Each 3 June is celebrated as United Nations (UN) World Bicycle Day.
The Thammasat University Library collection includes a number of books about the history and lore of bicycles.
As the UN website mentions,
Why celebrate the bicycle?
Regular physical activity of moderate intensity – such as walking, cycling, or doing sports – has significant benefits for health. At all ages, the benefits of being physically active outweigh potential harm, for example through accidents. Some physical activity is better than none. By becoming more active throughout the day in relatively simple ways, people can quite easily achieve the recommended activity levels.
The mobility needs of people who walk and cycle – often the majority of citizens in a city – continue to be overlooked, states Share the Road Programme Annual Report 2018, even though the benefits of investing in pedestrians and cyclists can save lives, help protect the environment and support poverty reduction. Meeting the needs of people who walk and cycle continues to be a critical part of the mobility solution for helping cities de-couple population growth from increased emissions, and to improve air quality and road safety.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), safe infrastructure for walking and cycling is also a pathway for achieving greater health equity. For the poorest urban sector, who often cannot afford private vehicles, walking and cycling can provide a form of transport while reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes, and even death. Accordingly, improved active transport is not only healthy; it is also equitable and cost-effective.
The bicycle is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation;
The bicycle can serve as a tool for development and as a means not just of transportation but also of access to education, health care and sport;
The synergy between the bicycle and the user fosters creativity and social engagement and gives the user an immediate awareness of the local environment;
The bicycle is a symbol of sustainable transportation and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and has a positive impact on climate.
Background
Acknowledging the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation, fostering environmental stewardship and health, the General Assembly decided to declare 3 June World Bicycle Day.
It encouraged stakeholders to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace.
The Assembly welcomed initiatives to organize bicycle rides at the national and local levels as a means of strengthening physical and mental health and well-being and developing a culture of cycling in society.
World Bicycle Day:
Encourages Member States to devote particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programmes;
Encourages Member States to improve road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, in particular through policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases;
Encourages stakeholders to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace;
Encourages Member States to adopt best practices and means to promote the bicycle among all members of society, and in this regard welcomes initiatives to organize bicycle rides at the national and local levels as a means of strengthening physical and mental health and well-being and developing a culture of cycling in society…
According to the WHO Global action plan on physical activity 2018–2030, physical activity has multiplicative health, social and economic benefits, and investment in policy actions to increase physical activity can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are multiple direct and indirect pathways, by which policies to promote physical activity through walking, cycling, sport, active recreation and play, support 13 of the SDGs.
The UN suggests that bicycles may help inspire a post-COVID-19 green recovery. European UN member countries recently created a taskforce to discuss ways to make post-COVID-19 mobility more environmentally sound, healthy and sustainable.
As the UN website details,
During the lockdown, city dwellers enjoyed clear blue skies thanks to cleaner air and began to hear birds sing as noise decreased. Pollution levels in Barcelona dropped by an estimated 62 per cent, and similar situations have been observed in other big European cities such as Milan, London and Paris, according to the Commission.
Public transport usage has fallen significantly as an increasing number of people choose to walk or ride bicycles to avoid crowded mass transits and follow health authorities’ advice for physical distancing. To respond to these trends, Milan, Geneva, Brussels and London have decided to invest in flexible bike lanes.
At the same time, more people are using their private cars to escape crowds. A return to the mass use of private vehicles will not allow Governments to meet their sustainable development objectives and the Paris Agreement targets, the Commission pointed out.
The new taskforce, launched under the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP) jointly led by UNECE and the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe, aims to resolve these concerns and develop a set of principles for green and healthy sustainable mobility.
The taskforce will comprise representatives of member States, international organizations, civil society, academia and other stakeholders, and will explore long-term and strategic changes for the sector…
Investing in Pedestrians and Cyclists
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), investing in pedestrians and cyclists – who often make up the majority of citizens in a city – can save lives, help protect the environment and support poverty reduction.
World Bicycle Day was established by the General Assembly in acknowledgment of an affordable, reliable and sustainable means of transportation. The bicycle encourages environmental awareness and good health, providing a cost-effective form of transport while reducing the risk of some illnesses, according to the World Health Organization.
The United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC) observes that
mobility is an essential element of development strategies which aim to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The lack of efficient, reliable transportation adversely affects economic and social development in regions where distance is a barrier. World Bicycle Relief’s mission is to (WBR) help communities improve access to healthcare, education and environmentally sustainable economic opportunity by manufacturing and distributing a bicycle that is purpose-built for rugged conditions, heavy loads, and gruelling daily use: the long-lasting and simple-to-maintain Buffalo Bicycle.
WBR mobilizes people through “The Power of Bicycles.”. WBR does this through an innovative for-profit social enterprise (Buffalo Bicycles), which sells to individuals and institutions, and by providing bicycles to the vulnerable who cannot afford them (i.e rural students, 70% of whom are girls, volunteer health workers). Addressing the needs of women and girls are core to their approach.
Partnerships are central to WBR’s model, particularly with local communities who manage the bicycles locally, and with Buffalo Bicycles, ensure a sustainable rural bicycle ecosystem of spare parts and community mechanics.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)