AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Sustainable Cities & Communities
KEYWORDS
sustainability, education, job creation
COUNTRY
Brazil
DESIGNED BY
Flavio Deslandes
Municipality of Sao Paulo Brasil
Education secretary
WEBSITE
http://www.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/cidade/secretarias/comunicacao/noticias/?p=106905
Escolas de bicicleta
Implement kids mobility from home to school on a sustainable bicycle produced in a local community.
Escolas de bicicleta (the Bicycle Schools) was a project implemented by the Municipal Secretary of Education of Sao Paulo-Brasil with the objective of educating and creating awareness into kids in their local communities about urban mobility, sustainability and the use of local resources, while addressing problems as traffic congestion, sedentary lifestyle, criminality and unemployment.
4600 bamboo frames were manufactured in the local school Ceu Jardim Paulistano, using local bamboo and non-toxic plant resin. Since local citizen were involved in the manufacturing process, this gave them the opportunity to learn skills useful to find a job. The bikes were distributed to 46 schools (Ceus).
Riding the bikes the students, guided by trained monitors, went in a convoy to school. The school kids could borrow the bike for 1 year after signing up for the program and attending classes on how to bike safely on public streets, together with basic maintenance lessons.