Mexico City has been a leader in bicycling since 2007 when it first launched its Muevete en Bici open streets program, which every Sunday, bans car traffic along seven city streets including Paseo de la Reforma, a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of the city. The closure, which is more than 30 miles long and traverses six districts, brings — at its height — some 90,000 people from all walks of life to the streets where they’re free to walk, roll, and ride in solidarity and without fear. Still, it’s only in the last few years that the city’s truly become a great place for people to ride every day of the week.

Mexico City’s current mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, is committed to improving mobility in the city, and crucially, she sees bicycling as an essential mode of transportation. With official backing and funding, planners were able to move quickly to get more than 140 miles of new bike infrastructure on the ground between 2019 to 2022. What’s more, EcoBici, Mexico City’s government-backed bike share system is not only the largest in Latin America but is undergoing a significant expansion in 2023.

All bike planning — whether it's new bike share stations, bike parking hubs, or bike lanes — is done in a way that works with existing transit infrastructure, something that’s key to any great bike city. With a City Ratings score of 57, Mexico City is a step above most places in the U.S. and constantly improving, thanks to a combination of political willpower, a focus on building a connected network and constructing high-quality infrastructure fast, integrating cycling with transit, and investing public funds in bike share and other equity initiatives.