EAUC : Cycling for All – Breaking Barriers

About

Glasgow Kelvin College strives to reduce barriers and provide an inclusive approach to education, including empowering individuals with protected characteristics to become involved in our overarching sustainability work. The ‘Cycling for All’ initiative has led to greater access to and participation in sustainable travel. While cycling has long been considered one of the most sustainable modes of transportation, cycling programmes and infrastructure have not always focused on inclusivity. At Kelvin College, however, ‘Cycling for All’ puts often-overlooked groups at the centre of our initiatives. This project includes a Cycle Confidence Course for students who require learning support due to disability, led cycle rides for English Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL) students who can subsequently get a free bike, and an expanded and diversified campus fleet of bikes and cycling infrastructure. Our goal is for a ‘just transition’ where all students, regardless of background or ability, have equitable access to sustainable opportunities

Top 3 learnings

When barriers are removed, there is more interest and participation in sustainable initiatives.
We learned that many of our learners have multiple protected characterstics and this project can address that intersectionality.
Cycling and sustainable travel are options for all, regardless of background or ability.

What is means to win

Glasgow Kelvin College would be thrilled to receive Green Gown Award recognition for our students’ and staff’s trailblazing work to embed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Sustainability. The drive for sustainability and a ‘just transition’ is part of the ethos of our institution and a potential model of best practice in inclusive sustainability initiatives.

Judges' feedback

This project addresses so many barriers, some of which I hadn't even considered as barriers before. This is an excellent project that takes a comprehensive approach to making cycling, as a sustainable form of transport, accessible to everyone. I particularly appreciated the combination of bicycle adaptation and customisation, infrastructure development, and other practical measures. The application also touches on wellbeing and on how communities may change when people with diverse needs gain better access to transport. I look forward to seeing more evidence of these wider outcomes as the project develops.

The initiative is holistic in that it addresses both the material factors that limit the uptake of a more environmentally friendly mode of transport (cycling) and also competence deficits. It is both important and novel as it engages with an often-overlooked population within sustainability work (people with disabilities). I would be useful to see a little more evaluation and rigour in assessing the environmental impacts. For example, even if you purchase from a local supplier, the product is presumably manufactured elsewhere, and the materials to manufacture it source from yet another place. It may be interesting to explore how this initiative could be used to support students with mental illnesses in addition to neurodivergent students. It would also be interesting to explore how an intersectional ethos could be embedded within the project strategically rather than as it comes up. I would also be interesting to have other sustainability benefits noted, such as place attachment, knowledge development about local geography, ecology, improved local air quality, reducing noise pollution, etc.

This is a wonderful project and genuinely contributes to equity, diversity and inclusion within the university context. I would love to see this project integrated into the broader community and in other institutions.

Sustainable Development Goals