For years, the city of Boston has been considered one of the WORST cities in the world for biking – with no bike lanes to speak of and crazy drivers. Nicole Freedman, Boston’s new ‘Bike Czar’ is hoping to change this with an ambitious program to overhaul Boston’s streets and make them safe and conducive for biking – even bringing the U.S.’s first urban bike share program to Boston! If you are a regular Inhabitat reader, you may remember that we hosted a live webinar discussion with Nicole on Inhabitat this fall, as part of our Green Talks series of video interviews. Our fascinating discussion with Freedman shed light on how urban bike share programs work, and how one goes about trying to turn the worst biking city in the world to one of the best.

Watch our full videos of the talk below to find out more about Nicole’s achievements making Boston a better place to bike, and her grand plan to try to make commuter cycling safer and more practical for more Americans.

Read the rest of VIDEO: Boston ‘Bike Czar’ Nicole Freedman Talks Bike-Share & Urban Cycling

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Post tags: Bike Boston, bike sharing program, Boston Bike Czar, Boston bike share, boston bike sharing program, cycling in Boston, Head of bicycle programs, mayor Menino, nicole freedman, public bike share system, public bike sharing, urban bike share, urban cycling

Do you like the green / health benefits of cycling, but are concerned about the safety of biking in your city? Would you like to see your city made more safe and convenient for cycling? If you care about bicycles and the urban landscape (and we hope most of you do!), then be sure to JOIN US today at 3:30pm est to talk to Boston Bike Czar Nicole Freedman. We’ll be discussing Boston’s new bike initiatives, including the new bike sharing program - which will put 3000 rentable cycles on the streets of Boston to enhance public wellbeing.

Nicole is the driving force behind Boston’s new bike love, and what will be the biggest bike-sharing system in the United States, so she definitely knows a thing or two about the topic at hand. She’s also a former Olympic cyclist and has played a pivotal role in making Boston a more bike-friendly place as the director of the city’s bicycling programs. We are SUPER EXCITED about this can’t-miss webinar with Nicole today, so please JOIN US, and take part in the conversation!

SIGN UP HERE TO JOIN IN THE CONVERSATION >

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Post tags: bike, bike sharing, boston, green bike, Green Talks, nicole freedman, public bike sharing

On the chic streets of Paris, a woman wearing a purple cardigan zooms by on a chunky, mocha-grey bicycle. The woman fades from mind, but the retro bike lingers on as a memory with its decidedly unique styling. Strangely, an older gentleman with a bouquet of flowers tucked into his bag now rides by on a bike that looks just like the last one. And now, yet another man is walking the exact same bike down the street too. Coincidence, or something more?

Read the rest of Public Bike Sharing: Progress and Challenges Ahead

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Post tags: bike rental, bike sharing, biki bike, boston bike, greener cities, paris bike share, public bike sharing, public bike systems, velib