November 2008
In this Issue
Resources Mitigate the Impact of Major Disasters
Rising Housing Costs 1985 – 2005: A Closer Look
Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Boosts Energy-Efficient Mortgages
Riding For Affordable Housing
In the next issue of ResearchWorks
Riding For Affordable Housing
It's the morning of July 26, 2008 — the first day without a long bicycle ride after more than two months spent "pedaling to end poverty housing."1 The participants completed this cross-country trip for Bike & Build, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia that raises money and awareness for affordable housing. The ride began with cyclists dipping their back tires in the Atlantic Ocean at Virginia Beach, Virginia. Over the next 72 days, Bike & Build cyclists traversed 3,822 miles — over mountains and through valleys, in heat and in rain — stopping along the way to help construct affordable homes in 10 communities.2
Following the wheel-dip ceremony on May 15, the 30 cyclists on the Central U.S. route rode from Virginia Beach to Suffolk, Virginia. The day featured a 50-mile ride, a bit shorter than the average of 70 miles the cyclists traveled daily. This ride took the group to its first build stop, an area severely damaged by recent tornadoes. The riders separated into three teams; the first inventoried tools and supplies, the second cleared yard debris, and the third helped reconstruct a deck, clear debris, and mend fences.
By May 21, the group was in Lynchburg, Virginia, where a few of the cyclists gave a presentation on affordable housing in preparation for the next day’s build. On their second day in Lynchburg, participants helped install ceilings and drywall in a Habitat for Humanity home. A week later, they spent the night in Portsmouth, Ohio, where the cyclists offered a clinic on bicycle safety for the children of their hosts, a local church congregation. Two days later, the group removed scaffolding, insulated walls, and repaired concrete in a garage in Cincinnati.
Despite strong headwinds, injuries, thunderstorms, and long days (a particularly memorable one featured a 100-mile ride), the cyclists made it to their next three building stops, in St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri and Manhattan, Kansas. There, the Bike & Build riders helped repair homes damaged by tornadoes, repainted an elderly woman's home, and entertained their hosts in Manhattan with a costume contest. The group then rode further west. Along the way, the Bike & Build riders spent a night in Clay Center, Kansas, where a librarian arranged for an impromptu interview with the local newspaper, one of many given along the way to increase awareness of the nation's need for affordable housing.
After conquering Wyoming's Teton Pass, the group stopped in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Here, cyclists installed siding, insulation, and roofing on a home and built a porch. On July 15, the group worked on a project for the Habitat for Humanity chapter in Boise, Idaho, helping to demolish two homes that will be replaced by eight affordable duplexes and a park. At their final building stop in Portland, Oregon, some cyclists painted a home’s interior while others constructed and installed indoor walls in a second house. Two days later, on July 25, the group's road-worn front tires splashed in the Pacific Ocean at Cannon Beach, Oregon, concluding their long journey.
Bike & Build has sponsored these cross-country trips since 2003, when two routes were offered. The program has added a new route in each subsequent year. For 2008, the Central U.S. route was just one of seven routes used by Bike & Build participants to cross the United States and parts of Canada in support of affordable housing.
Since the organization began its cycling trips, Bike & Build has raised and donated $1.14 million to the development of affordable housing. Most of these funds come from the minimum of $4,000 each participant is required to raise before the trip. These funds are distributed in three ways: via donations en route, through a competitive grant program, and in prearranged annual contributions.
The donations distributed en route are the organization's way of thanking the churches, synagogues, and community centers that host the cyclists, providing meals, shelter, and showers. The recipients then designate an affordable housing organization to receive these funds. Competitive annual grants of up to $10,000 are awarded to affordable housing projects predominantly designed and/or built by young adults (aged 18 – 25), many of whom are college students working in conjunction with community-based affordable housing organizations. The prearranged grants go to organizations that provide support vans for use on the trips.
Bicycling across the country for affordable housing not only raises awareness of a national problem, but also provides lasting solutions through participation in local affordable housing builds. Additional information on these efforts, as well as Bike & Build's mission and goals, cycling trips (including trip journals and photographs), basic financial information for 2006 and 2007, and a list of grant winners, is available at www.bikeandbuild.org.
1. Bike & Build, Inc., "Mission and Principles," www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/37/53/.
2. From journals kept by cyclists who participated in the 2008 Central U.S. route, www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/component/option.com_wrapper/Itemid,61/.
