One Street News

April-May 2018

Vol. 11, Issue 3

  1. Bosnia and Herzegovina Project Funding Awarded!
  2. Cycling Club Helping Homeless Women Regain Independence
  3. Resources – Amsterdam vs. Copenhagen
  4. Hot Topics – Cars Are Ruining Our Cities

Bosnia and Herzegovina Project Funding Awarded!

By: Sue Knaup, Executive Director

In early May we received the exciting news that our funding proposal was awarded for campaign planning workshops in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The Trust for Mutual Understanding (TMU) has been receptive to the project since last year when they helped our Bosnian colleague, Tiho Dakic, attend the Velo-city conference in the Netherlands. At the conference, Tiho and I met several times to develop our plan for conducting these workshops throughout BiH in October of this year following One Street’s campaign planning model. We’ve also taken ideas from a similar One Street project in eastern Ukraine in 2016.

And now, thanks to TMU, we can actually move ahead with those plans! Tiho and his colleagues at the Center for Environment (CfE) in BiH have begun seeking the best candidates to attend the workshops. To qualify, they must hold a decision-making role in a nonprofit that is working for environmental urban design. They must have a concept for a needed change in their city that will make a significant improvement for non-motorized transportation and environmentally friendly urban space. And they must be ready to define the problem and solution as well as approach the appropriate officials with their request, all before the October workshops begin.

In October, I will travel to BiH to help Tiho and his colleagues conduct the workshops with the chosen activists. By that time, each of these campaign leaders will have clarified their problem and solution, and they will know the level of support or opposition they will face from their officials. The workshops will start from there, guiding them to complete their campaign plans. Beginning with a three-day workshop in Banja Luka, they will present their draft campaign plans and take feedback from their fellow campaigners from around BiH. I will offer exercises and discussion points to ensure that each campaign leader reaches outside of their comfort zone to find the most effective means toward success.

Tiho and I will then travel to four more cities in BiH where the campaigns will be underway. We’ll meet with the campaign leaders and their partners to discuss the finer details of their campaigns, conduct site visits, and join them in meetings with their officials and local media.

All of our discussions, workshop exercises, and meetings will also look beyond these particular campaigns to show participants how their efforts will grow their organizations. There is no better way to increase the effectiveness of a nonprofit than through campaigns. Nothing beats the excitement, the controversy, the connections with officials and constituents.

Stay tuned for updates about this project in later newsletters. For now, yeeha! Time for another great campaign planning project.

Cycling Club Helping Homeless Women Regain Independence

I am always on the lookout for great model programs that tap the freedom of bicycling to help people who are struggling. This recent article from the Guardian caught my eye because the cycling club it spotlights focuses on the dignity that cycling can bring to those caught in homelessness. This cycling club in London shows its women members that they no longer need to be identified as homeless. They are strong, independent people who can transport themselves wherever they choose. Read more here.

Resources – Amsterdam vs. Copenhagen

There’s nothing like a heated competition to inspire any of us to do better. The battle between Amsterdam and Copenhagen to become the world’s best bicycling city has gone on for years. Read this recent blog post to find out where the rivalry is taking them.

Hot Topics – Cars Are Ruining Our Cities

That’s right, city officials are finally admitting that expanding roads to accommodate more cars is doing more damage than good. This recent article from the New York Times highlights some of the best turnarounds being taken to stop the destruction and focus resources on rebuilding cities for people.