From Brazil to Nepal, six ambitious initiatives are rethinking the bicycle as more than just transport. These finalists in the Healthy Cycling Challenge are using bikes to connect people, reduce inequality and improve public health.
In São Paulo, a group of women is designing a bike-share system for their neighbourhood. In Rwanda, students ride together to school along supervised cycle routes. In Kathmandu, a mobile classroom brings books and bikes into the city’s streets.
These are just some of the stories emerging from the Healthy Cycling Challenge, a global call for cycling solutions that puts people first. Launched in April by Cities for Better and the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), the innovation challenge invited cities and communities to reimagine how cycling can shape healthier and sustainable urban neighbourhoods.
The response exceeded expectations. In just six weeks, the challenge drew 243 proposals from 46 countries – nearly triple last year’s turnout.
“We have seen an incredible response – from a record number of applications to strong participation in challenge webinars – showing just how much energy there is to drive change”, said Jo Jewell, Director of Cities for Better Health. “These changemakers and their projects show the power of cycling to improve health, build community and create more equitable cities from the ground up.”
The six selected projects span Latin America, East Africa and South Asia. All are grounded in local realities. All believe cycling should be safe, inclusive and joyful.
Lead organisation: Instituto Caminhabilidade
Pedalando Juntas is a resident-led bike-sharing system in the Peinha community of São Paulo, offering free, short-term bike loans to promote mobility and connection, especially for women and children accessing the nearby Pinheiros River park.
Lead organisation: Healthy People Rwanda
Ntwara Ndebe is a safe biking school bus programme, where groups of children cycle to school together along supervised routes, promoting daily movement and equitable school transport in rural Rwanda.
Lead organisation: Raahgiri Foundation
Pedal Path is a community-driven integrated cycling corridor developed along HIPA Road in Gurugram, India, aiming to enhance safety, convenience, and accessibility for daily cyclists, while putting equitable mobility at the heart of urban health and inclusiveness.
Lead organisation: Peruvian Society for Environmental Law
Pedalea Seguro is strengthening urban cycling in three Peruvian cities by mapping cycling infrastructure to design digital dashboards, installing tactical urbanism interventions with youth cyclist activists, analysing urban mobility policy to suggest improvements, and strengthening the leadership and capacity of urban youth collectives.
Lead organisation: Cycling out of Poverty Africa (CooP-Africa) Foundation
Jinja Reimagined is creating people-friendly streets in underserved neighbourhoods of Jinja by redesigning road space to prioritise cycling, walking, and safe access for all and turning everyday routes into healthier, more inclusive public spaces.
Lead organisation: Cycle City Network Nepal (CCNN)
Pedal Paathshala brings education and cycling together through a school-based bicycle library, engaging students, women, teachers and community members across Chitwan to build a culture of active mobility, road safety and environmental awareness.
Each finalist has received tailored support from an expert advisory panel and is now improving their proposals to maximise their impact before the final selection of the three winning proposals.
The three winning projects will be announced in the coming months and featured in a City Health Talk webinar on 10 December, offering city leaders and community changemakers worldwide a glimpse into what’s possible when cycling is made safe, inclusive and accessible. The three winning projects will present their implementation progress and results in June at Velo-city 2026 Rimini.
This challenge marks the fourth in a growing series of innovation challenges from Cities for Better Health and global partners. Previous editions have tackled healthy food with EAT, childhood well-being with UNICEF and urban neighbourhood health with C40 Cities. By the end of this year, the challenges will have enabled more than USD 1.2 million in funding for community-led ideas shaping healthier urban environments.
Want to follow the finalists as their projects take shape? Sign up for the Cities for Better Health quarterly newsletter for updates on the winners and other inspiring urban health stories.
