Moving vehicles and open doors aren't the only threats to the safety of cyclists. Gay men, women and transgender bikers often contend with harassment and threats of assault. Nonprofit groups in D.C. and elsewhere are working to empower them.
"For Kate, a 28-year-old cycling enthusiast, summer is always the worst," write Lauren McEwen and Michael Livingston II. "Pedestrians feel free to yell what they perceive as compliments: 'Yeah, you look good!' or 'Can I ride with you?'”
“'As a woman, I’m constantly operating with the low-level fear that any man might attack me,' said Kate, a resident of the Brookland neighborhood in Northeast Washington, who asked that her last name not be used because of safety concerns."
McEwen and Livingston look at the tools that groups such as Stop Street Harassment and the Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS) are providing to targeted individuals such as Kate to help them report and respond to street harassment.
FULL STORY: How should bicyclists handle harassment? D.C. area groups teach empowerment tactics.
Women Bikers Ride to 'Take Back the Streets'
Even Andrews reports on the unsafe environment that women encounter while on their bikes—and the organizations and people who are working to make the roads safer from harassment.
Unsafe Streets: Report Finds Pervasive Harassment on U.S. Streets
A new report, the first of its kind, documents the pervasive harassment experienced by women, and many men, of all races, income levels, sexual orientations, and geographic locations. The report identifies the situation as an issue of human rights.
A Troubling Trend of Backlash to Bike Lanes
Some cities are going so far as to rip out protected bike infrastructure that took years of advocacy to build.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.
OKC Approves 7.2 Miles of New Bike Lanes
The city council is implementing its BikeWalkOKC plan, which recommends new bike lanes on key east-west corridors.
Preserving Houston’s ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’
Unsubsidized, low-cost rental housing is a significant source of affordable housing for Houston households, but the supply is declining as units fall into disrepair or are redeveloped into more expensive units.
The Most Popular Tree on Google?
Meet Rodney: the Toronto tree getting rave reviews.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Florida Atlantic University
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
City of Piedmont, CA
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland