We continue our mini-interview series with the Velo-city 2019 Keynote Speakers! #VC19Keynote #MeetTheSpeakers #CyclingForTheAges

Christophe Najdovski was born in Paris, in 1969, from Macedonian parents. He graduated from the University Pantheon-Sorbonne with a Master in environmental economics.

He started his carrier as a high school teacher of economics in Paris and its area. In 2013, he taught social politics in the University Institute of Technology of Bobigny.

In 1993, Christophe Najdovski joined the green party “Les Verts”. He became an advocate for the use of bicycle in the city and joined the monthly demonstration to defend a better repartition of the public space.

In 2001, He was elected at the Paris City Council and named deputy mayor in charge of transports of Paris 12th district. He thus contributed to the implementation of a green mobility policy with the creation of bus lanes, the weekly closing of the expressway on the Seine riverbanks and the launch of the bicycle share system: “Vélib”.

Re-elected in 2008, Christophe Najdovski became deputy mayor of Paris, in charge of childhood policy. He created 4500 childcare places and initiated an environmental friendly approach in order to reduce the ecological impact of nursery activities and to awaken the awareness of children, parents, and professionals to adequate environmental practices.

In April 2014, Anne Hidalgo, the new mayor of Paris, appointed him as deputy mayor in charge of transports and public space. His 4 main goals for the term of his mandate are: to reduce atmospheric pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, to promote a better mobility for everyone, regardless of age or social condition, to restore the passage of the Seine riverside and the canals banks, and to give back the public space to pedestrians and cyclists. Since 2018, Christophe Najdovski has been President of the European Cyclists' Federation.

What does cycling for the ages mean to you?

It means that bike is a universal mean of transport. Children, teenagers, adults, old people… it can be adapted to everyone, regardless of one's age, physical condition or disabilities. The bike movement, and above all ECF, has to work on changing the representation we have on bikes. We have to erase the prejudice that bike is only for a healthy minority.

How will the city of the future look like taking into consideration the gaps in the developing and developed world?

I deeply believe that the bike is the vehicle of the future. It’s also our conviction at ECF. For the anecdote, I have a poster saying it in my office. Therefore, I am sure about one thing about the city of the future, it’s that it will be full of bikes!

We have seen the terrible effects of the « all car » system in the cities of the so-called developed cities, in which urban planning has been completely organized around the possession and use of individual cars. This model exerts a strong attraction on so-called « developing cities » but in the developed cities, we know it’s a wrong direction. We have learned from past mistakes. Those cities begin to see the problems too, they must directly go to a post-car organization, and I am sure that bike can be a great part of the solution.

There is not one city of the future. There are plenty and people are ready to invent it, with their culture, their environment and the inspiration they find sharing ideas and examples with others. But cars are part of the problem, not the solution.

What do you expect from Velo-city 2019 Dublin?

I hope that Velo-city will help the development of a bike system in Dublin and in Ireland. Also, I wish that the rich exchanges we will have will be useful to all European countries and will convince and help them develop cycling.

The bike is the best way to move within the city, but it’s also a great tool for rural planning. It must help those territories to live an everyday life because dynamism cannot be just for the touristic places. The bike can help in bringing back activities, jobs, well-being to territories that today are less visited by tourists. While we speak more and more about climate change, we must radically transform the way we travel. From a system where we take a plane then rent a car, we must go to a duo of train/boat and bike. This would be a model of development that would really be sustainable both for the environment and inhabitants.​​​​

Christophe Najdovski is a speaker in the second plenary session of Velo-city 2019 Dublin, entitled “Policy - is it catching up with the tech development?” to take place on Tuesday, June 25th 2019 at 17.00-18.00 .
For more information on the Velo-city Programme, Exhibition and Registration go to: https://www.velo-city2019.com 
Sign up for our newsletter: https://abbey.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=fd5fa9b846888ef25e85f1973&id=75273fab2e
Follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn