Why I Ride
I first heard about Bike & Build through a friend of mine, who participated in the program a few years ago. At that point I had only just recently bought my first bike since high school and could only marvel at the idea of pedaling across the country for affordable housing.
A couple years, and many bike miles later, I was struck with a great deal of inspiration while talking to my friend's Dad. Her Dad told me about the cross-country bike ride he did to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes. His daughter, my friend, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 14. I had been toying with the idea of biking across the country, but wasn't sure if I could do it. Through sharing his wonderful stories I was instilled with a new sense of confidence. It was at that point the fire ignited within me and I knew I wanted to make this happen; even more so I wanted to bike across the county for a cause and I knew Bike & Build was the perfect way for me to do it.
My direct involvement with affordable housing groups is fairly limited to a few outings with Habitat for Humanity while in college. It was always such a rewarding experience though and I looked forward to those days of building houses with my fellow classmates and friends. At the time I don’t think I really understood the impact I was making, because I hadn't been exposed or educated on the affordable housing crisis.
It wasn't until I moved to Washington, DC that I become more aware of the affordable housing crisis. In my new home city the waiting list for public housing is cut off at 70,000 people and there are countless more people in need of affordable housing. A goal has been set to build 10,000 affordable apartments in the 10 years between 2010 and 2020. In the spring of this year only 2,000 units were under construction or approved for construction.
My job as a transportation engineer also introduced me to another issue that is realized in regards to affordable housing. Many times affordable housing projects are pushed to the outskirts of cities while market rate apartments are being placed in the more central parts of town. This doesn't support the vision of mixed-income communities and often times this leads to affordable housing being placed in areas with few resources. In fact there is a large area of the District (with poor transit access and few neighborhood amenities) that has no plans for new market rate apartments at all; just affordable housing projects. It can be argued that any affordable housing is a good thing, but in my opinion the placement of that affordable housing also plays an important role. People that need affordable housing are already in a tough position and being situated far from public transportation, safe bicycle facilities, or even a nearby grocery store is not creating as much of an impact.
This is an issue I've noticed while living in D.C. and it is has become a great source of motivation for my participation in Bike & Build. This journey from New Haven, CT to Half Moon Bay, CA comes with its fair share of nerves on my end, but I know it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, filled with incredible people, wondrous beauty, and the awe-inspiring feeling that comes with helping others.
A couple years, and many bike miles later, I was struck with a great deal of inspiration while talking to my friend's Dad. Her Dad told me about the cross-country bike ride he did to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes. His daughter, my friend, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 14. I had been toying with the idea of biking across the country, but wasn't sure if I could do it. Through sharing his wonderful stories I was instilled with a new sense of confidence. It was at that point the fire ignited within me and I knew I wanted to make this happen; even more so I wanted to bike across the county for a cause and I knew Bike & Build was the perfect way for me to do it.
My direct involvement with affordable housing groups is fairly limited to a few outings with Habitat for Humanity while in college. It was always such a rewarding experience though and I looked forward to those days of building houses with my fellow classmates and friends. At the time I don’t think I really understood the impact I was making, because I hadn't been exposed or educated on the affordable housing crisis.
It wasn't until I moved to Washington, DC that I become more aware of the affordable housing crisis. In my new home city the waiting list for public housing is cut off at 70,000 people and there are countless more people in need of affordable housing. A goal has been set to build 10,000 affordable apartments in the 10 years between 2010 and 2020. In the spring of this year only 2,000 units were under construction or approved for construction.
My job as a transportation engineer also introduced me to another issue that is realized in regards to affordable housing. Many times affordable housing projects are pushed to the outskirts of cities while market rate apartments are being placed in the more central parts of town. This doesn't support the vision of mixed-income communities and often times this leads to affordable housing being placed in areas with few resources. In fact there is a large area of the District (with poor transit access and few neighborhood amenities) that has no plans for new market rate apartments at all; just affordable housing projects. It can be argued that any affordable housing is a good thing, but in my opinion the placement of that affordable housing also plays an important role. People that need affordable housing are already in a tough position and being situated far from public transportation, safe bicycle facilities, or even a nearby grocery store is not creating as much of an impact.
This is an issue I've noticed while living in D.C. and it is has become a great source of motivation for my participation in Bike & Build. This journey from New Haven, CT to Half Moon Bay, CA comes with its fair share of nerves on my end, but I know it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, filled with incredible people, wondrous beauty, and the awe-inspiring feeling that comes with helping others.