Bicycling and Politics of Recognition

Abstract

As more people move to cities, and cars become viewed by many—especially younger generations—less as status symbols and more as unnecessary expenses leading to time spent in traffic, bicycling is experiencing a "renaissance" in North America (Pucher, Buehler, and Seinen 2011). Yet, we can ask, how much of a cycling renaissance is there, really, since North American urban cycling remains dwarfed by European numbers? Furthermore, is this renaissance the result of urban planners reducing the barriers to urban cycling? Or, is this renaissance occurring despite the associated disadvantages and physical risks cycling poses? While cycling enables riders to engage in environmentally friendly activities on a daily basis while also providing exercise and social connection and is viewed by citizens and social planners as low-hanging fruit to reduce CO2 emissions (similar in positive environmental effects to minimizing air travel or adopting a vegetarian diet), it is uncertain that the costs and benefits of different modes of transportation (and the same mode of transportation for different users) are equitably apportioned. In this chapter, I examine contemporary trends in bicycling via a Los Angeles case study to assess how environmental this trend is, on the one hand, and how everyday it is, on the other. Cycling, it may turn out, isn't always green in the sense of being good for the environment (e.g., chauffeuring one's bicycle by car to a scenic cycling destination), and at other times, it may be good for the environment (in terms of not adding greenhouse gas emissions) but not so good for the cyclist (in terms of safety, inhaling polluted city air, encountering stigma, etc.). Systematic physical obstacles such as unsafe thoroughfares and a lack of cycling infrastructure also may impact who is riding a bike, and which citizens are inhibited from this mode of mobility freedom. Analyzing these axes through concrete examples deflates the notion of embracing cycling as a panacea for environmental and mobility issues without ...