Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Councilor Censi: "Proud to have been selected for this prestigious award"

Milan, June 7 2023 – The Municipality of Milan is among the ten cities in the world that won the tender promoted by Bloomberg philanthropies to create cycle paths: it will receive funding of 400.000 dollars.

The names of the winners of the "Bloomberg initiative for cycling infrastructure (BICI)" were announced on World Bicycle Day on June 3rd.

BICI's goal is to help cities encourage sustainable mobility, revitalize neighborhoods and promote the health and well-being of citizens. Conducted in collaboration with the Global designing cities initiative (GDCI), in addition to funding to implement their proposals, each winning city will also receive technical assistance from GDCI for the development and design of cycling infrastructure, data collection and citizen engagement and towns.

In addition to Milan, the winning cities are: Fortaleza (Brazil), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bogotà (Colombia), Lisbon (Portugal), Mombasa (Kenya), Pimpri-Chinchwad (India), Quelimane (Mozambique), Tirana (Albania ) and Wellington (New Zealand).

“Fighting climate change goes hand in hand with giving people more transportation options,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and the 108th mayor of New York. “These proposals to make safer and more accessible cycling will require robust technical assistance, and our team is happy to support the winners as they turn their ideas into action. The progress made by these 10 cities will help improve air quality, protect the environment and also drive economic growth. We look forward to seeing the results."

“Bike lanes are not amenities, they are essential infrastructure for cities,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, transportation manager at Bloomberg Associates and former commissioner of the New York Department of Transportation. “These grants will help these 10 cities undertake the decisive action needed to transform streets and represents a turning point on safety, pollution and climate change."

The 10 winning cities are located in 10 countries on five continents and represent more than 15 million residents in total. Winners were selected from 275 applications submitted between November 10, 2022 and February 3, 2023, from cities with more than 100.000 residents.

Milan applied with a project capable of giving continuity to a main cycle route, serving schools and therefore responding to the needs related to home-school travel, creating opportunities for timely redevelopments to increase the quality of urban space and safety for all road users. The proposed cycle route is approximately 6 km long.

"We are proud to have been selected for this prestigious award – said Arianna Censi, Councilor for Mobility of the Municipality of Milan –. I am also proud to be able to count on a structure that was able to present a project that won, capable of excelling among 275 proposals thanks also to the support of Legambiente, Ciclobby and Massa Marmocchi Milano who supported the project with a letter of interest. In the near future, Milan will thus be able to count on a major cycle route that crosses an area that hosts 40 schools".

“When it comes to reducing emissions and promoting healthier, greener cities, we must continue to raise our collective ambitions,” said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “The Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructure has given giving cities around the world the chance to dream big and show what's possible. We look forward to working with these cities to implement their powerful projects and, as we do so, sharing lessons around the world."

“Building safe, connected cycling networks is a universal need that benefits people's physical and mental health and well-being as much as it benefits the environment and the economy,” said Skye Duncan, executive director of GDCI. “Through their ambitious cycling infrastructure projects, the selected cities will transform their streets by putting people above all else, while benefiting their communities to ensure healthier, safer and more equitable spaces for all. GDCI's BICI team does not see It's time to start working alongside these cities to help them realize their initiatives."

Bloomberg philanthropies will convene the 10 winning cities from 26 to 29 June 2023 in London, offering local leaders the opportunity to meet, exchange ideas with colleagues, begin project planning and learn from GDCI's urban design experts.