“Joyride, Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet” tells the dramatic and enlightening behind-the-scenes story of how a group of determined visionaries transformed Portland into a cycling mecca and inspired the nation, over the course of 20 years. Featuring local projects and people in Portland, author Mia Birk shares the fascinating history of the Steel Bridge, painting stripes on Southeast 7th Avenue, and other pivotal moments in bicycle history, accomplished while convincing a skeptical public.
Who:
Mia Birk, President of Alta Planning + Design
Founder of the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation
Adviser to the Post-Carbon Institute
Author of Joyride, Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet
What:
Mia Birk will be giving a free talk about her book and the experiences that led to writing it. Q & A and raffle to follow.
When:
Tuesday, January 4th, at 7:30 pm.
Where:
Powell’s Books, Downtown, 1005 W Burnside, Portland, OR 97209
Mia Birk was the City of Portland Bicycle Program Manager from 1993-99, where she led a period of rapid growth of Portland’s bikeway network. As a consultant, she has been involved across North America in hundreds of bicycle, pedestrian, trail and corridor plans, and has managed the public process, design and implementation of many new bikeways and walkways, as well as programs such as Safe Routes to School, bike-transit integration, bicycle and pedestrian-friendly development and bikeway/walkway maintenance. She has led numerous groundbreaking studies in the field of non-motorized transportation and is a co-founder of the Cities for Cycling project of the National Association for City Transportation Officials, and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.
Mia has 20 years experience in sustainable transportation focused on pedestrian, bicycle, trail and greenway planning, design and implementation. She is also Adjunct Professor at Portland State University, where she co-founded the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation in the College of Urban Studies.
Mia’s been featured on the cover of Momentum Magazine; been written up in media sources ranging from blogs such as BikePortland, Bike Intelligencer, and CarFreeAmerican, to top sources such as The Huffington Post,The New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Oregonion. She’s appeared on the Sundance Channel, Streetfilms, CBS News, and KBOO. A longer media list is available here.
