Advocacy

Portraits of San Diego’s Sustainable Commuters

Move Free SD is out to encourage San Diego residents to use sustainable transportation when they get around. Plenty of them, featured in this photo series, already do.

By Melanie Curry

4:46 PM PDT on May 12, 2020

Portraits of San Diego’s Sustainable Commuters

The Wood family commutes 3 miles by bike and bus. Photo by Angelica Rocha, Circulate San Diego

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Angelica Rocha, a planner with Circulate San Diego, had been taking a series of photographs of San Diego County residents that highlight the widely varying ways people commute in the region. The beautiful black-and-white portrait series is part of the Move Free SD campaign, a program to encourage people to use more sustainable transportation in San Diego.

The portraits showcase a wide variety of people who get around the region by foot, bus, bike, scooter, trolley, ferry – and in one case by electric unicycle. The 52 people featured live in eight different cities within San Diego County, and their commutes range from over 26 miles to zero–that last probably more common now than it was when these portraits were taken.

According to the photographer,

The portraits are meant to create a conversation about sustainable commuting options in San Diego and showcase Circulate San Diego’s creative engagement strategies. By photographing and interviewing diverse residents from across the region, we hope to inspire others to consider walking, biking, public transit, carpool, or electric unicycle for their daily commutes. In addition to the portraits, we collected data on how, when, and why residents started commuting sustainably, challenges to their commute, and what investments they feel would support a regional shift in sustainable transportation.

Just because so many spring bike events have been canceled – no Bike to Work Day, no CicLAvias or CicloSDias, no May Is Bike Month parties – doesn’t mean it’s time to stop encouraging people to adopt and try more sustainable travel options. Circulate SD has made these portraits available for viewing as a digital exhibit, which they recommend taking a few minutes to enjoy – and be inspired by.

Melanie Curry

Advocacy | Circulate San Diego | Streetsblog California

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