.jpg)
THE BEST CITIES FOR BIKES
The 2020 City Ratings evaluated 567 cities across the U.S., combining data from publicly available information, community survey results and the Bicycle Network Analysis to find America’s best places for bikes and provide city leaders with useful information on how they can make them even better.
THE SCORES ARE IN
THE CITY RATINGS SCORES FIVE KEY FACTORS
The PlacesForBikes City Rating Score is based on five factors:
Ridership, Safety, Network, Reach and Acceleration. Each city’s score is out of a possible five points and determined using publicly available data and research tools developed by PeopleForBikes.
1
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE RIDING BIKES?
Studies show that when more people ride bikes, biking is safer and more appealing. The Ridership score takes into account riding for both recreation and transportation.
2
HOW SAFE IS IT TO
RIDE A BIKE?
When biking is safe, people are more likely to ride. Along with crash data, the Safety score measures how safe people feel while riding bikes in their city.
3
HOW EASILY CAN PEOPLE GET TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO BY BIKE?
A strong bike network comfortably and efficiently connects people to the places they want to go. People are much more likely to ride a bike in a city with a strong network.
4
HOW WELL DOES THE BIKE NETWORK SERVE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY?
The Reach score determines how well a city’s bike network serves all members of the community. It uses demographic data to understand differences in ridership and network access for traditionally underserved populations compared to the whole city.
5
HOW QUICKLY IS A COMMUNITY WORKING TO MAKE BIKING BETTER?
Acceleration is about setting plans into motion, getting things ready for the future and recognizing that changing long-term safety and ridership requires action today. The Acceleration score looks at a city’s current actions to encourage more people to get out and ride.
