Women in Movement

Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 22 October 2008 18:47

Studies show that the issue of transportation and access to urban public goods and services is not the same for women and men. Given the fact that our trips tend to be “polygonal”, getting from one point to another is an accurate representation of our work and multiple roles as students, mothers, daughters, and professionals. We are experts in multitasking, with time for everyone except ourselves.

In reality, transportation systems are designed for men for whom ¨linear¨ trips are more common. That is to say, there is one point of origen and one destination: a daily trip between work and home.

There are few studies about this subject – and even fewer in Spanish – and little practical work in order to improve the conditions of women in the city. This led to the formation of Women in Motion in December 2006 by the association Macleta : Mujeres Arriba de la Cleta (Women on Bike) and Ciudad Viva (both located in Santiago, Chile). Women in Movement is a group that has the double responsibility of developing studies and theoretic work regarding gender and transportation for one part, and practical experiences, for the other. The possibility quickly surged of spreading this iniciative throughout Latin America.

Today, there is communication and cooperation between women along the continent (in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico) as well as outside the continent (US, the Netherlands). We invite you to meet the different associations and projects that are working towards the improvement of conditions of mobility for women in the city.

A-Tracción Humana (Virtual Library): Women in Movement 2007
Santiago de Chile

As women, we value active (non-motorized) transportation because of its tremendous benefits for equality, health, the environment, safety, and quality of life. We also value the fight of Chilean women for equality, for their vote, for democracy and peace, and for our rights in general.

BiciEllas, las chamacletas urbanas
Ciudad de México

We are a group of women, young and not so young, that enjoy and support bicycling and want to make our city a friendlier place for women, for bicycles, and above all, for women riding bicycles. We want more women on bicycles and more “cletas” in the city. We are not a club or a training team or competition, although we do want to be healthy women and get more women to look after their health..

Escuela BiciMujer
Santiago de Chile

Non-profit educational activity that resulted as an iniciative between Macleta and Ciudad Viva, carried out in the CicloRecreoVía of La Reina with logisitic support from the Bicicultura Centre. Together we have committed ourselves to delivering the necessary skills to women so that they are able to use bicycles as a means of transportation.

Macleta
Santiago de Chile

We are women –and also friends– that have a common interest in bicycling. Our mission is to invite others to and participate in community events, generate material in order to encourage more women to ride bicycles, advise, educate, and raise awareness in the feminine world, to make civil society and the authorities see that in order to build a city that is truly cyclable for all, gender should be taken into consideration. We have some outings and participate together on our bikes in community and cycling activities.

Saia de Bike/ ViaCiclo
Florianópolis, Brasil

Saia de Bike (“Get Out on a Bike”) is a cycling trip for women promoted by ViaCiclo –Association of Cyclist from Florianópolis, in collaboration with the Florianópolis Institute of Urban Planification (IPUF)– with the objective of promoting the mobility of cyclists and articulating this issue with the search for feminine autonomy.

Saia na Noite
Sao Paulo, Brasil

Saia na Noite (“Leave in the Night”) is a group of women that promotes nightly outings. The group follows a safe and enjoyable route, always respecting the general rhythm, from the first to the last cyclist, which enables everyone to enjoy the outing, and the group always includes experienced guides.

Todas en Bici / Ciclópolis
Quito, Ecuador

This is a project that seeks to involve women from all over Quito to work on the issue of citizen safety through urban interventions on the bicycle, as an exercise in the appropriation of public space. Its objective is to raise awareness in the community about the presence of women on the streets and to emphasize the exposure of women to the risk of violent acts –both physical and symbolic– when we go out.

A-Tracción Humana (Virtual Library):
Gender and Transportation Documentation

These are a series of documents that have been collected with great effort by Ciudad Viva. This is a section we are hoping to continue to expand and improve.

International Seminar on Gender and Mobility
Quito 2008

The Ciclópolis Foundation together with I-CE, a Dutch organization that supports citizens’ cycling initiatives, and FLACSO, organized the First International Seminar on Gender and Mobility, in order to reflect on the use of bicycles, especially among women, and also, to search for alternatives, oportunities, and actions that encourage more women to use bicycles, breaking many cultural barriers that prevent its daily use. Download the presentations of guest-speakers:

Last Updated on Thursday, 24 December 2009 09:50

Active Network

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We are a network whose principal main objective is to construct build a platform for proactive work concerning urban transportation, with the understanding that this constitutes a key element in promoting social equality; the improvement of public spaces; civic consciousness; democratic systems with greater governance and representation; and happier, more sustainable cities.