many of whose names we will never know, but who, in their own small ways have done some action to support the women in their lives and communities.

To these strong and honorable men – I salute and thank you!

international-womens-day

Source: Dining for Women

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The right to feel the wind in your hair – Cycling Without Age

Everyone has a right to ride a bike and feel the wind in their hair – so here is a community cycling initiative that is right up my alley!!

“Cycling Without Age” is a movement started in 2012 by Ole Kassow. Ole wanted to help the elderly get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a rickshaw. He started offering free bike rides to the local nursing home residents. Cycling Without Age website. Now four years into operation, this project has made thousands of elderly people incredibly happy; has over 400 purpose built rickshaws, ridden by 3,000 volunteer ‘pilots’ and can be found all over Denmark, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, Singapore, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Slovakia, Netherlands, France and Chile. I can’t wait for it to come to Australian cities.

 

 

I think this project is highly progressive for a number of reasons:

It’s an amazing way for the elderly (or others?) to be reintegrated into everyday life, despite various mobility or health issues.

It provides an amazing opportunity for those who would not necessarily get outside often (if at all), including the invigorating and curative physiological and psychological effects that fresh air, excitement and social contact have on degenerative conditions.

To remind an ever busy, self-centred and technological world of the finer things in life, like taking the time to ride in a park with friends – and for it to be so meaningful.

The organisation has even taken ‘international’ cycling trips – from Denmark over the sea to Norway, for one – what an amazing trip of a lifetime at any age.

It serves as a reminder that our Elders still have dreams, hopes and life to live – just as we all do.

Basically, this is a community service. Not only does it genuinely promote cycling for all ages, it also actively integrates elders into society. As well it creates opportunities for unusual and significant social networks and relationships to form between disparate community members – like the riders and the passengers, who otherwise would probably not have ever met.

In many eyes, this is a fantastic example of how bicycles can have a truly positive effect on people and communities. What an inspiration!

For more background and details, see Ole presenting his project at a TED Copenhagen in the video below.

 

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Ecomobility Festival

Practice: In September 2013, the town of Suwon, South Korea, went car free for a month for the Ecomobility Festival.  It took two years to plan and in order to help assist the locals’ mobility, 400 free public bicycles were provided as well as bike riding lessons as many residents had never ridden a bike before. I highly recommend that you have a look at the interesting event results now released in a book of the project here.

Neighborhood in Motion - Suwon: South Korea 2013
Source: Neighborhood in Motion

It took two years to plan and in order to help assist local mobility, 400 free public bicycles were provided as well as bike riding lessons as many residents had never ridden a bike before. This ambitious exercise in urban ecomobility was strategically designed to be for a longer duration. As the Ecomobility website identifies, many cities have had success with car-free days (or for even a week; however, the true test of adapting to a more sustainable lifestyle was to create a scenario where people could not simply put off or reschedule regular routines in order to participate in the social experiment – it needed to be more challenging to see if real changes were truly possible.

The results were fantastic and very positive.

Connection: In 1987, the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development (better known as the Brundtland Report) was the origin of, and the first to use the term ‘sustainable development’. However, forewarning of the unsustainable nature of predominant economic development based on global resource depletion was not a new concept (Schumacher, 1973). When the report clearly articulated that ‘the hope for the future [was] conditional on decisive political action [and then] to begin managing environmental resources to ensure both sustainable human progress and human survival’ (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, pg. 11), the spotlight was turned firmly onto the need for progressive, immediate and comprehensive political change.

Neighborhood in Motion - Suwon: South Korea 2013
Source: Ecomobility Festival

Ecomobility Festivals are now being held in different cities (the most recent being South Africa in October 2015) each time to prove that mass community change IS possible. The most exciting aspect of this initiative is scale. If you suggest such a venture to an Australian politician, they would no doubt immediately claim that taking such decisive action is inconceivable – and certainly not within their power to do so. This case study proves otherwise, not once, but twice – rather impressively as well. So, where is our ‘decisive political action’?

street-races-in-suwon-ecomobility-festival
Source: Inhabitat

Impact: That is why the Ecomobility Festival is such an important step towards more positive social change. It demonstrates that decisive political action CAN be successfully implemented on a large scale and that bicycles and other non-renewable forms of transport are indeed very real, indispensable, logical and attainable options for sustainable cities of the future.

Not only that, but it was Korea first, then South Africa who are leading the world in exerting the precise necessary political action that the Brundtland Report identified as necessary in order for humans to overcome our current efforts in what Fry (2011) calls ‘sustaining the unsustainable’.

Results: To make a concerted change, bold decisions need to be made followed by action. More so than ever, it seems that the ecomobility framework not only creates positive social change, but equally highlights which communities are lacking in the political leadership necessary for change. It is also rewarding to see a rise in the political profile and popular recognition of the necessity of pervasive urban bicycle use.

 

Neighborhood in Motion - Suwon: South Korea 2013
Source: Fast Coexist

_____________________________________________________

Fry, T. (2011). Sustainability is meaningless – It’s time for a new   Enlightenment. The Conversation, 3 May, viewed 29 July 2011 at <http://theconversation.edu.au/sustainability-is-meaningless-its-time-for-a-new-enlightenment-683>

Schumacher, E. F. (1973). Small is beautiful: Economics as if people really mattered. Abacus, London, 64.

World Commission on Environment and Development.(1987). Our Common Future. United Nations, Oslo.