One Street News

August 2010

Vol. 3, Issue 7

  1. Send a Student to Velo-city 2011!
  2. Resources Highlights – London’s DIY Streets
  3. Hot Topics – Giving Bicycles to Homeless People

Send a Student to Velo-city 2011!

Because One Street is an international organization assisting local leaders with bicycle initiatives, we connect a lot of people and organizations who can help each other. One of our latest successes in this area connects two of our long-time partners—Prescott College and the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF). 

ECF’s annual conference, Velo-city, will be held in March 2011 in Sevilla, Spain. This means that the students in the Prescott College university course, The Bicycle: Vehicle for Social Change, can attend as part of the course curriculum.

Velo-city 2011 is especially pertinent to the curriculum of The Bicycle: Vehicle for Social Change because its theme is based on social efforts with bicycles, especially in developing countries. And the location of Seville will be particularly interesting to the students because just three years ago, this city had virtually zero bicycling. But after three years of investment and commitment to increase bicycling, they have achieved five percent of all trips made by bicycle! This is one of the most inspiring efforts we have found in the world. The trip will also include a stop in Amsterdam so the students can experience what it feels like to ride in a city where nearly fifty percent of all trips are made by bicycle. 

While this opportunity is very exciting to us, it also means that we must make sure to solve the most serious barrier to the students attending: travel funding. Without funding assistance, most of the students will not be able to attend. We’ve worked with the university to create the Prescott College Bicycle Ambassadors web page and fundraising system for raising travel scholarships. Please visit the site and donate today—any amount will help! And please pass it on to others you think might help.

Resources Highlights – London’s DIY Streets

Have you ever been infuriated by a bureaucratic bog that killed a local street improvement project? Take a look at this new program, featured on One Street’s home page, where bureaucrats in London are letting neighborhood residents design their own streets.

Hot Topics – Giving Bicycles to Homeless People

We have all seen the bundles in doorways or under bridges, the mounds of blankets and cardboard, maybe a packed shopping cart pulled in close. Sometimes a bicycle. Our steps quicken, our eyes dart away to find a more comfortable view.

But we know there are people under those blankets. We want to know they are different than us—an affliction, a disability, maybe even insane. It’s easier to think of them as “them” and us as “us.” Then why do we quicken our steps and pull our eyes away? Because we know how close we are to being them; that we are them. The only difference is that they made that mistake that we so narrowly missed. They lost the job that we groveled to keep. They got hurt while we miraculously missed a crippling injury. They got sick in a country with inferior health care. They let their heartache overwhelm them.

 

One Street’s Social Bike Business program is building steam, and with this momentum we have the pleasure of deeper discussions regarding what this program aims to accomplish. Because the Social Bike Business program prioritizes serving the most disadvantaged people, homeless people are our priority customers.  

When these discussions start, some hurry away, back to the easier concept of selling even more expensive bikes to the same rich guys. Those who have the courage to linger, to let their eyes focus on the possibility of helping disadvantaged people with bikes, spill their fears out in questions like:

“But won’t they just sell the bike for drugs?”

“If we invite them to the program, won’t they steal all our tools?”

“If we offer bicycles on a sliding scale, won’t they lie and tell us they are homeless so they can get a bike for the least amount?” 

Fortunately, we are finding that every one of the local leaders who ask these questions are also working on the solutions, even as they ask them. From security systems to neighborhood champions, each of these concerns is easily addressed. With these questions, we know they are committing to the success of their program. When the bottom line has shifted from profits to the number of disadvantaged people served by the program, there is no turning away from uncomfortable questions.

In the coming months, Michael Dummeyer, our AmeriCorps*VISTA member, will be compiling all of the best practices from the local Social Bike Business programs we are working with around the world into our how-to manual for starting such a program. This manual will include solutions to the most common concerns about the program. 

You can help! Please send Michael an email at michael.dummeyer{at}onestreet.org with your top concerns about serving disadvantaged people with bicycles. If you also have solutions to share, please send those, too. Your thoughts will help Michael craft the manual into a shape that is easy to use and answers all the most common questions before local leaders have to ask them. Thanks in advance for your help.

And if you’d like to start your own local Social Bike Business program, let us know. We’re here to help.