In this powerful episode of Beyond Streets, we sit down with Olatunji Oboi Reed, CEO and founder of Equiticity, to explore how cycling transformed his life—and how he's working to make active transportation a tool for racial and social justice in Black and Brown communities.
Oboi shares his personal story of confronting depression and how a solo bike ride on Chicago’s lakefront sparked not only a healing journey, but a lifelong commitment to mobility equity. From founding Slow Roll Chicago to building Equiticity into a national racial equity movement, Oboi walks us through the uphill battle of centering equity in transportation planning—facing resistance from local neighboring organizations, skeptical city departments, and systemic disinvestment.
We explore:
- Why transportation demand must be generated, not just followed
- The difference between physical infrastructure and social infrastructure
- What “community mobility rituals” are—and how they create safe, social environments to try new forms of mobility
- The importance of community ownership in planning
- How programs like bike stipends and youth-led workforce development can shift power at the neighborhood level
This conversation is a lesson in how to center joy, community, and justice in mobility.
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