Strategic Vision · Spring 2026
2026
and Beyond
Helping people shift trips to healthier, more affordable, and more fun alternatives. Measuring the impact, trip by trip, community by community.
Green Streets Initiative was founded in 2006 by Janie Katz-Christy to make active transportation a visible, celebrated part of daily life in Greater Boston. For twenty years, GSI built community around walking, biking, and transit through events, storytelling, and grassroots advocacy.
Now under new leadership, GSI is bringing that foundation into a technology-enabled model designed to scale — anchored by Shift, a mobile platform that makes active transportation fun, rewarding, and measurable. The mission hasn't changed. The tools have.
Part One · The Landscape
The Paradox
It has never been easier to choose active transportation.
The question is why more people don't — and what would help them start.
Part One · The Landscape
What We Heard
Three months of listening.
A structured research process to assess the Greater Boston active transportation landscape: key challenges, where the gaps are, and where we can best help.
Behavior change is an underserved layer.
The advocacy ecosystem has matured around infrastructure and policy. What’s missing is the behavioral layer: helping people actually try alternatives, making it fun and rewarding, and building lasting habits.
Schools are high-potential, underserved.
Both surveys ranked school-based active transportation programming as the area of greatest untapped potential. Multiple stakeholders pointed to K–12 as an impactful and highly fundable lane.
Measurement is a priority.
Municipalities, MPOs, and foundations emphasized that measurable outcomes matter more than awareness. Data on actual trips shifted is what unlocks sustained support.
Part One · The Landscape
Where We Fit
A complementary layer.
| Layer | Who's Active | GSI's Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Advocacy & Policy | LivableStreets, MassBike, WalkMass, T4MA, TransitMatters, BCU | We amplify their work. Our data strengthens their case. |
| Employer Commutes | MassCommute, 17 TMAs, Agile Mile | We complement TMAs — serving all trip types and all segments. |
| School Infrastructure | MassDOT SRTS (1,300+ schools) | We provide the sustained engagement infrastructure investments need. |
| Community & Culture | Hubluv, Bikes Not Bombs, Memorial Drive Alliance | Partners for events, cross-promotion, and shared audiences. |
| Behavior Change | Green Streets Initiative | This is our focus. Rewards, guides, challenges, storytelling, impact data. |
Part Two · How It Works
The journey to
first shift.
Behavior change starts with a receptive moment. GSI meets people at that moment with a first experience — and keeps them engaged after the first shift.
Receptive Moments We Target
North Star Metric
Our north star is trips shifted. Every trip generates outcomes we can report: money saved, fitness gained, emissions avoided, congestion reduced.
Part Two · How It Works
Four programs, working together.
Shift Platform
A free mobile app that detects and classifies trips automatically, rewards active choices with XP and local discounts, and shows your personal impact in real time. Includes the Commute Advisor and curated Roam adventures.
Shift for Schools
K–12 classroom challenges, volunteer-led walk and bike buses, route planning assistance, and safe route maps. Includes SRTS pipeline integration. Free to every participating school.
Employer & Community
Private groups, customized Commute Advisor, funded reward pools, ESG reporting. Plus Shift Your Summer and Shift Your September flagship campaigns.
What Moves Us
First-person video paired with Shift trip data to illuminate why habits change. Commissioned by cities, planning agencies, TMAs, and developers.
Part Three · The Year Ahead
Two seasonal windows.
Shift Your Summer
June – August 2026
The season when active transportation is most accessible. A community-wide challenge with neighborhood leaderboards, employer team challenges, and prizes.
Curated Roams: The Bakery Run · The Emerald Necklace Ride · The Charles Loop · Harbor Walk to Eastie Eats · The Freedom Trail
Shift Your September
September 2026
September 1 is move-in day across the region. Back-to-school is when families establish new routines and school programs launch. These are receptive moments — Shift Your September brings schools, employers, and communities together under one banner.
Both campaigns are open for presenting sponsors and community partners. Each includes co-branded visibility, social content, and a post-campaign impact report with measurable outcomes.
Part Three · The Year Ahead
How you can support GSI —
and how we can support you.
Municipalities
How you can support us
Commission a What Moves Us campaign · Sponsor a community challenge · Include Shift in welcome packets
How we can support you
Mode-shift data for grant applications · Polished campaign deliverables & impact reports
Peer Organizations
How you can support us
Use Shift for your challenges · Run a What Moves Us campaign · Promote the Commute Advisor
How we can support you
Cross-promote events in the app · Help running challenges on Shift
TMAs
How you can support us
Offer Shift as a complement to commute programs · Help us reach employers
How we can support you
All-trip-type data for your reporting · A platform that serves beyond commutes
Employers
How you can support us
Sponsor a flagship campaign · Set up a private Shift group · Fund prizes
How we can support you
ESG-ready impact reporting · Co-branded visibility · Sustainability summaries
Foundations
How you can support us
Fund school programming · Underwrite a What Moves Us campaign · Support core operations
How we can support you
Measurable outcomes from a technology-enabled model
Help make shift happen.
Looking for ways to get involved?
Download Shift and start tracking your trips. Tell a school, an employer, or a local business. Become a Rewards Partner. Join the Board. Make a tax-deductible donation.
Download the full Strategic Vision (PDF)