On Saturday August 20th, the youth organization Velo City organized a tour of Soundview area in the South Bronx. They describe themselves as a cycling based urban planning and design education program for teenagers. Along with a group of cycling enthusiasts and community members I took the youth led tour. We met at the Clason Point Libarry where the educators and Velo City founders Samelys Lopez and Naomi Doerner gave a presentation of the fantastic work that they do in the city. They just completed a 7 week summer program called Bikesplorations in the Soundview section of the Bronx. The tour lasted for about 3 hours as we rode 10 miles across different parts of the neighborhood. Along the route students took turns explaining interesting aspects of the neighborhood, including Concrete Park, a mural by Tats Cru next to the Sheridan Express Way, Clason Point Gardens the first row public housing project in the Bronx; Soundview Park which was built on top of a landfill, Pugsley Creek Park formerly a sewage treatment facility and Harding Park also known as “little Puerto Rico”. The students that I spoke to were very excited to be part of the Saturday program. Some were interested in the biking aspect, others enjoyed learning about their neighborhood and others participated out of curiosity. Everyone learned something new and made new friends while connecting with the community. Check out some of the photos and a map of our route below. Click here to learn more about Velo City. 
Hatuey Ramos Fermín 