Leaders in active design recognize WRI’s safe cycling work in Turkey
Istanbul is looking to expand its network of bike lanes and promote cycling to improve public health and well-being. Photo by EMBARQ Turkey.
“Safe Cycling Design Manual for Istanbul”, a publication from EMBARQ (sustainable urban mobility by WRI), recently received an Excellence Honorable Mention from the Center for Active Design in New York. The manual draws on field research and a survey of over 3,000 stakeholders to recommends three new cycling routes for Istanbul. The Center for Active Design promotes high quality active design worldwide by giving out Excellence Awards in four categories: Active Transport, Active Buildings, Food Access, and Active Recreation.
In 2015, over 40 projects from the USA, Israel, Mexico, Spain, India, Indonesia and Turkey applied for Awards. Winning projects were chosen based on the transformative role that the design of buildings and public spaces play in addressing the chronic disease epidemic. The Center for Active Design awarded our team for human-oriented design work in the Active Transport category.
A Valuable Resource for Improving Cycling Safety in Istanbul
Published in 2014 with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Istanbul Development Agency, the Manual begins by examining the social, economic, and environmental benefits of urban cycling for Istanbul. Secondly, experts from conducted interviews with the Turkish Ministries of Environment, Urban Planning, Transportation, and Health to evaluate how decision related to cycling are made and how policies are implemented across both the city and country.
The research team organized focus groups, a workshop, and meetings with cycling NGOs, local administrators, and members of the private sector to discuss the problems of cycling in an urban area like Istanbul. These informative sessions revealed that residents are drawn to cycling because it is healthy, fast, affordable, and flexible. However, they also exposed many of the challenges to making the city more cyclist-friendly—such as lack of police enforcement and supportive infrastructure, and high traffic speeds.
The last section of the Manual highlights solutions for implementing safe, sustainable cycling infrastructure. By drawing on field research and a survey of over 3,000 stakeholders in Istanbul, the manual recommends three new cycling routes for the city.
About the Center for Active Design
The Center for Active Design is a non-profited organization committed to making health a central priority in development—transforming the traditional approach to neighborhood and building design. Translating research into design solutions that promote health and well-being in communities, the Center serves design professionals, policymakers, community groups and the real estate community, while maintaining a multidisciplinary perspective in its promotion and expansion of active design strategies. Besides providing consultative and technical assistance, the Center for Active Design also supports policy changes, design innovation and developing publications. More at http://centerforactivedesign.org.
About EMBARQ at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
EMBARQ, Sustainable Urban Mobility by WRI, catalyzes and helps implement environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable urban mobility solutions to improve quality of life in cities.
