Carefully-planned mobility makes transportation accessible for all

Athens’ poverty rate is 28.8%, making it difficult for some locals to afford cars and other means of transportation. BikeAthens donates bikes to those in need, hosts “Fix Your Own Bike Nights” and teaches classes on bike safety and how to ride to provide residents with an accessible means of transportation. The nonprofit donates about 100-120 bikes each year.

The Final Mile project built 335 miles of bike lanes across five U.S. cities in 24 months to provide more transportation options outside of driving cars and make bike riding more accessible, thus addressing the urgent climate crisis, equitable access to goods and services and public health.

In an effort to go carbon-neutral, city officials in Kigali, Rwanda, are improving bicycling infrastructure and partnering with a green transportation company to implement a bicycle ride sharing program with docking stations across the city.

Barcelona is combating its rampant CO2 emissions from cars, by creating super-blocks. Super-blocks are an area within the city dedicated to pedestrians where cars can only travel at a very low speed. This model has decreased CO2 emissions and reduced noise levels while increasing economic activity and revitalizing the urban space. This model could be applied in the U.S. to make cities more pedestrian friendly.

Cities tend to be dangerous and difficult places to live for older residents. A private public partnership in New York is catering to seniors through small changes in the city such as para-transit options and seniors-only hours at public establishments.

Shared electric cargo bike programs like CargoB and Re:Ciclos offer affordable, sustainable transportation alternatives that can significantly reduce urban car dependency; however, their long-term success hinges on overcoming infrastructure, cultural, and economic barriers.

Rapid bus system TransMilenio offers locals an extensive bus network of 12 bus lines covering 71 miles. While rapid buses aren’t as fast as a metro, and TransMilenio’s design has its share of issues, this system managed to get up and running in a fraction of the time a metro system takes, and at a significantly lower cost. TransMilenio is crucial in connecting those in underserved districts to the heart of the city and serves about two million riders each day.

The Open Streets program encourages students to walk and bike to school in an effort to get people out of their cars. Opting for a form of “active transport,” like walking and biking, helps get people moving, offers more social connection and is better for the environment.

After decades of planning and development, Sacramento’s R Street corridor went from an area full of abandoned warehouses to a flourishing, walkable neighborhood. The city planners’ prioritization of building high-density housing, bringing in new businesses, ensuring access to a light rail transit line, and safe, pedestrian-friendly streets helped this project succeed.

A community-led nonprofit restarted New Orleans’ bike-sharing program Blue Bikes with a focus on affordability and equity after a for-profit company ended it during the pandemic. The founders used the bike stands and tools left behind from the original program, the city provided spaces for the bike racks, and the funders provided money for a fleet of bicycles.