Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the major aspects linked to cycling advocacy or cycling policies, first from a historical perspective then focusing on contemporary cycling-related issues and findings. The role that non-linguists attribute to language and metaphors is highlighted, as in the metaphor of Darwinian evolution to frame the technological changes of velomobiles through history or the creation of ‘jaywalkers’. Some history of urban planning is presented, focusing on Buchanan’s work. The chapter then reports studies on ‘bikelash’, highlighting on discursive strategies to prevent it. At the end of the chapter some controversial issues that often arise when discussing cycling are briefly explained, these are mandatory helmet laws, road tax, safety in numbers and the exposure to pollution.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aldred, R. (2013). Incompetent or Too Competent? Negotiating Everyday Cycling Identities in a Motor Dominated Society. Mobilities, 8(2), 252–271.
Baker, P. C. (2019, October 3). Collision Course: Why Are Cars Killing More and More Pedestrians? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/oct/03/collision-course-pedestrian-deaths-rising-driverless-cars. Accessed 23 November 2019.
Buchanan, C. (2015 [1963]). Traffic in Towns—A Study of the Long Term Problem of Traffic in Urban Areas. Introduction by Simon Gunn. London and New York: Routledge.
Cox, P., & Van De Walle, F. (2007). Bicycles Don’t Evolve: Velomobiles and the Modelling of Transport Technologies. In D. Horton, P. Rosen, & P. Cox (Eds.), Cycling and Society (pp. 113–132). London: Routledge.
De Jong, P. (2012). The Health Impact of Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Laws. Risk Analysis, 32(5), 782–790.
DfT. (2012). THINK! Cyclist. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/think-cyclist. Accessed 10 June 2019.
DfT. (2013). Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2013. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359311/rrcgb-2013.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2019.
ECF. (2014). ECF Helmet Factsheet. https://ecf.com/files/wp-content/uploads/Helmet-factsheet-_17042015_Final.pdf. Accessed 10 June 2019.
ECF. (2016). Cycling Delivers on the Global Goals. https://ecf.com/groups/cycling-delivers-global-goals. Accessed 20 May 2019.
Furness, Z. (2010). One Less Car: Bicycling and the Politics of Automobility. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Gössling, S., Choi, A., Dekker, K., & Metzler, D. (2019, April). The Social Cost of Automobility, Cycling and Walking in the European Union. Ecological Economics, 158, 65–74.
Gunn, S. (2011). The Buchanan Report, Environment and the Problem of Traffic in 1960s Britain. Twentieth Century British History, 22(4), 521–542.
Harrabin, R. (2013). Is There Any Such Thing as ‘Road Tax’? BBC News Website. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23694438. Accessed 10 June 2019.
Horton, D. (2007). Fear of Cycling. In D. Horton, P. Rosen, & P. Cox (Eds.), Cycling and Society (pp. 133–152). London: Routledge.
Horton, D. (2009). Social Movements and the Bicycle. https://thinkingaboutcycling.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/social-movements-and-the-bicycle.pdf. Accessed 4 June 2019.
Horton, D., Rosen, P., & Cox, P. (2007). Cycling and Society. London and New York: Routledge.
Jacobsen, P. L. (2003). Safety in Numbers: More Walkers and Bicyclists, Safer Walking and Bicycling. Injury Prevention, 9, 205–209.
Johan de Hartog, J., Boogaard, H., Nijland, H., & Hoek, G. (2010). Do the Health Benefits of Cycling Outweigh the Risks? Environmental Health Perspectives, 118(8), 1109–1116.
Johnson, M., Newstead, S., Charlton, J., & Oxley, J. (2011). Riding Through Red Lights: The Rate, Characteristics and Risk Factors of Non-compliant Urban Commuter Cyclists. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 43(1), 323–328.
Kanagawa Prefectural Police Department. (2019). Application Procedure for a Vehicle Parking Place (Garage) Certificate. https://www.police.pref.kanagawa.jp/eng/e_mes/engf4001.htm. Accessed 20 June 2019.
Kingham, S., Longley, I., Salmond, J., Pattinson, W., & Shrestha, K. (2013). Variations in Exposure to Traffic Pollution While Travelling by Different Modes in a Low Density, Less Congested City. Environmental Pollution, 181, 211–218.
Lakoff, G. (2010). Why It Matters How We Frame the Environment. Environmental Communication, 4(1), 70–81.
Lash, S., & Urry, J. (1994). Economies of Signs and Space. London: Sage.
Norton, P. D. (2007). Street Rivals: Jaywalking and the Invention of the Motor Age Street. Technology and Culture, 48(2), 331–359.
Oddy, N. (2007). The Flaneur on Wheels? In D. Horton, P. Rosen, & P. Cox (Eds.), Cycling and Society (pp. 97–112). London: Routledge.
Peck, C. (2012). New Guidance on Shared Use Routes. https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/campaign-article/new-guidance-on-shared-use-routes. Accessed 20 May 2019.
Reid, C. (2015). Roads Were Not Built for Cars—How Cyclists Were the First to Push for Good Roads and Became the Pioneers of Motoring. Washington, Covelo, and London: Island Press.
Richardson, M., & Caulfield, B. (2015). Investigating Traffic Light Violations by Cyclists in Dublin City Centre. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 84, 65–73.
Rossi, U., & Vanolo, A. (2011). Urban Political Geographies: A Global Perspective. London: Sage.
Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2000). The City and the Car. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 24(4), 737–757.
Smethurst, P. (2015). The Bicycle—Towards a Global History. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sternbergh, A. (2011). ‘I Was a Teenage Cyclist,’ or How Anti-Bike-Lane Arguments Echo the Tea Party. https://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/i-was-a-teenage-cyclist-or-how-anti-bike-lane-arguments-echo-the-tea-party/. Accessed 10 June 2019.
Swyngedouw, E. (2007). Impossible “Sustainability” and the Postpolitical Condition. In R. Krueger & D. Gibbs (Eds.), The Sustainable Development Paradox: Urban Political Economy in the United States and Europe. New York and London: The Guilford Press.
UN DESA. (2018). World Urbanization Prospects 2018. https://population.un.org/wup/. Accessed 20 May 2019.
UNRIC. (2018). How Does Cycling Help Achieve the Global Goals? https://www.unric.org/en/latest-un-buzz/31011-how-does-cycling-help-achieve-the-global-goals. Accessed 20 May 2019.
Urry, J. (2004). The ‘System’ of Automobility in Theory. Culture & Society, 21(4–5), 25–39.
WHO. (2018). Physical Inactivity: A Global Public Health Problem. https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_inactivity/en/. Accessed 20 May 2019.
Wild, K., Woodward, A., Field, A., & Macmillan, A. (2017). Beyond ‘Bikelash’: Engaging with Community Opposition to Cycle Lanes. Mobilities, 13(4), 505–519.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Caimotto, M.C. (2020). History, Urban Planning and Controversies. In: Discourses of Cycling, Road Users and Sustainability. Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44026-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44026-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-44025-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-44026-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)