Walking and cycling are the cleanest ways to get around a city. NRDC has been advocating to improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure to promote green transportation and to reduce carbon emissions for the past decade. The most recent effort is the release of "Cycling Environment Assessment in Beijing" report on October 25, a collaboration with Professor Long Ying’s team at Tsinghua University. 

Unlike earlier reports that concentrated on walkability, the new report looks into the cycling environment in Beijing. The report proposes the first index to assess the risk of the cycling environment, including infrastructure factors such as the width of the cycling path, and human factors such as on-street parking. The data shows that electric bicycle riders accounted for over 60% of the total riders in the city. More people are riding electric bicycles as they can go much faster. However, this creates risk for pedestrians and other riders, especially the regular bike riders. As safety is a critical factor influencing individuals' choices to walk and cycle, the report therefore suggests strengthening the regulations for electric bicycle riders to reduce the risk. 

Experts from Beijing Transportation Development Research Institute, Beijing Urban Planning and Design Institute, Transportation Research Center of the Ministry of Transport, Tieshua (a famous cycling club), and China’s top map service provider, Amap, discussed the report findings and solutions to improve the cycling environment. See coverage by key media here: China News Network, China Economic Times, and Beijing Traffic Broadcasting.