The War on Cars
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EPISODE 130: Critical Mass Nairobi with Cyprine Odada
🕑 Added 2024-07-02 10:01:01 +0000 UTCHappy summer, everyone!
We have a quick episode to kick things off for July. Last month I was in Ghent at the Velo-city Conference, an annual gathering of transportation officials, planners, and advocates, all focused on growing cycling as a form of regular transportation. Ghent has done a lot to curb car traffic in the center of the city and I'll have more from my trip — and more about Velo-city — in future episodes.
Among the amazing advocates in attendance was Cyprine Odada, the Executive Director of Critical Mass Nairobi and an urban planner specializing in active mobility. Ever since founding the Kenyan capital’s chapter of Critical Mass — the largest gathering of non-competitive cyclists in Africa — Cyprine has helped get more people on bikes from different neighborhoods, ages, and social and economic groups, changing the perception of who rides a bike in Nairobi and building more political support for bike infrastructure in a city where cars dominate. By focusing on the joy of cycling and the way in which the bicycle can connect people and create community, Cyprine is doing what she can to transform Nairobi into a cycling city, inspiring other African cities along the way.
Cyprine was in such demand at the conference that I only had a brief moment to talk with her, but I'm so glad I got the chance. We recorded this one in a relatively quiet corner of the massive conference hall, so excuse the background noise.
Thanks as always for your support,
Doug
PS We'll be back with a huge episode next week, our long-awaited take on vehicular cycling and John Forester's book Effective Cycling. It will be long, so Patreon supporters will get the full, ad-free episode at once, while folks who listen in the general feed will get it in two parts with ads.
LINKS:
Watch Cyprine Odada’s presentation at TedX in 2020
Learn more about Critical Mass Nairobi
Follow Critical Mass Nairobi on Instagram
Comments
Daniel Keough
engineers also no nothing about transportation planning, slap down highways through cities and call it a day, oblivious to safety of people even in cars, but mostly not understanding the people will be using those spaces while on foot or on bicycles, including in the dark of night. I've taken a couple such civil engineering courses at Cornell. The question presented for a multi lane intersection will be about throughput of cars, and then I ask--'but what about the safety, comfort of pedestrians?' where some concern is voiced, but certainly you can tell the professors, the eng. students aren't considering this at all.
The War on Cars
Right!?!? Cyprine rocks.
nolan
omg this is such a joyful episode. Cyprine and critical mass nairobi have overflowed my hope reservoir
Roger Healey
Excellent episode. Cyprine verbalized what I already suspected- that urban planners learn little about transportation planning. We must get these two groups together.
