The Portuguese capital will receive $400,000 to improve school connections through active mobility and the connectivity of the city's cycling network. The goal is to connect 20 schools and 20,000 students through safe bike lanes.
Lisbon is one of the ten cities distinguished by BICI Program - Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructurepromoted by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Global Designing Cities Initiative - was announced this Friday. Lisbon's application was selected among 275 other applications from various parts of the world that were submitted to this program, which aims to improve and make urban cycling networks more inclusive.
The Lisbon project aims improving school connections through active mobility and the connectivity of the city's cycling network. It is foreseen, within the scope of this BICI Program, Connect 20 schools and 20,000 students through safe and secure bike paths. Lisbon will receive 400 thousand euros of funding from Bloomberg for this purpose.
The Lisbon City Hall says, in a statement sent to the press on Friday, that "the work to be developed is aligned with the municipality's sustainable urban mobility strategyemissions, contributing to the CO2 emission reduction targets set in the 2030 Climate Action Plan and to the goals of the Lisbon participation in the Smart and Climate Neutral Cities Mission by 2030“.
The application was technically supported by Lisboa E-Nova, the Lisbon energy and environment agency, which will accompany the municipality in the development of the work, promoting social involvement and clean and healthy mobility among the school community, in particular. The program has a three-year duration, expires at the end of 2025.
Technical support in projects
In addition to Lisbon, the other nine winning cities are as follows: Fortalezain Brazil, which will be the only one to receive one million dollars in funding; Addis Ababain Ethiopia; Bogotáin Colombia; Milanin Italy; Mombasain Kenya; Pimpri-Chinchwadin India; Quelimanein Mozambique; Tiranain Albania; and Wellingtonin New Zealand. Each of these cities will receive $400,000 in funding.
The BICI Program is conducted in partnership with the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI). In addition to funding to realize their proposals, each BICI winning city will receive GDCI technical assistance in project development, cycling facility design, data collection and resident involvement. The applications involve bicycle-friendly street projects to promote sustainable transportation, revitalize neighborhoods, and improve the health and well-being of residents.
Fortaleza will use the one million dollars funding for "develop 180 kilometers" network; Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, intends to "double the number of protected bike lanes to create the largest urban cycling network in Africa"Bogota wants to create new infrastructure with children "to revitalize a low-income neighborhood"involving its residents; Milan also wants to build bicycle paths to connect "more than 40 schools"Mombasa, Kenya, will create segregated bicycle lanes "along key corridors with high levels of bicycle use"Pimpri-Chinchwad, in India, wants "launch a 15-minute neighborhood model starting with bicycling"Quelimane, in Mozambique, wants to build bicycle lanes and bicycle parking lots; Tirana, in Albania, will "create a network of bike paths for all ages"; and Wellington, in New Zealand, intends to "increase the number of bike lanes in the city by 160%" with the participation of the residents in the planning.
"Combating climate change goes hand in hand with providing people with more transportation options"Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and former mayor of New York City, says in a statement. "These proposals to make bicycling safer and more accessible will require robust technical assistance and our team is pleased to support the winners as they turn their ideas into action. The progress made by these 10 cities will help clean the air, protect the environment, and drive economic growth. We look forward to seeing the results."
"Building safe and connected bikeway networks is a universal need that benefits people's physical and mental health and well-being as much as it benefits the environment and the economy."says Skye Duncan, executive director of GDCI. "Through their ambitious cycling infrastructure projects, the selected cities will transform their streets, putting people first and foremost - while benefiting their local communities to ensure healthier, safer and more equitable spaces for all. GDCI's BICI team is eager to begin working alongside these cities to help them realize their urban cycling infrastructure initiatives."
The 10 winning BICI cities come from 10 countries on five continents and collectively represent more than 15 million inhabitants. The winners were selected from 275 entries submitted between November 10, 2022 and February 3 this year, from cities with more than 100,000 residents. Bloomberg Philanthropies will bring together the 10 winning cities June 26-29 in London, providing an opportunity for city leaders to meet, exchange ideas with peers, begin planning their projects, and learn from GDCI's urban design experts.
