Starter Packs
Starter packs, for the uninitiated, are lists of users that can be quickly followed individually or in whole, on a particular topic. They can be used to sign-up to Bluesky (or used shortly after sign-up!), giving new users a quick start to their timeline. Existing users also find starter packs useful--a nice curated list is always good!
Starter packs may also include up to three custom feeds that users may find interesting. For more information on custom feeds (Bluesky's killer app IMO), see Custom Feeds.
Of course, I've gotta' plug my feed first. This is the most widely-used starter pack in this space though, so I think it's a good one.
This starter pack is academically geared. Researchers, city planners, activists, and a few content creators who provide a lot of value to the community. The idea was to platform the folks who have a lot of well-researched things we need to hear.
An emphasis was placed on diversity as building better cities requires us to understand the needs of everyone. Please reach out to @fema.bsky.social if you meet the criteria for this list/have a unique perspective.
I have included below some of my other favorite starter packs by other users, two of which specifically aim to address diversity. Women on Bikes & Diverse Urbanism Voices. Please check them out!
Brilliant list from #BikeSky creator @derek.bike. The list is under the BikeSky account, but I couldn't resist giving derek a shoutout too. He puts so much work and love into the bike community on BSKY and I wanted to mention that.
As of today, there are three series of bike enjoyer starter packs, so if you can't get enough bike friends, then you're in luck! There is more!
And be sure to check out the BikeSky feeds. There are local feeds to if you want to connect with folks in your area!
This is a wonderful starter pack. I highly recommend anyone interested in urbanism and bikes to check this out.
This is an inclusive list too, filled by all those who identify as women and/or non-binary.
The creator, Cathy Tuttle, also runs a handful of custom feeds worth checking out, including a cargo bike feed and a women on bikes feed!
Curated by @chanface.bsky.social, Rodney addresses the lack of diversity in this space with this list, helping expose us all to a wider group with different perspectives.
In their own words "Trying to include more diverse identities and lived experiences to create a more inclusive and accurate conversation about urbanism and transit!"
I am of the belief that urbanism has a whiteness problem and it's a red flag that the movement is not very diverse. We are going to make some big mistakes if we do not correct this and I think that starts by listening to women, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and people with disabilities.
On a related note, I want to plug the disability feed, created by @allyann.bsky.social. I'm not aware of any starter packs that relate to urbanists with disabilities and their experiences under car-dependency, transit, and micromobility, but I would love to platform one here!