Background
I have been paying more attention lately to community planning efforts. I see a definite trend away from traditional, car-centric thinking. The concept of complete streets is becoming more widely used and implemented. But we in the US do not have to start from scratch as if the new idea of making streets usable by commuters on foot, bicycle, etc., actually a new idea. Back in the 1970's the people of Nederlands made a collective decision to reduce their dependence on foreign oil and to invest in an infrastructure that supported other forms of transportation. A significant amount of scholarship has been applied to the process, and results support the idea that building safer transport routes for biking and walking will result in more people cycling and walking. It is also important to remember to promote cycling as a Lifestyle, not just a means of transportation.
How Women Fit into the Equation
This post was inspired by the Girl Bike Love blog, where I found an interesting and well written article explaining just how it matters that women are invited into the dialogue and listend to while they are there. I won't go into too much detail about the article (you can read it and decide for yourself), but I will mention one premise is that for the majority of young people, a woman is the most influential person in their lives.
I will close with this video on the development of cycle-centric Dutch thinking:
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