Youth-built Cargo Bicycles For Mobility Justice

Youth Economic Advancement (sponsored by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation)

Central LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

Mobility justice and transportation equity are long-standing problematic issues in Los Angeles that place BIPOC communities at the forefront of environmental and socio-political inequities. Cargo bicycles are a proven solution globally for transporting people, goods and services and establishing green business practices without the climate impacts that single-passenger motor vehicles have on our planet. Re:Ciclos recycles bicycles and materials to redesign and re-fabricate them into cargo bicycles with youth interns to provide for our communities this vital form of human-powered, community-driven transportation. We aim to address: >Environmental degradation in historically underserved communities >Inequity in mobility and transportation for BIPOC >Youth empowerment and skill building toward a green workforce >Contributing to creating a model healthy and livable city built by the hand of the >Community for the Community >Instilling joy and compassion to the way Angelinos move around

Re:Ciclos translates to Regarding Cycles in Spanish. Our program is dedicated to cycles in various forms, such as cycles in the material world, in consciousness and societal behaviors. We work with young interns to explore solving problems in our city as they pertain to environmental imbalances and societal inequities especially in mobility and transportation that further affect cycles in a host of other issues, such as housing, economic opportunity, health and livable communities. Our program recycles materials found in urban spaces like angle iron from bed frames along with abandoned bicycles in redesigning and re-fabricating them into cargo bicycles that find homes inside the very BIPOC communities they are built in. During this process our young interns learn: >Design, drafting, mechanics and multidisciplinary building skills >Metal fabrication processes such as welding, bending and machining >Community outreach by partnering with other grass roots organizations to find homes for our cargo bicycles >Environmental justice practices as they relate to the true impacts of single-passenger motorized car transportation and its dire impacts on communities of color locally and globally. >Community-based and team-based approaches to problem solving >Art and design in beautifying the cargo bikes built Re:Ciclos is not just about building cargo bicycles - it's about our youth reimagining and rebuilding Los Angeles with health and equity toward a just future for all Angelinos.

For over a century Los Angeles has designed its mobility and transportation system around single-passenger automotive travel that creates inequity in its communities of color in economy, ecology and access to opportunity while grossly contributing to global warming and devastating environments abroad through extractivism and colonialism. With this reality in mind, Re:Ciclos aspires to: >Work with local youth to build cargo bicycles for families, individuals, businesses and organizations to offset automobile usage wherever feasible >Create workshops for other bicycle-based organizations to learn how to build cargo bikes in their communities utilizing our methodologies >Pave the road for our youth to engage a green workforce economy and build equity into their professional goals >Help Los Angeles become a model city through the hand of community-lead initiatives and grassroots activism >Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our city and contribute toward a true solution to global warming

Damages and inequities that single-passenger car travel inflicts on Los Angeles are innumerable and ubiquitous - from the amount of car parking needed, to the congestion created, to the pollution emitted, to the infrastructure dedicated to it over other basic necessities such as housing, greenspace and cultural space. Re:Ciclos envisions a city that prioritizes human space over car space. Positive impacts include: >Breathable air, clean water and healthy unpaved earth >More funding toward social services and equity for our most vulnerable citizens >Less Vehicle-Miles Traveled (VMTs) which reduces pedestrian and cyclist death by cars >Increased peaceful settings without the omnipresence of automobile culture >Improved individual health due to physical activity especially in communities of color As global warming increases, Re:Ciclos's cargo bikes built with our youth are a viable solution with measurable impacts and a plea to safeguard the future for our most vulnerable citizens.