Cycling and Society

Cycling is a key everyday mode of mobility in the developing world and parts of northern Europe, and one which is being promoted by governments of car-dominated societies such as the UK. This book provides an overview of the significance of cycling to contemporary social and political debates and of the diversity of approaches to cycling research.

Cycling is a key everyday mode of mobility in the developing world and parts of northern Europe, and one which is increasingly being promoted by governments of car-dominated societies such as the UK. Yet whilst the complex and hugely valued practice of cycling addresses important issues in social theory including sustainability, healthy lifestyles and urban quality-of-life, it has been remarkably unexplored by social scientists. This book redresses this gap by bringing together an interdisciplinary team of academics with a strong interest in research into cycling. In doing so, it provides an overview of the significance of cycling to contemporary social and political debates and of the diversity of state-of-art approaches to cycling research. The book is divided into main sections: the technology of the bicycle; everyday uses of the bicycle; the cultures of bicycle users; and the spatial dynamics of bicycle use. It throws light on a range of contemporary debates while also substantially extending the scope of cycling studies.

Foreword
Introduction, Dave Horton, Peter Cox and Paul Rosen
Cycling the city: non-place and the sensory construction of meaning in a mobile practice, Justin Spinney
Capitalising on curiosity: women's professional cycling in the late 19th century, Clare Simpson
Barriers to cycling: an exploration of quantitative analyses, John Parkin, Tim Ryley and Tim Jones
Hell is other cyclists: rethinking transport and identity, David Skinner and Paul Rosen
Cycling's dark age?, Nicholas Oddy
Bicycles don't evolve - velomobiles and the modelling of transport technologies, Peter Cox with Frederick van de Walle
Fear of cycling, Dave Horton
Men, women and the bicycle: gender and social geography of cycling in the late 19th century, Philip Gordon Mackintosh and Glenn Norcliffe
Bicycle messengers: image, identity and community, Ben Fincham
Index.