In the early 1990s, Bicycle City was conceived, models were built and drawings were created. In 2006 we recieved seed funding and in 2010 we selected Lexington County, SC as the location for the first Bicycle City.  We are located between the mountains and the beach, about 12 miles from downtown Columbia, the state capital. We have started work on biking and hiking trails in our first neighborhood, Velo Village but further development is currently on hold. Join us to help make Bicycle City a great place to live, work and visit.

Every month, thousands of people learn about Bicycle City. Many of our visitors have contributed to our ideas and plans to build an eco-friendly, car-free community. More than 2,000 people have submitted a form saying they are interested in living, working or visiting Bicycle City. We welcome your comments and ideas and know that as we proceed with this project we owe much - to many people. Your ideas inspire us to continually learn new things about our environment, our communities and the many ways that we can improve our approach to this exciting project.

The Bicycle City team includes advisors, volunteers, associates, and others who have worked on the project both past and present.

Ward Allebach

Ward is an advisor to Bicycle City, offering many years of environmental experience and sharp business acumen to our organization as we forge ahead in making our first community a reality. Ward is an adjunct professor in the Environmental Studies Department at the University of Pittsburgh and was a co-founder of PWP, LLC. Prior to his work with PWP, Ward worked for the County of Orange Environmental Management Agency and also was a founder of Green Networking for Orange County, Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment and the California Regional Environmental Education Council. He also directed the publication of "The Environmental Guide to Orange County" in 1996. Ward earned a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from California State University, Fullerton, and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Newton “Cookie” Boykin

Newton C. “Cookie” Boykin is our development expert. He leads the search for a perfect place for our first Bicycle City community. Cookie was born in Camden, SC and his family history in that area goes back to the 1700s. He and his family reside in Edisto Island, SC. Cookie is an avid outdoorsman and worked as a game warden for many years. He is full of interesting information on plants and wildlife! In the early 1970s, Cookie also began working in real estate. His experience and expertise span all types of land sales and investments. Cookie has dealt with the selling of homes, resort and retirement properties, land, lots, acreage, and investment property. He has worked with county, state and federal agencies relating to permitting, wetlands and storm water management regarding developments he has built. He has built roads, installed infrastructure and done site clearing and prep. His business experience and his love of nature are the perfect combination for finding potential Bicycle City locations.

Ruth Dilts

Ruth has helped us with marketing, communications, design and more.  She’s also a wife and a mother of three children and many pets. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. She worked as an Art Director/Producer at a full-service advertising agency (DDF&M) for nine years. Ruth joined Tollgrade Communications Inc. as Director of Corporate Communications prior to the Company’s IPO in 1995, and continued with Tollgrade through the IPO process, the tech boom and subsequent market decline. She managed or was involved with all aspects of marketing communications, event planning internal, media and public communications. She joined the Bicycle City team in 2007.

Joseph Landolina

Joe is the money guy, a husband, father and serious Bob Dylan fan. He graduated from St. Vincent College in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and from the Duquesne University School of Law where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 1983. Joe is licensed to practice law and accounting in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Bicycle City team, Joe was manager of the tax department for a public accounting firm for 23 years, where he performed various income tax compliance and planning services for individuals, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts, estates, nonprofit organizations, and retirement plans.

Anne Lusk

Anne is an advisor to Bicycle City. Anne has a Ph.D. in architecture and a 25-year history working on bicycle environments for all populations. She is a research fellow at Harvard School of Public Health and is currently studying 20 bicycle paths across the U.S. as part of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. As an NIH grant recipient, over the next three years, she will compare ten highly frequented greenways with ten not highly frequented greenways to study the hypothesis that highly frequented greenways have destinations that serve human needs. Dr. Lusk has twenty-five years experience as a lecturer, writer, and researcher on a variety of topics related to historic preservation and greenways/multi-use paths. Click here for a full-length interview with Anne Lusk.

Mike Lydon

Mike Lydon is an advisor to Bicycle City and the founding Principal of the Street Plans Collaborative. Before starting TSPC in 2009, Lydon worked for the internationally renowned town planning firm of Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company. As an urban planner, writer and activist, Lydon's work has appeared in or been featured by CNN Headline News, Planetizen, Planning Magazine, the Miami Herald, and the The Village Voice, among other publications. He has also collaborated with Andres Duany and Jeff Speck on the forthcoming Smart Growth Manual, to be published in the fall of 2009 by McGraw-Hill. Mike is currently a member of the City of Miami's Bicycle Action Committee where he helped create the city's first Bicycle Action Plan and a monthly ciclovia, entitled Bike Miami Days. Lydon received a B.A. in American Cultural Studies from Bates College and earned a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. He encourages you to trade four wheels for two.

Joe Mellett

Joe’s main roles are design and business development. He is a father, an avid bicyclist and a passionate advocate for animals and the environment. In 1986, as a member of Alpha Phi Omega (The National Service Fraternity), Joe and two friends organized and completed "4,200 Miles for Kids," a cross-country bicycle trip to raise money for Big Brothers and Sisters and United Cerebral Palsy. He is a member of EarthSave International and has traveled the world to research eco-friendly, low-impact and other progressive communities and cities. He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Computer Systems Institute.

Mark Mellett

Mark is the legal arm of our venture. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in the Program of Liberal Studies. Mark earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the Duquesne University School of Law in 1996, graduating cum laude. He was a member of the law review and clerked for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Mark is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Mark worked in a law firm specializing in construction litigation for 3 years prior to becoming an officer in the United States Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG). He served in the Navy for 5 years as a legal advisor and prosecutor, including in the capacity of Special Assistant United States Attorney. After the Navy, Mark was an Assistant District Attorney for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for two years before joining his cousin Joe (yes, it’s not a coincidence that they have the same last name) to build Bicycle City.

Kirstin Miller

Kirstin is an advisor to Bicycle City and serves as Ecocity Builders’ executive director. A former public school teacher, today Kirstin is an environmental activist and works to promote healthy ecology, presenting her ideas internationally, as well as writing for a number of publications on the environment, ecocities and urban ecology. She works to develop strategies for planning issues such as centers-oriented development and zoning overlay mapping. In 2008, Kirstin was lead organizer for "Ecocity World Summit," the 7th International Ecocity Conference in San Francisco. In 2005, she organized the "Green City Visions" conference as part of the United Nations World Environment Day events, and in 2004, she led a Berkeley community field trip with local leaders, including the mayor, to San Luis Obispo to visit their successful downtown creek restoration and greenway project. Kirstin currently leads the development of Ecocity Builders’ programs and projects and teaches a course on the ecological city structure at the University of California Berkeley Extension.

Ozzie Nagler

Ozzie is our local design and planning consultant. Ozzie is an internationally-recognized land planner and urban designer and is a Harvard graduate in architecture and urban design. Ozzie's background includes programming, feasibility studies, master planning, architectural and landscape concepts and engineering coordination for new communities and other projects. His main roles have included vice president and director of land planning/design for Harbison, SC; architect and urban designer in New York City, Tel Aviv and Rangoon; and founding director of the Housing, Urban and Regional Planning Institute, Korea. He has taught at Yale, M.I.T., the University of South Carolina, Seoul National University, Rangoon University, and Cornell University. His project highlights include Harbison New Town; Three Rivers Greenway; Olympic Village (essentially car-free), Seoul Korea; Long Creek Plantation, SC; Kfar Vradim New Town, Israel; and Bicycle City, SC. Read more about Ozzie Nagler in this interview.

Richard Register

Considered to be one of the world's foremost authors and theorists on ecological planning and design, Richard is one of Bicycle City's advisors. In 1975, Richard was the founding president of Urban Ecology. He founded Ecocity Builders in 1992, and today is the organization's president. He has spoken on the subject of ecocity development worldwide, including four United Nation's environmental conferences. His books include Ecocities: Building Cities in Balance with Nature; Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthier Future; and Another Beginning. Richard was a speaker at the 7th International Ecocity Conference in San Francisco (2008); Keynote Speaker at the 6th in Bangalore, India (2006); co-convener of the 5th in Shenzhen, China (August 2002); advisor to the 3rd in Yoff, Senegal (1996); advisor to the 2nd in Adelaide, Australia (1992); and convened the 1st International Ecocity Conference (1990). Approximately 1,800 people and 325 speakers to date have been involved in these events. Richard is widely credited as having coined the term "ecocity."

We want to thank everyone who has contributed to Bicycle City with their work, partnership, support, and ideas.