A three-year bike-to-school initiative in Europe encourages children to bike to school.

Clare Taylor reports on a European bike-to-school initiative launched by the European Commission's Intelligent Energy Europe group, known as the Sustainable Travel Accreditation and Recognition for Schools (STARS).
As Taylor sums it up, STARS "is an innovative program that works to increase sustainable mobility by changing the behavior of schoolchildren – and in turn the next generation’s mindset towards sustainability. The program has the simple aim of getting kids to cycle to school instead of being driven by their parents…" The three-year program is based on other bike-to-school projects and expertise (Rotterdam's Ride2School, London's Youth Travel Ambassador and advice from mobility experts Mobiel 21), and aims to bring a "5% modal shift from car-to-bike in participating schools."
The STARS program begins with community collaboration and understanding the community's unique needs. As Taylor notes, "[from] the beginning, teachers, parents, school administrators, and cycling experts must discuss the factors inhibiting kids from cycling to school. Then, they can identify ways to facilitate change with community buy-in. Another key to successful cycling and education initiatives is to understand the unique potentials and constraints of a specific region, and change the general model to suit the region’s individual needs."
So how does it work? To motivate elementary school students to hop on their bike, the program awards children with medals for their biking accomplishments. For older students, the STARS Youth Travel Ambassador Scheme provides training to initiate, design, and implement bike-to-school campaigns. There is also a two-day biking challenge where students compete to be the school with the most biked miles. Taylor cites other exemplary bike-to-school programs such as Brazil's Cycling Schools, Beijing's TEDx events that are making biking cool for students, and a biking program in Maharashtra, India that is targeting girls to stay in school.
FULL STORY: Educating the next generation for sustainable mobility

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie