Many cities that had been previously focused narrowly on commuters started to rethink how and why people move the way they do. With fewer people traveling during peak commuting hours and priority downtown destinations seeing less demand, cities went back to the drawing board to provide more affordable, accessible, and socially just transportation options to get people where they needed to go.

Amid the crisis, cycling emerged as a rapid and widespread solution. Overnight, we witnessed the creation of temporary cycle lanes, the closure of entire streets to cars, and the establishment of pop-up bicycle parking areas in unexpected locations. These interventions, which previously took months or even years to implement, were now readily available and eagerly adopted by travelers seeking to avoid confined spaces or to relish the fresh air outside their homes.

Amid the devastation wrought by the pandemic were small glimmers of hope. Vehicle use was down, and people wanted to spend time outside, enjoying public spaces and taking advantage of the opportunity to walk and cycle safely. And cities responded by providing those spaces as a much-needed solution. As the world recovered from the pandemic, we wanted to ensure that this rethink of our towns and streets, prioritizing people, was not lost—that we did not simply return to the way things were.

This was the motivation for launching Cycling Cities, a global campaign aimed at making cycling a permanent, reliable, healthy, and safe transportation option in cities. In the next decade, cycling is expected to become mainstream in cities worldwide, becoming an integral part of streets that make cities healthier, more resilient, and more inclusive. The vision for the campaign focused on improving the quality and connectivity of cycling infrastructure as a means of:

• Shifting trips away from private vehicles;
• Building local capacity to implement infrastructure and other cycle-supportive projects; and
• Providing knowledge and guidance in key areas of interest to cohort cities.

Now, in the final year of the campaign, we have succeeded in convening 34 cohort cities that have been actively involved in knowledge sharing, capacity building, and solutions development to raise each other’s ambition and progress. In addition, 53 pledge cities across five continents have committed to Cycling Cities’ vision for improving people’s access to safer cycle lanes. Four years later, the campaign’s impacts have become a testament to the strong support and uptake of urban cycling that is possible with collaboration, investment, and dedication from all levels of stakeholders.

Cohort cities across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia have constructed new cycle lanes, introduced expansive bikeshare systems, and implemented other measures to make streets safer for people on bicycles. This has inspired many more people in cities to take up cycling, including those who were doing so for the first time, and further established it as a reliable and accessible transportation mode. The Cycling Cities cohort alone has since 2021:

• Built 917 km of protected cycle lanes
• Built 2,000 km of cycle lanes (protected and unprotected)
• Held 3,886 car-free or open streets events
• Organized 1,076 cycle trainings or learn-to-ride classes

These impressive transformations have led to:

• 1.46 billion kilometers traveled by bicycle on new protected cycle lanes in cohort cities
• 877 million fewer vehicle kilometers traveled as a result of new protected cycle lanes in cohort cities
• 4.6 million more people are living near safe cycle lanes
• Together, through 2050, these interventions are expected to result in an estimated 3,000,000 tons of CO2 emissions avoided

In addition, many in the cohort have made significant improvements to People Near Protected Bikelanes (PNB), a measure of how much of the population can reasonably access (and thus use) cycle lanes. Cities that saw the most significant increases in PNB throughout the campaign were: Bogotá (14%), Mérida (13%), Guadalajara (11%), Santiago (10%), Buenos Aires (9%), Mexico City (8%), and Addis Ababa (8%). These cities share several commonalities that have supported this progress: a clear cycle lane or active mobility plan, strong institutional capacity and technical support, and funding to implement priority projects.

While the progress amongst our partners has been remarkable in just four years, there is still more to be done, and this work cannot slow down with the close of Cycling Cities as a campaign. The campaign first set an ambitious goal of having 25 million more people near safe cycle lanes by 2030, and we still believe that, as a network, the cohort can achieve this. We hope that the number of cities and countries that share this vision will continue to grow as well.

While we once had only a few cities to point to as examples of cycling-first models—Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and other European cities—we now have dozens of international leaders. Many of these leaders are from cities in the Global South, including Bogotá, Mexico City, and Fortaleza, which were all closely involved in the Cycling Cities campaign. Beyond the cohort, Cycling Cities has also helped generate broader policy impacts on the global stage, pushing for cycling to be recognized and financed as a key part of sustainable transport, climate, and health agendas.

Urban cycling and active mobility have now become part of high-level conversations and strategic thinking related to climate change, public health, and economic prosperity. The forthcoming UN Decade of Action for Sustainable Transport (2026–2035)—intended to raise awareness of the role of transport in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals—will undoubtedly continue to be an essential venue and framework for cycling policy and investment.

ITDP extends its gratitude to all the organizations, governments, planners, academics, and advocates who helped make this campaign a reality all around the world. We recognize that there is still much more to accomplish in the sustainable mobility sector for cycling. Still, as a result of the campaign, we now have more momentum, stronger relationships, and a wealth of data and knowledge that can help transform every city into a cycling city.