Giving Compass' Take:

• The author explains why community opt-in and engagement is necessary when bike-share companies expand into low-income neighborhoods.

•  If these service providers want to engage low-income residents, they must tailor the service to meet the needs of these communities and include them in the process.  How will this approach change the way neighborhoods respond to gentrification? 

• Read about the initiatives from rideshare companies aimed at making more sustainable cities. 

The wealthy Chicago suburb of Evanston, IL embraces bike-share as yet another alternative to driving, a great way to get around the city’s bike trails at lower cost.

Meanwhile, Humboldt Park, a historically Puerto Rican and minority neighborhood in Chicago, had a very different opinion. The Divvy bike-sharing docks located in that neighborhood were viewed skeptically; residents worried their presence was yet another sign of a gentrifying neighborhood. Why would we get these bikes, residents wondered, before more pressing needs, such as safety measures or expanded broadband?

That’s the contrast examined in a recent study from researchers at Northwestern University, who used advanced machine learning to analyze focus groups of residents in both neighborhoods discussing bike-share. The findings, published in the journal Transportation Research Part A, reinforced a persistent problem for new mobility options: Minority and low-income neighborhoods aren't always on board.

"It was almost seen as this bad omen of the neighborhood shifting, that it was a system that would make changes that wouldn't benefit local communities," said study author and Northwestern engineering professor Amanda Stathopoulos. "The operator is well-intentioned, but just putting service in new communities doesn't mean people will ride."

Personal engagement has become a top priority for successful cities trying to expand mobility options. In St. Louis, a bike-share working group lets community representatives regularly consult the city on how bikes can best serve them. Cities like Oakland, CA have made community outreach a requirement in permitting new micromobility companies, and many bike-share companies have established equity policies or hired staff to head up community engagement.

“If anything, cities are even more empowered,” she said. “Bike-share was the perfect testing ground. Now cities can craft requirements for how companies are supposed to operate.”

Read the full article about bike-sharing in communities by Jason Plautz at Smart Cities Dive