[*BCM*] writing a bike story, looking for voices

[Greg Howard]

> good luck on this...there is no organization to critical mass. It has
> existed since at least 1994 in San Francisco. There is NO
> organization...that is the whole point. Anyone who claims to be a leader or
> organizer or know the agenda is wrong.

that's just silly.  CM is a leaderless "organized coincidence", but it
was started by identifiable people, and a great many people have put a
tremendous amount of effort into organizing and framing it since 1992
(in San Francisco).  Just because there are no leaders who claim such
a title does not mean that there are no organizers.  In any case,
Steph will find more CM history than she probably wants at
http://www.critical-mass.org/

That said, Boston has a highly unorganized CM, and I would suggest
that CM has *not* historically been a major part of bike advocacy in
Boston.  Given CM's complex history and philosophies, it is probably
not a good focus of an article on bikes in Boston.  This is as opposed
to, for example, San Francisco, where the CM dynamic drove the bike
politics for a decade of extraordinarily effective advocacy.  To my
mind, and no offense intended, the story of bike advocacy in Boston
has more to do with the long-term stalemate between differing
philosophies about bicycle facilities, an argument which has almost
entirely hobbled advocacy in the area for a couple of decades --
until, I hope, quite recently.

best


greg



On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 10:46 PM, David Atkins <datkinsg at gmail.com> wrote:
> good luck on this...there is no organization to critical mass. It has
> existed since at least 1994 in San Francisco. There is NO
> organization...that is the whole point. Anyone who claims to be a leader or
> organizer or know the agenda is wrong.
>
> On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 5:16 PM, Steph Koyfman <koyfman at bu.edu> wrote:
>>
>> Hello all -
>>
>> I'm a journalism student at BU writing my enterprise story on the bike
>> reform movement in Boston - this has mostly to do with Menino electing
>> Nicole Freedman, what her life has been about, and how this creates a
>> conversation with existing movements around the city.  As you've probably
>> already guessed, I would love to have your input on this.  I already talked
>> to Adam, who was listed on the site as the leader but he told me I might
>> strike more gold speaking with any of you.
>>
>> I probably won't be sitting down to actually write this until Saturday.
>>  If you can get back to me at all by then, it would be much appreciated.
>>
>> The questions so far:
>> -When and where did Critical Mass take its roots? What were the conditions
>> that prompted this?  (I actually think I met the guy that coined the phrase
>> in a documentary, sitting in a loft in SoHo, he was pretty old so I'm
>> assuming it's been around for awhile.)
>> -What is the overriding philosophy of CM?
>> -What do you believe is the extent of your influence?
>> -How have people responded to you?
>> -Are you involved with the City of Boston, either directly or indirectly?
>> -How do you feel about Mayor Menino's bike initiative?
>>
>> Again, I realize how short notice this is - my thanks in advance.
>>
>> -Steph
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Boston Critical Mass mailing list
>> list at bostoncriticalmass.org
>> http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list
>> To unsubscribe email list-unsubscribe at bostoncriticalmass.org
>
>
>
> --
> Dave Atkins
> http://daveatkins.org
> twitter: @daveatkins
> 781.929.5850
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Boston Critical Mass mailing list
> list at bostoncriticalmass.org
> http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list
> To unsubscribe email list-unsubscribe at bostoncriticalmass.org
>