In 2008 we asked ourselves whether we were having the impact we hoped to have. We looked at our programs, our partnerships, and our people and we came to a conclusion: we could do better.

We could do better to understand the needs of our program participants, which are predominantly low-income and communities of color. We could do better to increase and improve programs serving a culturally diverse community.  We could do better at creating employment pathways into our organization.

So we developed the Understanding Barriers to Bicycling Project, a community needs assessment, to better understand what were people interested in and concerned about as it related to bicycling.

Since we completed the needs assessment, we have been collaborating with our community partners in north and northeast Portland to develop programs and support community leaders to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits — and to ensure that those benefits are accessible to all.

Project Publications

Bikes for All event summary (August 2010)

Download the Understanding Barriers to Bicycling Interim Report (June 2010)

For background information about existing literature regarding communities of color and transportation, read the Transportation Literature Review. For background on lessons learned in the community health field read the Community Health Literature Review. (2009)

Download the Understanding Barriers to Bicycling project overview. (2009)

Reading and Media List

Communities of Color in Multnomah County: an unsettling profile: This report is a MUST READ.
Local Color: Local Color is the story of black Oregonians and their struggle for equality told by the people who lived the history.
State of Black Oregon: This report contains a stark inventory of statistics that show a persistent gap in living standards between black and white Oregonians, a gap that is growing wider as a result of the current economic downturn.
Making the Invisible Visible: A document reflecting on and celebrating Portland’s Native American Community.
Counter Culture: A series of what the author calls “immigrant stories,” set in Portland’s cafes and lunch counters.
Boise Stories: An oral history project based on interviews between youth and elders in Portland’s Boise-Eliot neighborhood.

Do you have other recommendations for our reading and media list? Please send them to Alison.

Press Releases

February 19, 2009

Understanding Barriers in the news

“Is our bike scene too white? Local non-profit tackles the issue” BikePortland. October 29, 2009.

“How a local non-profit is breaking down biking’s color barrier” BikePortland. April 19, 2010.

“Bicycle Race Nonprofit Investigates the Portland Bike Scene’s Racial Gap” The Portland Mercury. November 17, 2009.

“Community Cycling Center Makes Effort to Break Down Minority Biking Barriers” The Skanner. May 3, 2010.

Is this information helpful? Make a secure online donation and help us to continue this work

This project is possible because of the generous support of Metro. We also thank our project team, Kristin Lensen Consulting and Lynn Weigand from the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation.