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Women activists’ critique
of
cycle politics
Katja Leyendecker EurIng CEng
Researcher at Northumbria University, UK
Prepared for RGS-IGB Annual Conference
31 August 2018
1

What kind of cycling?
Photocredit
right@amsterdamize
left@carltonreid
2

Fiona Spotswood et al (2015)
Despite significant national and local
efforts over the last decade to
stimulate uptake of cycling in the UK,
levels of cycling (particularly utility
cycling) remain at around 2% of
journeys
From the academic message boards
3
“stubbornly unshifting”

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)
4

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)
5

Sanchez de Madariaga’s (2013)
“Mobility of care”
6

Cycle share of all trips
England 2% Germany at 11%
(DfT 2017) (BMVI 2018)
7

• held in 2017
• eight women activists
• 16 hours in total
• semi-structured
• in-depth
• 3 in the UK and 5 in Germany
• cities
9

Themes
• Protect cars and business
• Ineffectual politics
• Technocratic bureaucracy
• Vehicular cycling
• The right people
10

Themes
11
“[Politics] categorically avoids anything that
could hurt some drivers” (D4)
“it is taboo [for councillors] to say that the
car is not needed” (D5)

Themes
12
“We have definitively grown through
learning and actually bringing more people
into the campaign but the council hasn’t
really kind of moved on or built on this
initial kind of support for cycling they
have” (UK1)

Themes
13
“Politicians are constantly told [the highway
engineering department at the council] are
the experts, don’t criticise, they know what
they are doing” (D3).

Themes
14
“There already was a lot of
acceptance of you know things
like roads couldn’t be changed
or wasn’t even an issue.” (UK1)
“If people don't want to cycle
like we [cyclists] want to cycle
… then they must be educated
and taught so that they act
differently” (D5)
“Something I don't know
whether that's a man/woman
thing: to not be able to say I
learnt something from you!”
(D2)
“Of course, this is unbelievable, how a
minority can so forcefully dominate the
debate for 20 years and thereby destroy
a politics promoting cycling for all” (D1)

Themes
15
"Well, I want to know I suppose to some
extent it’s about getting to know him
[senior councillor] and what makes him
tick" (UK2)
"long-term relationship building and
everyone having some sort of mutual
respect and a vision" (UK3)

Themes
16
Decision makers
Civic society

Conceptualisation
of interview content
17
Technocratic officers
“We make traffic flow”
Women activists
“We want
cycleways”
Enacting and
reinforcing the
“system of
automobility”
Urry (2004)
Challenging the
“system of
automobility”

Conclusions
• Mobilities of care >> caring politics?
• Local transport politics is technocratic
• Change is contingent on enlightened politicians
(and an active civic society) 18
the technocratic officer
who continued to design roads for cars

References
19
BMVI. 2018. “Mobilität in Deutschland - Kurzbericht, Verkehrsaufkommen – Struktur – Trends.”
http://www.mobilitaet-in-deutschland.de/pdf/infas_Mobilitaet_in_Deutschland_2017_Kurzreport.pdf.
DfT. 2017. “Transport Statistics Great Britain 2017.”
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66193
3/tsgb-2017-report-summaries.pdf.
Pooley, Colin G, Tim Jones, Miles Tight, Dave Horton, Griet Scheldeman, Caroline Mullen, Ann Jopson, and
Emanuele Strano. 2013. Promoting Walking and Cycling : New Perspectives on Sustainable Travel. Bristol,
UK: Policy Press.
Pucher, John R., and Ralph Buehler. 2012. City Cycling. Book, Whole. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.
Sánchez de Madariaga, Inés. 2013. “From Women in Transport to Gender in Transport: Challenging Conceptual
Frameworks for Improved Policymaking.” Journal of International Affairs 67 (1): 43–XVIII.
Spotswood, Fiona, Tim Chatterton, Alan Tapp, and David Williams. 2015. “Analysing Cycling as a Social Practice:
An Empirical Grounding for Behaviour Change.” Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and
Behaviour 29: 22–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2014.12.001.
Urry, J. 2004. “The ‘System’ of Automobility.” Theory, Culture & Society 21 (4–5): 25–39.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276404046059.

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Women activists’ critique of cycle politics

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