Cycling to Work : An Analysis of the Practice of Utility Cycling

This book presents a thorough discussion of utility cycling, cycling in the urban environment, and everyday mobility. It is based on large survey answered by 14,000 participants in the bike to work action in Switzerland, and quantifies the various dimensions of utility cycling. It proposes an innovative theoretical framework to analyse and understand the various dimensions of the uses of bikes and their diversity. It addresses the factors that motivate commuters to get on their bike, and highlights the barriers to this practice between deficient infrastructures and lack of legitimacy. This research makes a diagnosis and discusses the way to develop this sustainable mode of transportation. By combining quantitative results in the form of tables, figures, and maps, and including qualitative results in the form of quotations from survey participants, this book provides a thorough and enjoyable read. It will be of interest to researchers, policy makers, advanced students in the field of urban planning, social sciences, and transportation

Introduction: Has Cycling Got a Boost from the Pandemic?

As the COVID-19 pandemic surged around the world at the beginning of 2020, all aspects of life were disrupted. This book looks back to spring 2020 and the end of the first lockdown, when many cities around the globe took measures to give cycling more space. It scrutinises the political and material responses to increase cycling during the pandemic. The introduction presents the 9 chapters as well as some of the lessons learned

Les choix résidentiels des couples : motivations, arbitrages et logiques de genre parmi les classes moyennes supérieures urbaines

Après s'être longtemps focalisée sur l'individu, la littérature consacrée à la mobilité résidentielle a mis en exergue l'importance de prendre en compte les ménages comme unité d'analyse. En s'intéressant à des couples appartenant aux classes moyennes supérieures et s'étant installés en zone urbaine centrale, cet article aborde la construction du choix résidentiel entre conjoints et leurs motivations. Différents arbitrages relatifs à la localisation sont identifiés selon qu'ils portent sur des problèmes de mobilité (réels ou anticipés), la conciliation entre carrière professionnelle et vie familiale, l'attachement territorial, l'appartenance linguistique (la ville étudiée étant bilingue) et la bi-résidentialité (ou non-cohabitation). Des logiques de genre sont identifiées. Bien que plus marquées parmi les couples âgés, elles représentent une variable importante pour expliquer l'organisation conjugale et se répercute sur le choix résidentiel de différentes manières

The contrasted evolution of cycling during youth. Determinants of bicycle ownership and use

Cycling during youth is characterized in many countries by two trends: its decline over the course of several decades (termed the generation effect) and its decline over the life course of individuals (the age effect). This paper addresses the age effect through a survey carried out among young people aged 12–20 (n = 1,358) in a Swiss city. It goes beyond the cyclist/non-cyclist dichotomy and identifies several cases in terms of skills (ability to ride a bike), access (ownership of a bike), and uses (reasons for and frequency of cycling). While most young people (98%) learned how to ride a bike as a child, an important minority do not continue cycling beyond childhood. Among those who continue, the use of the bike often changes over time to become less utilitarian and more recreational and occasional. The main determinants explaining cycling practices among young people are socialization (the parents’ cycling practices and level of education), gender, and the spaces of everyday life (place of residence and school). The results point to several levers to foster cycling among young people, to anchor sustainable mobility practices for years to come

Tactical Urbanism to Develop Cycling Infrastructures: The Implementation of COVID Cycle Lanes in Switzerland

After the first COVID-19 wave, the end of the first lockdown represented a window of opportunity to develop vélomobility and to reallocate car space. In this context, Geneva and Lausanne implemented new, pop-up cycle infrastructures that came to be known as ‘COVID cycle lanes’. While such processes were time-specific, local authorities seem to have learned new ways of intervening and experimenting with public spaces in terms of temporary urbanism. It is worth noting, however, that most other Swiss cities did not take such measures. First, this chapter analyses how and why Geneva and Lausanne played tactically with the legal framework in order to implement COVID cycle lanes. We identify the conditions that made such measures possible (urgency, the low quality of existing cycling infrastructures, ‘political champions’, and a desire to develop cycling). We then turn to the way the new cycle lanes were received, including oppositions (mainly from right-wing conservative milieus, car lobbyists, and retailers). Finally, we analyse the reasons for which other cities—such as Lucerne and Zurich—did not implement such measures, despite demands from some local organizations and politicians

Cycling in the era of Covid-19: The effects of the pandemic and pop-up bike lanes on cycling practices

This paper addresses the effects of the pandemic and of Covid pop-up cycle lanes on cycling. A questionnaire survey was carried out in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland. The pandemic has strengthened the attractiveness of cycling both as a mode of transport and as a recreational activity, showing its resilience in a time of crisis. Covid cycle lanes implemented after the first lockdown have improved traffic conditions for cycling in terms of safety, directness and the overall experience. Beyond the recruitment of new cyclists, an effect of consolidating existing practices is observed through, for example, their extension to additional routes and motives. These pop-up cycle lanes have, however, been politically contested, and their reception varies in the population, depending mainly on mobility habits and political position. As both cities aim to increase their modal share of cycling, the challenge is to capitalize on the recent development of cycling, to provide suitable infrastructures, but also to find ways to deal with the controversies and to legitimate cycling as a fully-fledged means of transport