Building El Barrio Bikes: Lessons from a Community Bicycling Collaborative

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community Engagement
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Community collaboratives are effective in promoting health through environmental and systemic changes.
• East Harlem saw increased bicycling infrastructure but faced community concerns regarding safety, equity, and inclusion.
• A coordinated effort was needed to address these barriers and promote biking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the formation and activities of the El Barrio Bikes community biking collaborative.
• To provide examples of community engagement strategies, evaluation methods, and lessons learned.
• To highlight the collaborative's role in reducing barriers to biking in East Harlem.

Main Methods:

• A values-driven community engagement framework guided the formation of a multi-sector collaborative.
• Monitoring and evaluation activities were conducted to assess engagement strategies and goal achievement.
• The collaborative focused on making necessary improvements and adjustments to its strategies.

Main Results:

• The community engagement framework facilitated the transition to shared leadership within El Barrio Bikes.
• Collaborative decision-making, extensive outreach, and feedback surveys were crucial for building a sustainable and equitable partnership.
• These efforts, though time-intensive, were essential for the collaborative's success.

Conclusions:

• Strategic community engagement is integral to establishing successful biking collaboratives.
• Collaboration among community stakeholders strengthens community ties and empowers collective action.
• This approach is key to effectively reducing barriers to biking in urban environments like East Harlem.