an ecology of cyclingprotected cycleways: power, politics and public perception
Katja LeyendeckerPhD researcher
Northumbria UniversityEE-ABE
PGR CONFERENCE 2016
Why bother with cycling?
Cycling is…• Good for the environment• Good for personal health and wellbeing• Good for the local economy• Good for community and neighbourhoods• Good for the individual’s pocket• Good for public purse
Cycling addresses big needs of today:climate change / carbon emission reduction
public health / obesityenvironmental sustainability
social, economic and environmental justice
What cycling?
Transport
Everyday journeys
• Work• School
• Shopping
• Visiting friends
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Socio-ecological model
Barton & Grant (2006)
What’s needed?No city in Europe or North America has achieved high level of cycling without an extensive network of well-integrated bike lanes and paths that provide separation from motor vehicle traffic. […] Separate cycling facilities are a crucial first step towards increasing cycling and making it socially inclusive. Pucher & Buehler (2012:351)
It is clear from our research that most non-cyclists and recreational cyclists will only consider cycling regularly if they are segregated from [motor vehicle] traffic Pooley et al (2013:176)
Why has it not happened?
Academia highlights the stranded systemSome select voices:• Dominant: socio-technical system of
automobility (Urry, 2005)• Over decades, we have been concentrating on
the individual too much and ‘forgot’ systemic issues (Spotswood et al, 2015)
• Dynamics of neoliberal politics (Harvey, 2005)
My research
Framework
Jensen (2013)
Operationalised framework
Jensen (2013)
Investigation IDocument assessmentDiscourse of transport policies
Investigation IIIInterviews with street users
Investigation IIStreet observations and assessment of secondary datasets
Investigation IDocument analysis of relevant current policy
NewcastleGateshead, UK
Local Plan (2015)Local Transport Plan (2010)
Bremen, Germany
Transport plan (Verkehrsentwicklungsplan) (2014)
Investigation IIObservation and interrogation of secondary datasets
NewcastleGateshead Bremen___________________________________________________________________Population 490,000 550,000Density person/km 2,000 1,700Source: Wikipedia
Map source: openstreetmap.org
Investigation III
Stage 115 min think-aloud (Ericsson & Simon, 1993)
Commentary on videos showing typical cycling infrastructure• NewcastleGateshead• Bremen• Copenhagen/Amsterdam
>Transcribe>> Analyse for themes/narratives
Interviews
Stage 245 min semi-structured
Uncover structural stories (Freudendal-Pedersen, 2009)Challenge perceptions
>Transcribe>> Analyse for themes/narratives
Putting it back together
Jensen (2013)
Investigation IDocument assessmentDiscourse of transport policies
Investigation IIIInterviews with street users
Investigation IIStreet observations and assessment of secondary datasets
Putting it back together
Jensen (2013)
Investigation IDocument assessmentDiscourse of transport policies
Investigation IIIInterviews with street users
Investigation IIStreet observations and assessment of secondary datasets
References• Barton, H., & Grant, M. (2006). A health map for the local human habitat. Journal of
The Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 126(6), 252-253. doi:10.1177/1466424006070466
• Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (1993). Protocol Analysis: verbal reports as data - Please think aloud. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
• Freudendal-Pedersen, M. (2009). Mobility in daily life: between freedom and unfreedom. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
• Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.• Jensen, O. B. (2013). Staging mobilities: Routledge.• Pooley, C. G. et al. (2013). Promoting Walking and Cycling : New Perspectives on
Sustainable Travel. Bristol: Policy Press.• Pucher, J. R., & Buehler, R. (2012). City cycling: MIT Press.• Spotswood, F. et al. (2015). Analysing cycling as a social practice: An empirical
grounding for behaviour change. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 29, 22-33. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2014.12.001
• Urry, J. (2005). The Systems of Mobility. Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie, 118, 23-35.
Northumbria University webpageComparing urban space perception in two cities, Newcastle, UK, and Bremen, Germany – in particular regard to cycling infrastructureThe lack of infrastructure and the associated safety concerns are cited as the main reason for people abstaining from cycling for utility and transport in urban areas in the UK (for example, Pooley et al, 2013, Pucher & Buehler 2012). It is argued that, to increase cycling numbers, the urban environment will have to be adapted to be more conducive and inviting to cycling. By comparing two cities in different European countries and focussing on how non-cycling or occasionally-cycling users perceive cycling spaces, this research will contribute to the debates surrounding how urban traffic spaces are viewed, conceptualised and negotiated.By gaining more knowledge about the public’s perception of urban cycling space it is possible to inform policy and decision-making processes.
Research Supervisors• Dr Seraphim Alvanides• Prof Ruth Dalton
Key PublicationsConference involvement at RGS conferences, Cycling and Society conference, Newcastle’s Active City Cycle City, Women and Cycling Forum (Scotland, and England)
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/our-students/student-profiles/l/katja-leyendecker/
