Cascade Bicycle Club
BBSP and the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) held our first-ever virtual conference this year — NACTO | BBSP Bike Share & Cities for Cycling Roundtable.
Between workshops and sessions sharing pertinent information about the landscape of micromobility, the roundtable also welcomed community videos that highlight the diverse ways communities define, experience and use bikes and streets.
While some of them were shown during the event’s coffee breaks, quite a few have been unseen until now. We’re so excited to share them with you!
Keep reading to learn more about each community group below and how they’re making big strides with bicycling advocacy and education to better their streets and communities.
Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition
The Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC) is a grassroots movement and collaborative organization in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston. It was created to provide healthy and affordable food as well as safe recreational spaces for residents of all ages.
Made up of a group of African American/Caribbean women with a range of expertise across nonprofit management and nutrition and youth development, MFFC grew out of an effort to draw on the rich ethnic and cultural diversity of the Mattapan community to promote a healthy living environment.
Together, they unite the Mattapan residents, advocates and organizations to improve the food and physical activity environments in the neighborhood and surrounding communities.
In 2017, the Boston Public Health Commission’s annual report stated that Mattapan has one of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension. On top of that, Mattapan has one single grocery store addressed with a Mattapan zip code that serves all 39,000 residents — the organic food it does sell is overpriced; meanwhile, the community has 27 fast-food restaurants.
To champion its community, MFFC stays busy year-round bringing Mattapan residents awareness to the health and wellness resources available to them through the organization’s focus areas:
Food access
Physical activity
Youth development
Built environment
Community empowerment
One initiative at a time, MFFC chips away at its vision, where Mattapan’s streets are clean, walk- and bikable, and the neighborhood is one of the healthiest communities in Boston with easy access to affordable and healthy food options.
2020 Bike Roundtable Community Video: Meet Jaheim Dwyer, an MFFC Vigorous Youth, and see Mattapan and Boston through his eyes!
The Better Bike Share Partnership is a JPB Foundation-funded collaboration between the City of Philadelphia, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and the PeopleForBikes Foundation to build equitable and replicable bike share systems. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or sign up for our weekly newsletter. Story tip? Write farrah@peopleforbikes.org
Click here to read the full article written on the Better Bike Share Partnership Blog
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