Bicycling for Transportation: An Evidence-Base for Communities
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About this ebook
Bicycling for Transportation examines the individual and societal factors of active transportation and biking behavior. The book uses an Interdisciplinary approach to provide a comprehensive overview of bicycling for transportation research. It examines the variability in biking participation among different demographic groups and the multiple levels of influence on biking to better inform researchers and practitioners on the effective use of community resources, programming and policymaking. It is an ideal resource for public health professionals trying to encourage physical activity through biking. In addition, it makes the case for new infrastructure that supports these initiatives.
- Provides evidence-based insights on cost-effective interventions for improving biking participation
- Includes numerous case studies and best practices that highlight multi-level approaches in a variety of settings
- Explores individual and social factors related to biking behavior, such as race, gender and self-efficacy
Melissa Bopp
Melissa Bopp, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University. Throughout her career she has published extensively on active travel (walking and biking for transportation). Her interests lie in community and environmental approaches to encouraging physical activity at a population level. She also serves as an advisory committee member of ActiveEarth through the American College of Sports Medicine which is a science based initiative targeting sustainable transportation. Dr. Bopp is a member of her local community bicycling coalition and campus bicycle advisory board.
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Bicycling for Transportation - Melissa Bopp
Bicycling for Transportation
An Evidence-Base for Communities
Melissa Bopp
Dangaia Sims
Daniel Piatkowski
Table of Contents
Cover
Title page
Copyright
Dedication
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Bicycle: A Technological and Social History
Abstract
Introduction
Technological History of the Bicycle
Social History of the Bicycle
The Bicycle and Quality Roads in the United States
The Bicycle and Women’s Rights
The Bicycle and the Auto Age
International Case Studies: The Bicycle in the 20th Century
The Bicycle in the United States After World War II
Bicycling in the United States Today
Conclusion
Chapter 2: Benefits and Risks of Bicycling
Abstract
Health and Fitness Benefits of Physical Activity and Exercise
Social Benefits of Biking
Environmental Benefits
Economic Benefits
Conclusion
Chapter 3: Measuring Bicycling Within the Community
Abstract
Introduction
Objective
Placing Counters
Short Term
Permanent
Subjective
National Surveillance
Targeted Surveys
Summary
Chapter 4: Why We Bike and Why We Don’t
Abstract
A Framework for Understanding Biking
Personal Influences
Social and Cultural Factors
Environmental Influences
Special Populations
Summary
Chapter 5: Institutional Strategies for Promoting Biking
Abstract
Worksites
Workplace Influences on Bicycle Commuting
Campaigns to Promote Bicycle Commuting
Policies and Legislation
Travel Plans
Campaigns and Interventions
Schools
Safe Routes to School Initiatives
Safety-Oriented Programs
Bicycle Skill-Building Programs and Encouragement Programs
Universities
Influences on Travel to Universities
Influences on Travel to Universities for Students
Influences on Travel to Universities for Employees
Promoting Bicycling at Universities
Conclusion
Chapter 6: Community-Level Strategies for Promoting Bicycling
Abstract
Open Streets & Ciclovias
Educational or Promotional Campaigns
Bicycle Advocacy Groups/Coalitions
Bike Share Programs
End of Trip Facilities
Public Transportation Support
Conclusion
Chapter 7: If We Build It, Will They Come? Environmental Approaches to Bicycle Promotion
Abstract
Introduction
The Evidence Base for Environmental Approaches
Macro-scale: Interventions at the Neighborhood and Community Level
Potential Challenges and Unintended Consequences
Conclusion
Chapter 8: Policy and Law Approaches to Bicycling
Abstract
Introduction
Local and State Laws
Traffic Laws for Bicyclists
Traffic Laws for Motorists that Affect Cyclists
Bike Plans
Complete Streets
Safe Routes to Schools
Summary
Chapter 9: Changing Biking Behavior: An Application of the Evidence
Abstract
Working Within a Framework
A Framework for Application
Chapter 10: Bringing it all Together: Bicycling Around the World
Abstract
Promoting Cycling in Cities of Different Sizes
The Five E’s
A Broad Perspective on Bicycle Friendliness
Conclusions
Index
Copyright
Elsevier
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This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-12-812642-4
For information on all Elsevier publications visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals
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Dedication
To my friends and family in their support of this book and all of the community members whose enthusiasm for this text made it a labor of love.
–Melissa Bopp
I dedicate this book to my parents who taught me to ride a bike; my sisters, with whom I enjoyed riding bikes around the cul-de-sac; and my friends who are just good people.
–Dangaia Sims
To my family for always supporting my love of bicycles, my friends for always being up for a ride, and my daughter who is just learning to ride.
–Daniel Piatkowski
About the Authors
Melissa Bopp, PhD is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University. Throughout her career, she has published extensively on active travel (walking and biking for transportation). Her interests lie in community and environmental approaches to encourage physical activity at a population level. She also serves as an advisory committee member of ActiveEarth through the American College of Sports Medicine, which is a science-based initiative targeting sustainable transportation. Dr. Bopp is a member of her local community bicycling coalition and campus bicycle advisory board.
Dangaia Sims, PhD is a Data Scientist and Senior Strategy Consultant within IBM’s Global Business Services group (New York, NY, United States). She completed her doctorate at The Pennsylvania State University in 2016 where she conducted research on active transportation and active transportation policy (e.g., Complete Streets), particularly among underserved populations in the United States.
Daniel Piatkowski, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Planning at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and affiliate faculty of the Nebraska Transportation Center. He teaches courses in transportation planning, land use, urban design, and research methods. His research interests include travel behavior, sustainability, active transportation, and the intersection of urban design and transportation planning. Dr. Piatkowski is also a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Transportation Needs of Parks and Public Lands (ADA40) and a member of the Plan4Health task force of the Nebraska Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge all of the organizations, advocates, and practitioners who selflessly shared their stories for others to learn from.
Introduction
Rates of biking for transportation are in many regions and communities may not have a full understanding of the multifaceted approaches need to address this problem. This book aims to gather the evidence examining influences on biking ranging from the individual to policy and provide evidence-based strategies to improve biking participation in your community. This text approaches this problem from a social ecological perspective, providing a framework to examine relevant topics at multiple levels: individual, social, institutional, community, policy, and the environment. We hope this book fills the current gap in existing resources that focus exclusively on one element or another. This text will aim to provide community practitioners, urban planners, public health officials, researchers, students, and biking advocates with evidence that can be easily translated to practice and provide researchers with a comprehensive review of the literature to inform future studies. This marriage of both research and practice focus can help to guide effective use of resources, programming, and policy-making by addressing biking issues from many levels. Throughout this text we use case studies and best practices to highlight multilevel approaches, considering the individual, social environment, and built environment setting.
Chapter 1
The Bicycle: A Technological and Social History
Abstract
The history of the bicycle includes both the technological advancements made in developing the modern bicycle and the social movements the bicycle has been associated with. This chapter first briefly reviews the evolution of the bicycle from a device with wooden wheels and no pedals to the range of utilitarian and racing bicycles available today. Then, the chapter focuses on the role of this relatively new transportation technology role in significant modern social movements, and how that role in social movements has framed our perception of the bicycle. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the bicycle in contemporary American society, and the challenges and opportunities associated with the bicycle as a means to support healthy communities.
Keywords
bicycle
history
social
technology
transportation
velocipede
Introduction
The bicycle is a simple machine that enables personal movement more efficiently than walking and requires only muscles to power it. The history of bicycling is about the emergence of this technology; however, more relevant to the goals of this book is the role of the bicycle in social movements in the United States and internationally in the last century. This chapter briefly reviews the technological development of the bicycle into its modern form, but focuses primarily on the bicycle’s role in society; specifically, examining this relatively new transportation technology’s role in social movements, and how the bicycle’s role in social movements has framed our perception of it as more than simply a mode of transportation. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the bicycle in contemporary American society, and the challenges and opportunities associated with the bicycle as a means to support healthy communities.
Technological History of the Bicycle
Inventors have been experimenting with variations on two-wheeled, human-powered transportation since the start of the 19th century. The earliest bicycles had no mechanical pedaling system and were called velocipedes (from the Latin swift
and push
) because they relied on the rider pushing with their feet to move.¹ Wood was initially the material of choice, including wheels that looked more like wagon wheels than modern bicycle wheels. As the technology developed, steel tubing and spoked wheels became standard. The bicycle evolved from the foot-driven velocipede into the front-wheel-driven boneshaker,
and then to the high-wheeled penny-farthing.
¹,² By the 1860s the technology advanced to include a mechanical, chain-driven drive-train, which is the standard for bicycles today. These vehicles were the first to be called bicycles
(to differentiate between the foot-driven velocipede), and became the standard by the end of the 19th century.
The early development of the velocipede and penny-farthing pushed the boundaries of technology, making faster, steel machines for recreation and racing. These early bicycles were dangerous and expensive. Bicycling was primarily an expensive hobby for young, wealthy, thrill-seeking men, and was of little interest to the general public.³ For bicycling to become more popular, a safer, more user-friendly machine was needed.
The first true bicycles
developed in the 1880s and 90s, featuring a chain-drive and two equal-sized wheels had to contend with the stereotype that bicycling was a dangerous sport suitable only for upper-class daredevils. As such, the new bicycles were marketed by manufacturers as safety bicycles.
The safety bicycle came in many forms but was the first to include all of the key components of the modern bicycle that we would recognize today. The safety bicycle included two wheels, the front wheel used for steering and the rear wheel connected by a chain to pedals for power. The wheels were spoked and featured rubber tires. Over time, materials have changed and wheel and tire technology has evolved, but the history of the bicycle as a technology for transportation, rather than a hobby for the elite, started here.
Draisine, Precursor to the Velocipede.
Penny-farthing.
Early Step-through Safety Bicycle.
Social History of the Bicycle
The history of the bicycle, like the history of any technology, has been intertwined with prevailing social issues, political movements, and cultural mores of the time. In the late 19th century, the safety bicycle preceded the automobile as the first mode of personal transportation accessible and affordable to the general public. The bicycle in turn had a profound impact on the emerging transportation system in the United States, spurring a system that focused on individual mobility (as opposed to mass transportation systems). Because the bicycle was also the first inexpensive mode of personal transportation accessible to most members of society, it was also instrumental in egalitarian social movements of the 19th century. The bicycle was seen by many at the time as a democratizing force, called the great leveler
for its ability to improve access for all.⁴
In this section, we first examine the role of the bicycle in developing roads and traffic laws in the United States, and then trace the social evolution of the bicycle since its invention. Beginning in the late 19th century, the bicycle played a vital role in the women’s suffrage movement. The bicycle then fell out of use as a mode of transportation with the advent of the automobile. But the generation born after World War II, despite growing up in auto-oriented suburbs, rode cruiser bicycles as children. Many of these children then turned to recreational cycling in the 1960s and 1970s, which in turn led to an infrastructure boom in some US cities.
This section also presents two brief international case studies case studies: China and the Netherlands. The case studies highlight the dramatic growth in bicycling that occurred in China and the Netherlands from the 1930s onward, the same era that the bicycle fell out of favor in the United States. This historical interlude is meant to provide greater context for the bicycle’s ability to enable dramatic societal changes. As evidenced by the two case studies, the movements the bicycle supported have also had profound impacts on the social history and physical character of cities in each country.
The social history of the bicycle concludes with a discussion of evolving perceptions of the bicycle in the United States at the end of the 20th century. The 1990s saw a renaissance of not only recreational bicycling, but also of community-based bicycle advocacy as a means to reduce auto reliance and empower those unable or unwilling to drive. As a result, rates of bicycling in the United States have been steadily increasing for the past 20 years, but so have tensions between bicyclists and other road users, particularly drivers. For communities to move forward with improving health through bicycling, such tensions must be addressed.
The Bicycle and Quality Roads in the United States
The transportation system in the United States today is designed primarily for the private automobile. The goal of our existing transportation system is mobility⁵: moving a high volume of cars, as quickly as possible, over long distances resulting in decades of urban sprawl. To do this, we have reengineered the design and layout of our streets, and developed the interstate highway system (considered one of the largest public works projects in history)⁶ to move vehicles between cities and across the country. Transforming the national transportation system required the institutionalization of automobile-oriented transportation planning at the federal and state levels of government. In this context, it is extremely challenging to gain institutional support for bicycling. Surprisingly, early bicyclists played a key role in creating and institutionalizing our auto-based transportation system. This section examines how the good roads
movement, championed by bicyclists seeking adequate infrastructure in the late 19th, led to our transportation system today.
In the late 19th century, country and city roads were barely passable for horse-drawn carts, and generally impassable by bicycle. There was no federal or state authority over roads, and while cities used taxes to pave roads, country road construction and maintenance was the responsibility of private farmers whose property abutted specific roads.⁷ Spring thaws that turned roads to mud would frequently leave farmers unable to bring crops to market, and the railroad was the only dependable means of travel over land at the time.³,⁷
The bicycle was gaining popularity at this time, and with it a call among bicyclists for quality roads. These bicyclists were generally wealthy men who effectively organized into powerful lobbying organizations. Organizations such as the League of American Wheelmen (founded in 1880) spearheaded the Good Roads
movement, seeking federal support for a national network of high-quality roads.⁷ These organizations were large, well-financed, and connected to the political elite. The League of American Wheelmen, for example, included three of the richest men in the world at the time: John Jacob Astor, Diamond
Jim Brady, and John D. Rockefeller.³
The Good Roads
movement was successful in its goal of developing high-quality roads because of the elite status and political clout of their members. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Aid Road Act. While this initially helped build infrastructure for bicyclists, it also paved the way for a system perfectly designed to enable the automobile to become the dominant mode of transportation in the United States. This was not seen as a problem for many of the early bicycle advocates, many of whom happily traded bicycling for driving as the technology of the automobile improved.³
The Bicycle and Women’s Rights
The movement for women’s rights in the United States began in the 1840s,⁸ and the introduction of the safety bicycle in the 1890s has been credited with helping the cause. In general, the bicycle at this time was viewed as an expression of modernity… and independent mobility.
⁹ For women in particular, the bicycle came to be seen as a means for greater freedom in dress, mobility, and engagement in the public sphere.⁹ This section reviews the ways in which the bicycle aided the women’s rights movement of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Bicycle manufacturers at this time were actively seeking to expand their market share. Bicycles makers worked to make bikes that were lighter, more comfortable, and cheaper. One way to expand their market was to offer a bicycle specifically designed with a scooped frame to accommodate the long skirts that 19th century women were expected to wear.⁷ The bicycle market among women grew rapidly, and with this market growth came tensions around traditional notions of appropriate behavior, conduct, and attire for women of the time.
In the 19th century, Victorian sensibilities governed gender roles, and women had very little presence in public life. Women’s lives were generally confined to the domestic sphere
of the home and children.¹⁰ Additionally, it was widely thought (by men) that there were few reasons for the presence of women in the public realm, and therefore few opportunities for women outside of the home. Married women were expected to stay at home raising the family and maintaining the home. Unmarried women were expected to be accompanied by a chaperone when in public.⁷ Women’s lives were also lived close to home; travel was limited to domestic trips such as shopping. The majority of women (who couldn’t afford a private carriage and driver) only traveled by foot or on short trolley trips.⁷ Thus the bicycle provided a means of personal freedom that was previously impossible for most women. The bicycle rapidly became a means of empowerment, offering an opportunity for women to take part in public life. As Herlihy says in his history of the bicycle: the bicycle affirmed nothing less than the dignity and equality of women.
¹
Women who chose to ride a bicycle were met with a range of criticisms, from its impropriety, to concerns that it was medically dangerous. The medical establishment at the time reputed the idea that women pursue public, intellectual lives, warning women they were sapping their bodies of energy intended for reproduction.
¹¹ Following this logic, the bicycle would in turn lead innocent girls to ruin and disgrace.
¹ By the 1890s such ideas were increasingly discredited,¹¹ mirroring larger shifts in medicine toward more scientific approaches.⁷ But the question of appropriate women’s bicycle clothing still caused significant controversy.¹
It was nearly impossible to operate a bicycle in the requisite dress expected of 19th century women. Long dresses and head-to-toe covering made bicycling dangerous and uncomfortable, despite the introduction of the women’s specific
bicycle frame. To address this, women began to wear short skirts (i.e., ankle-length⁷ or bloomers), and by the late 1890s such styles, which were previously considered shocking, were commonplace.¹ Changing standards of dress made bicycling comfortable and convenient for women. allowing for the normalization of physical activity and unsupervised travel, in turn, it helped dramatically alter the social and cultural landscape of the time. Susan B. Anthony, interviewed in 1896 (at the age of 76) said: I’ll tell you what I think about bicycling… It has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world.
⁷
The Bicycle and the Auto Age
Despite gains in popularity, cultural impact, and influence on road development in the late 19th century, the bicycle’s popularity rapidly faded at the start of the 20th century.⁴ Multiple factors contributed to this process. First, by the end of the 19th century, US manufacturers had streamlined the production of the bicycle,¹ thereby reducing prices dramatically. Price drops initially meant an increase in bicycle ownership, but an unintended consequence of this was that the bicycle acquired a reputation as something commonplace and less exciting, leading to a drop in sales. As a consequence of market saturation and declining sales, bicycle manufacturers found themselves stuck with massive stocks of low-cost bicycles they were unable to sell. Bicycle racing also fell out of favor at this time, further contributing to the bicycle as a mode of transport rather than adventure.
In this context, the automobile rapidly supplanted the bicycle as a signifier of modernity and adventure. The earliest streetcar suburbs were being built at the start of the 20th century, making the automobile a more attractive form of transportation for the first generation of suburbanites. Simultaneously, automobile ownership was on the rise, leading to increasingly dangerous road conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians.¹² The automobile lobby was also successfully creating a transportation system (including street design and traffic laws) that prioritized automobiles over all other modes of transportation.¹³
There is no uncertainty that the dawn of the auto age helped to hasten the decline in bicycling in the United States, but the extent to which it was the primary cause is unclear. As the popularity of the car grew, and the streets became increasingly hostile for bicycling, bicycle manufacturers began targeting the youth market, transforming the bicycle from a means of transportation to a toy for children.¹ While the bicycle enjoyed a brief revival as a means of transportation during World War II when auto production was halted,¹,⁷ the decline of the bicycle’s popularity as a mode of transportation never recovered.
International Case Studies: The Bicycle in the 20th Century
Anne Lusk, in her comparative history of bicycling in China, the Netherlands, and the US, states worldwide, the Chinese, Americans, and Dutch had the most unique bicycle histories, each resulting in different environments.
¹⁴ This section begins with an overview of the history of the bicycle in China, a nation once known as a bicycle kingdom.
¹⁵ The section then moves to the Netherlands, a country whose national identity has historically been tied to the bicycle, and that connection continues to strengthen today.
Case Study 1: The Bicycle and the People’s Republic
Until the 1920s, bicycling in China was relegated almost entirely to American and European expatriates who brought their bicycles with them from the west as a means of personal transportation. Bicycles were not produced in China, and high import prices made them unaffordable for the average Chinese.¹⁴ For wealthy Chinese who could afford a bicycle, social mores dictated that the wealthy were not to show exertion.¹⁴,¹⁶ Instead, wealthy Chinese preferred rickshaws, or were carried on chairs, known as sedan chairs.
¹⁶
The overthrow of the dynastic government in 1911 dramatically changed the country. A growing urban middle-class began to purchase more affordable, domestically produced bicycles, and the number of bicycles in China skyrocketed. For example, in Shanghai in 1925 there were fewer than 10,000 bicycles, but by 1930 that number had jumped to 20,000.¹⁴ Mass production of the bicycle in the 1930s made bicycles more affordable¹⁷ for average citizens. By the end of the 1940s there were over half a million bicycles in China.¹⁴ It was the founding of the Communist government in 1949 that led to China’s ascendance as a bicycle kingdom
for the next 40 years.¹⁵
The primary objective of the Government of the People’s Republic of China was to industrialize the nation, and that industrialization required an affordable means of transportation to connect workers with jobs.¹⁴ The bicycle was ideal for this purpose. The bicycle was seen by the government as an affordable alternative to building a mass-transit system, and the government nationalized and consolidated the bicycle manufacturers.¹⁸ This era brought about the iconic and utilitarian Flying Pigeon
bicycle. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the Tianjin factory produced 10,000 Flying Pigeons a day.¹⁹ The most popular model (only three models were produced in this era) was steel, painted black, with front and rear racks, and an enclosed chain-guard, and cost 150 yuan (the equivalent of about two months salary).¹⁹,²⁰
As mentioned above, the Communist government strongly favored the bicycle over developing an expensive mass-transit system. In Beijing, for example, a mass-transit system would have been challenging to implement because of the Imperial
grid consisting of wide avenues and smaller neighborhood streets. While this historic urban form did not lend itself to mass transit, it was ideal for a world-class bicycle network, and the city accommodated bicycling with infrastructure on an impressive scale as Lusk