“Todas en bici” – Connecting cycling activism with social justice struggles
“Todas en bici” is a project led by aquí, in response to ACCTING’s call for pilots Wheels for Justice – Connecting cycling activism with social justice struggles. This call aims to connect cycling activism with social justice struggles through identifying innovative approaches to expand the reach and impact of cycling, making it more accessible and inclusive. The objective is to celebrate and share successful initiatives in inclusive cycling, while also advocating for actions to address the obstacles encountered during this process.
aquí is a social innovation collective based in Barcelona, Spain. The organisation facilitates participatory processes and contributes to weaving networks of solidarity. In this project, aquí is collaborating with a network of neighbourhood collectives and activist movements fighting for a more inclusive, sustainable, liveable and healthy city.
Activities will target three diverse peripheral districts of Barcelona (Sants-Montjuïc, Sant Martí, Horta-Guinardo), each presenting unique socio-economic, environmental and cultural characteristics.
Objectives
The project aimed to:
- increase the uptake of cycling (to reach Barcelona’s 5% mode share goal in 2024);
- bolster the diversity of bicycle users from a gender+ perspective;
- connect the practice of cycling with climate activism and social justice struggles (e.g. the right to the city, intersectional feminism, safe streets for all).
Activities
The project focused on:
- putting local cycling and social justice groups in contact to pursue inclusive active mobility;
- disseminating existing efforts, making them visible while at the same time inspiring other initiatives to join efforts and organise activities and events together;
- identifying and discussing national-level and local-level specific obstacles to inclusivity in and through cycling;
- promoting advocacy actions at the local or regional level to address the identified problems.
The project completed an ecosystem mapping of more than 60 local collectives, organisations and individuals, contributing to the cycling ecosystem in and around the city, which was key to situate and engage cycling activism and social justice struggles in the city of Barcelona. Following the ecosystem mapping, the team began working to coordinate a space of dialogue and articulation for entities and grassroots movements through innovative engagement methodologies. The coordination of a “Totes en bici” multi-actor space of dialogue and articulation of efforts has guided the development of a programme of activities to advance the reach and impact of inclusive cycling, including:
- Regular bike rides with different target groups (including women-only rides)
- A week-long “brevet” to visit community organised bike workshops
- Monthly co-ordination group meetings (espai de trobada)
- A course on sustainable mobility offered to 12 with policy makers (7 women, 5 men, 1 baby, 6 migrant origin) in partnership with EIT Urban Mobility and City Lab Barcelona and explored themes of bicycle infrastructure, perception of safety, accessibility.
- Active engagement in participatory processes for the city of Barcelona’s new mobility plan
- A Policy Tool to localise the European Declaration on Cycling in Barcelona (in Catalan, available on request).
- Better Stories: The Right to the Cycling City: A compilation of stories we have collected from 16 different cities across the world that narrate the many ways in which the bicycle is mobilised as a tool for social and climate justice.
Though the ACCTING pilot grant provided a one-year framework, participants expressed strong interest in continuing the coordination group beyond the pilot project’s lifespan. The project has also already inspired interest from other municipalities and organisations.