Bicycles for Development

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Built and natural environments have the potential to support outdoor movement and physical activity, such as bicycling. Cycling is viewed as a desirable, fun, and eco-friendly mode of transportation that offers numerous economic, health and social benefits to individuals and cities. The Bicycle for Development (BFD) movement and scholarship positions the bicycle as a tool to promote developmental goals, such as gender equality, and as a possible catalyst for social development. While cycling rates and the number of cycling trips in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have increased, and there has been growth of BFD organizations within the City of Toronto, systemic and structural barriers, such as safe infrastructure, still remain less accessible across genders, identities, and marginalized communities. Moreover, we still know very little as to how BFD organizations can address mobility challenges related to gender inequities and how such organizations foster safe and accessible transportation, given the (in)accessible and politically contested cycling policies. 

In response to the absence of sustainable and equitable cycling policies, the City of Toronto has created and launched ‘The Official Plan,’ which includes policies and frameworks for safe and accessible cycling, with a focus on making Toronto a livable place for all residents. The Official Plan is based on a previous policy, titled the Toronto Bike Plan – Shifting Gears, which was established in 2001, and (cl)aims to be built upon a diverse range of principles and goals that will contribute to the city’s development by 2051, including creating a sustainable city through access, equity, and inclusion. 

In relation to the existing literature, this brief presents the findings from a critical policy analysis of the City of Toronto’s cycling policies (e.g., The Official Plan – Chapter Two: Shaping the City and Toronto Bike Plan – Shifting Gears), as well as an environmental scan of 10 BFD non-government organizations (NGO) across the GTA. Hence, the objectives of this policy brief are two-fold: 1) to examine if the City of Toronto’s cycling policies promote gender diversity and inclusion; and 2) to examine how BFD organizations address and respond to gender-based inequalities, systemic racism, and oppression given municipal policies. 

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