The fourth and final day of Velo-city concluded with a stimulating discussion about “Governance”.

In a nutshell, the plenary discussed cycling from a local government perspective. Political figures from different parts of the world joined a discussion on the perception of the bicycle and the role it should have.

The plenary was moderated by Philippe Crist, Strategic Advisor for Innovation and Foresight, International Transport Forum at the OECD. Mr. Crist introduced the theme of Cycling: Access to Life. Cycling as a way of moving, cycling as a way of participating in society, cycling as a way to access healthier living, cycling as a way to access economic opportunities, cycling as a way to access fulfillment. Then, he focused on the role of governance in delivering all of these.

The speakers for the plenary “Governance” were:

• Harriët Tiemens, Vice-Mayor for Mobility and Environment, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
• Ciarán Cuffe, Chair of Dublin City’s Council’s Transport Committee.
• Rodney Ellis, Harris County Commissioner, Houston Texas.
• Jose Police Neto, City Councilor of Sao Paolo.
• Christophe Najdovski, ECF President & Deputy Mayor of Paris for Mobility Transport.

During the plenary, each panelist was asked the same question: “What does access to life, the theme of this year’s Velo-city mean to you (generally and then specifically with examples from your city or experience)?”

Each speaker was also asked to describe one particular aspect of that question. Different aspects included regional connectivity, integration of immigrants (Ms. Tiemens), addressing governance issues, low income household integration (Ms. Tohá), access to economic opportunity and health for minority groups (Mr. Ellis), access to more space and reliable mobility (Ciaran), access to a greener mobility and to more health and space in the city (Mr. Najdovski).

In a second round, Mr Crist asked each speaker to describe one thing that people do not have access to that, via pro-cycling policies, they would like to see put into place, they would gain access to.

The plenary “Governance” took place during Day 4 of Velo-city 2018; Friday 15^th June 2018 at 16.40-17.40.