Exploring Individual Impacts and Documenting Collective Voice at the Youth Bike Summit

• In Event: 29.015 - Pro Bono Education Research Service Projects (ERSPs): AERA's ERSP Initiative

Abstract

The voices of marginalized members of communities are often absent in policy conversations about transportation access, street safety for pedestrians and cyclists, and city planning. Youth in particular are typically invisible in the context of such discussions, and if included are usually positioned as vulnerable and in need of protection. Community organizations like Recycle-A-Bicycle (RAB) in New York City challenge this perspective by highlighting the leadership capacities and creative energies of young people to advocate for themselves and their communities. RAB sponsors the Youth Bike Summit, an annual three- day national conference that brings together educators, advocates, activists, college students, teenagers, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and community leaders to engage around youth, bicycles, education, and advocacy. Attendees are involved in activities in their local communities year-round that promote equitable transit options in underserved communities, encourage youth academic success and teach bicycle construction and repair. This project explores the impact of participation in the Youth Bike Summit and related local activities through an ethnographic research project led by youth and informed by transformative critical approaches.

Author

• Allison Mattheis, California State University - Los Angeles