United Cycling Voices
The Challenge:
Across the country Bike ridership is on the rise, booming in many urban centers. Likewise there is media, professional cyclist, and recreational cyclist catching on that bikes can replace cars for short trips and offset our global dilemma regarding fossil fuels.
In this country, people of color and under served communities have always embraced the bicycle as an everyday form of transportation, however the landscape for acceptance of the bike in dense urban centers has not always been on the forefront of our communities of color as political economic and health priorities. The people that fall through the cracks of bike advocacy are more often than not the people that don’t “look like” cyclist. If you look at the bike advocacy organizations across the country their literature their websites and their advocacy only include token images of cyclists of color.
UCV's first meeting of the minds at teh League Of American Bicyclist National Bike Summit:
Yolanda Davis-Overstreet ~ Hamsat Sanai Hawkins ~ Keith Holt ~ Brian Drayton ~ Neil Walker ~ Anthony Taylor
The Charge
United Cycling Voices envisions our communities of engaged urban cyclist’s of color becoming active proponents of cycling culture, bicycle infrastructure, local economies , and the greater mobility propelled by cycling. We envision our well tooled and empowered urban communities utilizing cycling as not only an everyday form of transportation and recreation but also as a key tool in community upliftment that elevates mobility, health, agency and economy in our neighborhoods.
The Tools
United Cycling Voices has launched
the Bike Equity Movement Google Group
bikes:communities / frogs:environment
Imagine for a moment that bikes are to our
communities as frogs are to the
environment. An indicator species...
You know when the environment in
nature is thriving because frogs thrive
in balance. The same can be said about
bikes in our communities. Along with
pedestrian safety and public interaction
bikes bring healthy lifestyles, mobility, economy, and social activity to our lives.
Cycling however and the cycling industry has been turned into a lifestyle sport and leisure pursuit in this country creating class barriers that exclude it as an affordable every day form of transport exercise and social activity for many people.
People in underserved communities go without bike shops and infrastructures. People with disabilities cannot participate because of cost prohibitive equipment that would allow them to cycle. Women, Children, people of color are left out of the advocacy and funding loop by a dominant cycling culture that does not plan outside their comfort zone for access to all people.
This Community is established to create conversation, collect data and ideas, share best practices, and create replicable projects that can inject life into bike culture in any community. Lets discuss not only how bicycles are shaping our culture and our environment, but how advocacy and direct resources and funding to our community to sculpt these changes in equitable ways and create a pedal revolution
