Lisbon is known as the city of seven hills, which can be seen as a difficulty for the widespread use of bicycles as a low-cost mean of  transport in the city..
But the Drive Impact cooperative, with a project called Ciclopes, has been overcoming this obstacle by providing specific training to children and teenagers in social neighborhoods on how to use bicycles. It is an educational project that promotes smooth and active mobility, along with social inclusion and the integration of people within the city's territory.
The motto of the Ciclopes project is “Flatten hills. Flatten bias. Fatten inequalities.”
If “Flatten hills” is the symbolic slogan, “Flatten bias” is the  key slogan referring  to a central aspect of the project,  to deconstruct the bias that bicycles are transport for the poor people. Prejudice naturally established among the population with low economic income, such as those in social neighborhoods, who see the car as a privileged object of the desire for socioeconomic grow.
The slogan “Flatten inequalities” also refers to another essential aspect that is giving teenagers the ability to move independently outside their neighborhoods, using bicycles to discover the city’s territory.
The project provides bicycles that can be loaned for certain periods of time, provides training on their use and transit in the city, and also  bicycle maintenance repairs.
The project has been operating since December 2020. In three years, it mobilized more than 2,200 participants, in more than 200 events, with around 850 hours of activities.
This project is related to the use of bicycles that is promoted in Lisbon. In 2017 there were 90.5 km of cycle paths; in 2020, the year of the European Green Capital, there were  125.8 km; in November 2023 there are 173 km and the network continues to grow. Also important is  the municipal fleet of shared bicycles, also expanding: there are around 1,600, parked in 130 locations. The cost is : annual pass €25, monthly pass €15, daily pass €2.

The project is located within the facility along with many other projects in the island area, and that contributes to being a reason for engagement on the ground with good impact on education.

https://ciclopes.pt/

https://driveimpact.pt/

https://www.gira-bicicletasdelisboa.pt/

https://www.lisboa.pt/cidade/mobilidade/meios/bicicleta/mapa-rede-ciclavel

https://www.ciclovias.pt/?lat=38.72525&lng=-9.15006&z=12&m=d&l=3

SDG 4 - Quality education: Educate to participate in sustainable lifestyle and development 

SDG 3 - Good health and well-being: Encourage physical activity for a better health and to prevent traffic accidents

SDG 1 - No poverty: Empowerment  to increase travel autonomy throughout the city and the possibility of accessing public services and employment opportunities
 

1. How does CIclopes “flattens bias”?
2. How does Ciclopes project work?
3. How many kilometers of cycle paths exist in Lisbon?
    

Edu.In – Associação para a Educação Integral