Bicycle Indicator Update

Last month we talked about female bicyclists as an indicator of community strength. Now the same indicator is in the news again.

In a New York Times article today, we learn of increased government oppression in Iran. What measures does the author use to make the point? Read for yourself in the opening paragraph:

Rents are soaring, inflation hovers around 17 percent, and 10 million Iranians live below the poverty line. The police said they shut 20 barbershops for men in Tehran last week because they offered inappropriate hairstyles, and women have been banned from riding bicycles in many places, as a crackdown on social freedoms presses on.

So besides a measure of growth management, urban renewal, transportation alternatives, public safety, and public health, female bicyclists are now an indicator of social freedom. Keep me updated on any other uses you find for this indicator!