On May 7, 2021, researchers Ralph Buehler (top-right) and John Pucher (second from top-right) spoke about their new book, Cycling for Sustainable Cities (MIT Press), which describes ways to make city cycling safe, practical, and convenient for all ages and abilities. They talked about trends and policies, and shared examples from across America and around the world–with cases similar to our own communities. Watch the video here.
After a brief introduction and general findings, Pucher and Bueler discussed the benefits of bicycling, with special focus on social sustainability benefits in the US and around the world. They examine some of the impacts of COVID-19 on the percentages of cyclists worldwide and provide numerous examples from Europe, Latin America, China and India.
The authors spoke about how to promote cycling for younger and older age groups and women in particular. They discussed why cycling is much more dangerous in the United States than other areas before showing many types of policies, roadways and intersections that can promote cycling safety. They concluded their presentation with a brief discussion of implementation of pro-bicycling strategies.
Their presentation was about 45 minutes long. They spent an additional 45 minutes answering questions at the end.
This event was organized by The Piedmont Environmental Council and co-sponsored by the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the UVA Office for Sustainability and the Jefferson Madison Regional Library. It’s part of PEC’s effort to pull together an alliance of organizations that share a vision of a better-connected community for walking, biking and other forms of active transportation in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. Learn more at https://www.pecva.org/cville-way
More about the presenters:
Ralph Buehler (ralphbu@vt.edu, @buehler_ralph) is Professor and Chair of Urban Affairs and Planning in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech’s Research Center in Arlington, Virginia.
John Pucher (johnpucher@gmail.com) is Professor Emeritus in the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program at Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
They are co-editors of Cycling for Sustainable Cities (MIT Press).
They also invite you to check out their brand new [free] article COVID-19 Impacts on Cycling, 2019–2020 in the international transportation journal Transport Reviews.