Ride into our future

Adonia Lugo is an urban anthropologist who studies the social and environmental impacts of bikes on society. During her research and life, Adonia has influenced communities to increase their reliance on human infrastructure (i.e., walking, riding bikes, etc.). Her main focus has been on advocating for bike transportation in multi-cultural hubs such as in Los Angeles and Seattle. Her advocacy is backed by research and fellow anthropologists who have also been researching similar topics. Adonia has founded and is a member of various groups that promote the idea of biking amongst races and social classes.

One of her ventures is a consulting company for sustainable transportation. Unlike many consulting firms, Bicicultures is run by researchers, professors, and PhD students and/or graduates. Using research, Bicicultures can be hired to provide alternative methods of transportation to local governments, developers, and individuals. One of the most interesting things about Bicicultures is that it was formed by Adonia and two other graduate students. They felt as though what they were researching was not well represented in the literature and wanted to reach out and spread its reach. After starting this initiative, they received inquiries and scientific papers on human infrastructure and sustainable transportation. This place of interconnectedness has really helped them all improve their advocacy and consulting efforts.

Adonia is also an advisory board member of Multicultural Communities for Mobility, which is an organization in Los Angeles that is working with local low-income communities to create bike share programs. These bike share programs are aimed to help mobility through the city so transportation throughout Los Angeles is available to every person, which will increase the ability for people to get to their jobs and social engagements. They also focus on better walkways, bike lanes, and access to all forms of transportation in areas where they are inadequate. Many low income areas are deprived of adequate sidewalks, which is very unsafe and does not promote walking and or bike riding. With the help the Multicultural Communities for Mobility, low income areas can have access to safe transportation methods and will be able to do so in  a sustainable manner.