Manfred Neun | |
|---|---|
 Neun in front of the European Flag | |
| Born | 21 August 1950 |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | former President of the European Cyclists' Federation |
Manfred Neun (born 21 August 1950) is a German entrepreneur and a key figure in cycling advocacy. He is the former president of the European Cyclists' Federation and actively advocates for cycling and utility cycling in Europe and abroad. [1]
Manfred Neun was born in 1950 in Heidenheim an der Brenz, Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany where his parents ran a nursery. He started his professional life by undertaking a banker’s apprenticeship and also managing the horticultural enterprise that his parents owned. [2]
He also managed a medium enterprise designing, assembling and trading bicycles and bicycle parts. In those days he earned the nickname the “Father of the Trekking Bike" [3] with a 1986 example of his bike on display in the Deutsches Museum. Currently he is involved in two family businesses but is on a sabbatical leave due to his presidency. He currently lives with his family in Memmingen, Germany.
He has a brother, Dr Hansjörg Neun, who has been director of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) since May 2005. [4] In their youth, the two brothers shared a passion for sailing with Manfred also partaking in other outdoor sports including walking, mountaineering, skiing, sailing and cycling.
Neun studied economic psychology at the University of Augsburg in the 1970s with a focus on health, behaviour, energy use, transport development and transfer economics. After his degree, he was involved in research studying economic psychological aspects related to public and private transport in an urban environment. He was lecturer at four universities (University of Augsburg, Heidenheim University; University of Ulm and the Ravensburg University of Cooperative Education) and held various lessons on topics such as planning, human resource management and organisational development.
In ECF, Neun thought to adopt a more scientific based approach to Velo-city conferences and cycling advocacy in general. This scientific approach was woven into the growing number of themes, case studies and best-practise examples at the Velo-city series. This approach was prepared together with Dr. Martin Held and Dr. Bernhard Ensink and started in 2007. [5]
Neun also took initiative in implementing the Scientists for Cycling network during a Velo-city Global Conference in 2010 in Copenhagen [6] which seeks to unite scientists and professionals for increased interdisciplinary research on utility cycling and advocating pro-cycling policies.
Neun is regularly invited to attend conferences and speak at universities. His latest academic work has been to announce the emergence of a cycling economy [7] at the Velo-city 2011 conference in Seville.
Neun has described his approach to cycling advocacy as combining his experience in the bicycle business, his involvement in small to medium size enterprises, his academic background and his experience in NGOs. Prior to his presidency at the European Cyclists' Federation, Neun was president of the German Two-Wheel Wholesalers' Association (now integrated into the Zweirad Industrie Verband – ZIV, a COLIBI-COLIPED member association), executive vice-president of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of his home region, and a member of the Plenary Assembly of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Swabia. [3]
Neun brings his business background to bridge the gap between cycling advocates, industry, politicians and experts, announcing at the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany in May 2011 that: "We need our industrial culture, and we need our big companies to get behind the Cycling Economy." [8]
His approach to cycling advocacy can be considered global in nature with Neun launching the 2010 Velo-city Global Conference in Copenhagen alongside a range of global cycling advocacy networks including Cities for Cyclists and Scientists for Cycling. [9] Neun also advocated for cycling on a global level at the 2011 International Transport Forum, participating in panel discussions on mobility rights and innovation. [10]
Neun's initial election as the president of the European Cyclists' Federation was in 2005 at the annual general meeting in Brijuni, Croatia. Under his presidency, he oversaw the creation of the Declaration of Berne which recognizes pedelecs (pedal electric bicycles) as bicycles and the Charter of Brussels. He was also instrumental in implementing the Velo-city 2010 Global (2010) conference in Copenhagen and the Charter of Seville (2011) at the Velo-city 2011 Seville Conference. Neun was the first president to give the European Cyclists' Federation representation at the International Transport Forum. He finished his presidency in December 2017.
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two-wheeled bicycles, "cycling" also includes the riding of unicycles, tricycles, quadricycles, recumbent and similar human-powered vehicles (HPVs).
Utility cycling encompasses any cycling done simply as a means of transport rather than as a sport or leisure activity. It is the original and most common type of cycling in the world.
Mikael Colville-Andersen is a Canadian-Danish urban designer and urban mobility expert. He was the CEO of Copenhagenize Design Company, which he founded in 2009 in Copenhagen, and he works with cities and governments around the world in coaching them towards becoming more bicycle friendly. He is the host of the urbanism documentary television series The Life-Sized City, which premiered in 2017 on TVOntario and in 2018 on various other international channels including Finland's national broadcaster YLE and Italian broadcaster La Effe. Season 1 of The Life-Sized City was nominated for five Canadian Screen Awards in 2018.
EuroVelo is a network of currently 17 long-distance cycling routes criss-crossing Europe, in various stages of completion. When completed, the EuroVelo network's total length will almost be 90,000 km (55,923 mi). As of November 2019 more than 45,000 km (27,962 mi) were in place. EuroVelo is a project of the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF).
Bicycle culture can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike culture" is often used to refer to various forms of associated fashion, it is erroneous to call fashion in and of itself a culture.
Cycling in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, Australia, is enhanced by the city's relatively flat topography and generally mild climate. The city has an active cycling culture for commuting, recreation, fitness and sport, and the metropolitan area has an extensive network of off-road bicycle paths, as well as designated bicycle lanes on many streets.
A cycling club is a society for cyclists. Clubs tend to be mostly local, and can be general or specialised. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Cyclists' Touring Club, (CTC) is a national cycling association; the Tricycle Association, Tandem Club and the Veterans Time Trial Association, for those over 40, are specialist clubs. Members of specialist or national groups often also belong to local clubs.
The European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) is a non-profit member-based umbrella federation of local, regional and national civil society organizations that promote cycling for both transportation and leisure.
Cycling advocacy consists of activities that call for, promote or enable increased adoption and support for cycling and improved safety and convenience for cyclists, usually within urbanized areas or semi-urban regions. Issues of concern typically include policy, administrative and legal changes ; advocating and establishing better cycling infrastructure ; public education regarding the health, transportational and environmental benefits of cycling for both individuals and communities, cycling and motoring skills; and increasing public and political support for bicycling.
Velo-city is a series of cycle planning conferences that started in 1980 in Bremen. The name Velo-city is a small play on word using the French for bicycle – vélo, and Velo-city can also be read as velocity or speed. European Cyclists’ Federation owns the series name, and the ECF Board is the decision-making body for Velo-city.
Cycling in New Zealand, while relatively popular as a sport, is a very marginal commuting mode, with the share hovering around 1–3% in most major cities. This is due to a number of factors, principally safety fears.
Active mobility, soft mobility, active travel, active transport or active transportation is the transport of people or goods, through non-motorized means, based around human physical activity. The best-known forms of active mobility are walking and cycling, though other modes include running, rowing, skateboarding, kick scooters and roller skates. Due to its prevalence, cycling is sometimes considered separately from the other forms of active mobility.
The Cycling Embassy of Denmark (CED) is a Danish network organization dedicated to the promotion of cycling as a means of transportation and Denmark as a cycling nation by capitalizing on the deep rooted Danish cycling culture to offer solutions to urban planners across Europe and the world in the areas of urban planning, bicycle infrastructure development, and cycling promotion.
Cycling infrastructure refers to all infrastructure permissible for use by cyclists, including the network of roads and streets used by motorists, except where cyclists are excluded, along with bikeways from which motor vehicles are excluded – including bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Cycling infrastructure also includes amenities such as bike racks for parking, shelters, service centers and specialized traffic signs and signals. Cycling modal share is strongly associated with the size of local cycling infrastructure.
Pedro Roberto Kanof is an Italian engineer and inventor. He ideated the first electronic system and method for renting bicycles in the 1980s, the same method that is now used globally in the bicycle sharing system.
Controversies have surrounded bikeways, particularly in North America and the United Kingdom and specifically between those who prefer to focus on education rather than separated cycling infrastructure and those who prefer to create dedicated facilities to make cyclists safer and make it more inviting to a wider public. Other dissenters say safety is better served by using the road space for parking.
Cycling is one of the various types of private transport and a major part of individual mobility. Cycling has been considered
[in] economic and social terms, [influencing] or [impacting] upon transport, mobility, environment and climate change, the economy and tourism. ... As a means of transport over short distances, cycling brings certain economic, environmental and health-related benefits.
Cycling in the United States is a minor sport in the country. It is also a mode of transport, particularly in urban areas.
I BIKE Dublin is an advocacy group founded in Dublin, Ireland in 2017 and is focused on improving conditions for cycling in Dublin city. The group carries out direct actions to raise awareness of the issues facing people who cycle in Dublin and to pressure the authorities to do more to provide safe conditions for cycling.
Bicycle counters are electronic devices that detect the number of bicycles at a location for a certain period of time. Some advanced counters can also detect the speed, direction and type of bicycles. These systems are sometimes referred to as bicycle barometers, but the term is misleading because it indicates the measurement of pressure. Most counting stations only consist of sensors, the internal computing device, and some use a display to show the total number of cyclists of the day and the current year. There are counting stations all over the world in over hundreds of cities, for example in Manchester, Zagreb, or in Portland. The first bicycle counting station was installed in Odense, Denmark, in 2002.
Media related to Manfred Neun at Wikimedia Commons