Bonde a Pé (Walking Bus)

#SDGAction42762

Description

Intro

The practice “Bonde a Pé” - Walking Bus is an walking activity that consists on promoting walkability in urban environments such as São Paulo in a practical way, while paying attention to the different perceptions which can be absorbed through an established route. The practice is an initiative of the NGO Corrida Amiga (Friendly Run, in literal translation), and can be carried out in any place and to any given age.

Objective of the practice

The main goal is stimulate the walking activity not only in specific events but also in daily situations such as going to work, to school etc; to promote a healthy lifestyle to all of the citizens and prevent diseases like obesity, pulmonary problems and even psychological conditions; to promote the reduction of GHG emissions and motorized displacement dependence to form a sustainable city, inclusive to all transportation modes that coexist in an urban environment; to inspire social changes for deep society transformations that could influence the next generations.

Partners

Canto Cidadão: Organization that creates events to generate public sensibility promoting direct volunteer action. Responsible for the artistic interventions in “Cultural Walking Buses”. We also promote walking activities with our partners institutions: Abrigo dos velhinhos Frederico Ozanam, CRI Norte, Casa Andre Luiz, APAE, SESCs, EMEI Dona Ana Rosa de Araujo, EMEF Carolina Maria de Jesus.

Implementation of the Project/Activity

The first step is to find an initiative, institution or group that would be interested in promoting this kind of activity. The participants can be of all ages and conditions. The practice is conducted by volunteers that went through a training, provided by the NGO Corrida Amiga in São Paulo, and they will define and test a route to verify that it is walkable and safe (the length of the route will vary according to the number, age and condition of the participants). The method consists in walking thought this path while paying attention to accessibility aspects, sidewalk dimensions, quantity of trees and benches. The volunteers provide urban reading tools to the participants such as measuring tape, meter devices and pedometers, along with a paper sheet in which the participants can write elements that they see in the city.

Results/Outputs/Impacts

The “Bonde a Pé” is one of the many practices the Corrida Amiga institute promotes. It generated a number of impacts throughout nine months in 2018: minus 19.900 cars in the streets, minus 4,372.737 kilograms of CO2eq in the atmosphere, about 57,035.7 of reais (15,000 dollars) saved, about 19,000 kilometers traveled in total, a step count of 31.692.837 and a loss of over 1.140.000 calories. In total, all of our activities accounted for: over 14,000 people benefited, 319 of volunteers participation and 706 volunteering hours.
http://corridaamiga.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Balan%C3%A7o-de-Ativ…

Enabling factors and constraints

The enabling factors that helped the practice were the compromise of our partner institutions such as schools, elderly homes, institutions for disabled people, festival organizers and SESCs (The Social Commerce Service) along with the involvement of our volunteers, that has been increasing. The success of previous experiences has enabled our participation in public editals that has the purpose of financing social impact activities. The methodology and the lack of commitment of some participants were constraints that had to be overcomed. The development of a “Bonde a Pé” kit is a new idea that changes the experience of walking in an urban environment. It contains: a chronometer, to analyze the time of pedestrian traffic lights for example; a step counter; a tally counter, to count trees, benches, trash cans or any elements of the city and a measuring tape, to measure the sidewalks and verify if they comply with accessibility regulations.

Sustainability and replicability

Starting the process with the involvement of the local community on themes such as walking as transportation and their belonging to the public space has, precisely, the goal to make this a method that allow the replication of the project in other institutions, schools etc, and, besides that, to enable other community leaderships and collectives to get inspired to create new possibilities. In case of the project success the initiative can be replicated to activate people and make them aware about walking as transportation and their right to the city. It’s also a healthy and environmentally-friendly practice, with zero cost for anybody involved.

Conclusions

Walking is the most primitive and democratic method of traveling. It is a healthy habit, that has the potential to to change cities in many different ways, promoting more crowded and dynamic streets and reducing toxic emissions in the atmosphere.<br />
It is crucial to utilize and prioritize environmentally-friendly ways of transport, to create more sustainable, equal, smart and safe cities that would provide the same kind of opportunities to everybody.

Other sources of information

To help us support our ideology of promoting waking as a way of transportation, we based our methodology and actions in national and international sources, such as:
- Cartilha do Pedestre (The Pedestrian Booklet) - CET (Traffic Engineering Department): http://cetsp1.cetsp.com.br/cartilhadopedestre/cartilhadopedestre.pdf
- Centro, Diálogo Aberto - São Paulo Urbanismo: https://gestaourbana.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/arquivos/brochura_cda_7_10_13…
- Criança Segura Brasil (Safe Children): https://criancasegura.org.br/
- Cities Safer By Design - WRI: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14jpj1ttZk6vJGYG5qH9lf8B20luFcdhU/view?…
- Red Ocara: https://www.redocara.com/

SDGS & Targets