Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructure (BICI)

The Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructure (BICI) helps cities around the world design streets that increase biking rates, revitalize neighborhoods, and promote the health and well-being of communities.

Successful cities need transportation systems that allow people to move safely, efficiently, and sustainably. Research consistently shows that providing cycling infrastructure brings social benefits that far outweigh its initial investment and that people who bike are healthier and happier. However, a significant barrier to cycling in many cities is the lack of safe bike infrastructure. BICI is designed to help city leaders meet the urgent need to build more connected and expansive cycling infrastructure that serves as many residents as possible.

In June 2023, ten global cities have been awarded support through BICI to build innovative cycling infrastructure and sustainable mobility options for residents. Led in partnership with the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), in addition to funding to enact their proposals, each winning BICI city will receive technical assistance from GDCI on project development, cycling facility design, data collection, and resident engagement.

The 10 winning BICI cities hail from 10 countries on five continents and collectively represent more than 15 million residents. They include: Fortaleza, Brazil—winner of a $1 million prize—and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Bogota, Colombia; Lisbon, Portugal; Milan, Italy; Mombasa, Kenya; Pimpri-Chinchwad, India; Quelimane, Mozambique; Tirana, Albania; and Wellington, New Zealand, each of which will receive $400,000 in funding.

BICI, the first global city initiative of its kind, was announced in October 2022 at Bloomberg Philanthropies’ CityLab. To learn more about BICI and the winning cities visit bloombergcities.jhu.edu/bici or globaldesigningcities.org.