Center for Appropriate Transport
Encyclopedia
The Center for Appropriate Transport (CAT) is an innovative non-profit
community center
, dedicated to bicycle
s and alternative transport
. It is near the most extensive river bike trail in the United States
, at 1st and Washington streets in Eugene
, Oregon
.
Inside CAT, one can find publicly-funded educational workshops for teaching youth from ages 12–21. Within the 8000 square feet (743.2 m²) facility exists a public bicycle repair workspace and a bike machine-shop for the design and manufacture of special-purpose bikes, particularly cargo bikes and recumbents
. There is also a bike museum on site, a bike rack building workshop, a sewing facility and the publishing offices of Oregon's only cycling
magazine
, Oregon Cycling. CAT is also home to Pedaler's Express, a pioneering workbike-based delivery service. CAT has inspired hundreds of similar projects, and centers, since its inception in 1992.
background, his most notable previous success was as co-founder of the community-supported agriculture
(CSA) movement in the U.S. He was searching for a framebuilder to make his designs and a site for a center based on Europe
an facilities he had seen where many projects came together to share a large, abandoned building. While sharing a work space with recumbent pioneer Dick Ryan, he connected with local builders Burley Design Coop, Bike Friday, and Co-Motion but eventually began building his own frames under the name Human Powered Machines (HPM).
While looking for a site in which to expand HPM and to create an educational facility, VanderTuin met Tom Bowerman, a local activist/builder/entrepreneur
and made a proposal for a center. Tom Bowerman and a crew including VanderTuin then secured and renovated a former sheet-metal shop in the Whiteaker neighborhood
in Eugene, and CAT was born.
To create the center, VanderTuin gathered the founding core group. These were people who understood that an educational center and a fabrication facility, focussed on load-bearing bicycles, could succeed in a bike-friendly city like Eugene. The core group included bicycle retailer/activist Kurt Jensen, writer/racer Jason Moore, Tom Bowerman, and Rain Magazine editors Greg Bryant and Danielle Janes. VanderTuin, Janes and Bryant believed that by combining Rain Magazines appropriate technology
publishing background with VanderTuin's skills and goals that CAT would flourish. Bryant was instrumental in bringing Oregon Cycling into CAT.
CAT opened its doors to the public on November 20, 1992.
Within a few years CAT and Rain Magazine were no longer partners and by 1995 the emphasis turned to youth education when CAT began contracting with local school districts to work with youth in need of a hands-on education. CAT is an alternative education
program registered with the Oregon Department of Education
and as such is one of the few publicly-funded bicycle schools in the United States.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
community center
Community centre
Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...
, dedicated to bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s and alternative transport
Sustainable transport
Sustainable transport refers to any means of transport with low impact on the environment, and includes walking and cycling, transit oriented development, green vehicles, CarSharing, and building or protecting urban transport systems that are fuel-efficient, space-saving and promote healthy...
. It is near the most extensive river bike trail in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, at 1st and Washington streets in Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Inside CAT, one can find publicly-funded educational workshops for teaching youth from ages 12–21. Within the 8000 square feet (743.2 m²) facility exists a public bicycle repair workspace and a bike machine-shop for the design and manufacture of special-purpose bikes, particularly cargo bikes and recumbents
Recumbent bicycle
A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons; the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks...
. There is also a bike museum on site, a bike rack building workshop, a sewing facility and the publishing offices of Oregon's only cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, Oregon Cycling. CAT is also home to Pedaler's Express, a pioneering workbike-based delivery service. CAT has inspired hundreds of similar projects, and centers, since its inception in 1992.
History
CAT exists because Jan VanderTuin came to Eugene in 1990. As a human-powered vehicle engineer with an activistActivism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
background, his most notable previous success was as co-founder of the community-supported agriculture
Community-supported agriculture
Community-supported agriculture, a form of an alternative food network, is a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food...
(CSA) movement in the U.S. He was searching for a framebuilder to make his designs and a site for a center based on Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an facilities he had seen where many projects came together to share a large, abandoned building. While sharing a work space with recumbent pioneer Dick Ryan, he connected with local builders Burley Design Coop, Bike Friday, and Co-Motion but eventually began building his own frames under the name Human Powered Machines (HPM).
While looking for a site in which to expand HPM and to create an educational facility, VanderTuin met Tom Bowerman, a local activist/builder/entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and made a proposal for a center. Tom Bowerman and a crew including VanderTuin then secured and renovated a former sheet-metal shop in the Whiteaker neighborhood
Whiteaker, Eugene, Oregon
Whiteaker is a neighborhood in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is located to the Northwest of downtown Eugene, and is home to primarily working class residents. Though it has served as an agricultural and commercial district in the past, it has become a primarily residential area...
in Eugene, and CAT was born.
To create the center, VanderTuin gathered the founding core group. These were people who understood that an educational center and a fabrication facility, focussed on load-bearing bicycles, could succeed in a bike-friendly city like Eugene. The core group included bicycle retailer/activist Kurt Jensen, writer/racer Jason Moore, Tom Bowerman, and Rain Magazine editors Greg Bryant and Danielle Janes. VanderTuin, Janes and Bryant believed that by combining Rain Magazines appropriate technology
Appropriate technology
Appropriate technology is an ideological movement originally articulated as "intermediate technology" by the economist Dr...
publishing background with VanderTuin's skills and goals that CAT would flourish. Bryant was instrumental in bringing Oregon Cycling into CAT.
CAT opened its doors to the public on November 20, 1992.
Within a few years CAT and Rain Magazine were no longer partners and by 1995 the emphasis turned to youth education when CAT began contracting with local school districts to work with youth in need of a hands-on education. CAT is an alternative education
Alternative education
Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, includes a number of approaches to teaching and learning other than mainstream or traditional education. Educational alternatives are often rooted in various philosophies that are fundamentally different...
program registered with the Oregon Department of Education
Oregon Department of Education
The Department of Education of the U.S. state of Oregon is responsible for implementation of state policies with respect to public education at the kindergarten through community college level, including academic standards and testing, credentials, and other matters not reserved to the local...
and as such is one of the few publicly-funded bicycle schools in the United States.