NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Ralph Buehler, professor and chair of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, will give a talk titled "Cycling for Sustainable Cities" as part of MCLA's Green Living Seminar Series at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. 

 

Green Living Seminar Series webinars are free and open to the public; community members can register for each lecture at mcla.edu/greenliving. All seminars take place weekly on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. through April 14. 

 

Most of Buehler's research has an international comparative perspective, contrasting transport and land-use policies, transport systems, and travel behavior in Western Europe and North America. Buehler is the author or coauthor of over 70 articles in refereed academic journals, the books "Cycling for Sustainable Cities" and "City Cycling" (both MIT Press), chapters in edited books, as well as reports to federal and local governments, NGOs, and for-profit industry organizations.  Between 2012 and 2018, he served as chair of the Committee for Bicycle Transportation of the Transportation Research Board (TRB).   

 

His presentation highlights that cycling is the most sustainable means of urban travel, practical for most short- and medium-distance trips—commuting to and from work and school, shopping, visiting friends—as well as for recreation and exercise. The talk demonstrates that cycling promotes physical, social, and mental health, helps reduce car use, enhances mobility and independence, and is economical for both public and personal budgets. It highlights how cycling can be made feasible for everyone and not limited to especially fit, daring, well-trained cyclists riding expensive bicycles, and how to make city cycling safe, practical, and convenient for all ages and abilities. 

 

Every semester, MCLA's Green Living Seminar Series hosts lectures by local, regional, and national experts organized around a central theme related to the environment and sustainability. The 2021 series theme is "Individual Actions and Environmental Sustainability." The series is a presentation of the MCLA Environmental Studies Department and MCLA's Berkshire Environmental Resource Center.