Before you knock down a wall, you find out what’s behind it. Wiring, plumbing, and whether it holds up the roof.
Projects stall for the same reason. Most communities have plans and ambition. What they lack is a clear read on the conditions that decide whether a plan gets built.
They are missing is a clear understanding of the underlying conditions: whether local government staff has the technical know-how to deliver, whether the funding holds up beyond a single grant cycle, whether political will survives an election, and whether residents are actually along for the ride.
That is the gap City Thread set out to close in partnership with the Urban Cycling Institute, an independent research institute based in Amsterdam that helps communities increase capacity and build sustainable urban futures. Throughout 2024, UCI conducted applied case research on our work in Bentonville, Arkansas, to examine how an active mobility culture takes hold and accelerates across a community.
The result is a new workbook and video series, "Mobilizing Communities: Enabling Cycling Change," a practical guide for communities to evaluate their local capacity and understand the crucial role civic leadership plays in project delivery.
“Working alongside City Thread allowed us to ground our academic methodologies and evidence-based frameworks in the practical realities of American urban planning — bridging the gap between rigorous research and actionable city-level execution.”
— Dr. Meredith Glaser, CEO, Urban Cycling Institute
Built for planners, coalition members, and elected officials, the workbook turns a year of research into actionable steps, paired with a chapter-by-chapter video guide.
Developed for city staff working with tight budgets, elected officials deciding where to spend political capital, and community advocates trying to build something that outlasts a single project. If you're one of those people and you can sense that your community's efforts are stuck without being able to name exactly where, this gives you the language for it.
UCI’s Research
Bentonville was the ideal case study. Over two decades, heavy investment established the city as a premier mountain biking destination. But recreational trails and routine commuting are two distinct challenges. Enabling residents to bike for daily trips to school, work, or the grocery store requires rethinking car-oriented planning, navigating complex infrastructure decisions, and establishing process change across local government entities.
The Urban Cycling Institute's research examined this shift: What does it take for a community to transition from great recreational trails to everyday active mobility? The study evaluated the five interrelated dimensions of local capacity — institutional, political, technical, financial, and social — that must align for progress to hold, as well as the impact of City Thread’s engagement and support for the Bentonville Moves Coalition.
Much of what the research surfaced came down to strategic framing. The coalition never framed itself as a cycling advocacy group asking for special treatment.
That distinction is the core foundation of the workbook. By framing the effort around shared community goals rather than single-interest demands, Bentonville built 30 miles of connected mobility infrastructure in three years — accelerating project delivery 15 times over its historic pace.
The workbook is built around cycling, but the thinking underneath it isn't. It's a cycling-specific application of the Playbook:
Establish a Shared Goal
Align Partnerships
Resource Local Champions
Build at Scale, Quickly
The same approach works in a town of 3,000 and a city of 300,000. The Playbook works for public transit, housing, parks, and public space. What changes is what your community already has, what’s in the way, and what it needs next.
Bentonville didn't have conditions that other communities can't build. It had a clear goal, partners who stayed at the table, and the willingness to find out what was behind its own walls before picking up a sledgehammer.
Your Resources
Local Capacity & Civic Leadership Workbook
Mobilizing Communities Video Series
Do you know what your community is working with? Regardless of your starting point, we want to learn more about what is happening in the place you call home. Let's talk. Reach out at hello@citythread.org.
