Using qualitative interviews, this thesis examines bicycle and car politics in Toronto, Canada to understand: i) how automobility affects those engaged in contesting and supporting cycling initiatives; ii) why the installation of cycling infrastructure has been politicized; and iii) whether strategies used by cycling activists are effective. The paper concludes that contemporary cultural and economic values surrounding automobility are visible in those engaged in bicycle and car politics. Findings suggest that the politicization of efforts to install cycling infrastructure arise due to how these values manifest themselves in the political realm, and the interrelationship between a lack of coherent transportation policy, the institutionalization of automobiles in planning and a ward-based decision-making system that entrenches suburban and urban biases. Activist strategies could be more effective by moving away from a focus on cycling lanes to address cultural norms associated with automobiles and bicycles and by focusing on a ‘complete streets’ approach.

This research report examines infrastructure strategies to increase the bicycle commute mode share. By analyzing existing conditions and results from on-campus participatory events, recommendations to improve and increase bicycling at the University of Texas at Austin campus are proposed. This report includes a literature review of sustainable transportation and university campuses, bicycle infrastructure best practices, bicyclist route preferences, evaluations of bicycle infrastructure, the role of bicycling in past master plans at the UT-Austin campus, and bicycling in other university’s plans. Existing conditions analyze the characteristics of streets in and around campus and data from the Bike-UT survey is discussed. Participatory research events are described and their findings analyzed to better understand how current bicyclists perceive spaces on campus and make their route choices. Finally, considering best practices, existing conditions, and findings from campus research events, recommendations are proposed to increase the bicycle mode share on the UT-Austin campus. / text

Rapid growth and congestion within the City of Austin amplify the need to plan for and incorporate multi-modal infrastructure, facilities and policies. According to the 2005 US Census sample, the City of Austin falls short of many other bicycle-friendly cities in the number of commuters riding bicycles to work. Experiencing the achievements towards a more diverse modal share in other cities prompted the author to evaluate programmatic bicycle planning and fixed variables (geographic, demographic, and climatic conditions) in a descriptive multiple-case study. Data was collected from the City of Austin and the City of Tucson; both with significant university populations, and descriptive comparisons were made between the two cities. Findings show that the City of Tucson met most of the predicted values of ideal demographic, climatic, and programmatic variables. In addition, the City of Tucson has a well-staffed bicycle and nationally recognized regional bicycle program. Recommendations for the City of Austin include improving upon all programmatic variables (education, engineering, evaluation, enforcement and encouragement) through a new local and regional bicycle plan, and a legally mandated focus on supportive bicycle legislation, policies and enforcement. / text

ABSTRACT An Examination of Socio-demographic Characteristics and Perceptions of Cycling among Students at Georgia State University (Under the direction of Christine Stauber, Faculty Member) Background: Bicycling as a form of transportation is important to public health and the improvement of the environment by way of sustainable transportation. Active transportation is inversely related to all-cause mortality, obesity, and levels of ozone and greenhouse gases. University communities have been shown to bicycle more than big cities. However, downtown setting of the Georgia State University (GSU) campus poses unique barriers to bicycling. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in fall, 2009 at GSU. To determine perceptions and barriers to bicycling, the sample was divided into cyclists and non-cyclists. Chi square analysis, odds ratios, and multivariate logistic regression were used to compare the socio-demographic characteristics and perceptions surrounding bicycling between the groups. Results: The survey included 314 students; 60% female, 11.1% bicyclists, and mean age of 23. Of the socio-demographic characteristics examined, gender was the only factor significantly associated with bicycling, with males being 6.82 times more likely to cycle. Independent t-tests found that bicyclists viewed the built environment, social support, and future bicycling support more favorably than non-cyclists. Of the built environment factors, distance was the most important barrier to bicycling (OR=2.156, 95% CI= 1.484-3.133). Cyclists and non-cyclists were in agreement that bicycling was unsafe due to motor vehicle traffic, roadway conditions, and theft risk Conclusions: Overall, the findings were consistent with current knowledge about bicycling. The findings show that distance appears to be the most significant barrier to bicycling. Although safety due to roadway conditions and motor vehicle traffic and risk of bicycle theft did not produce significant results, these factors should be addressed in future studies and/or programs. Further investigation into how to alter these perceptions and create safer environments for the community would be beneficial.

This study analyzes the bicycling community of Lexington, Kentucky. Interviews and participant observation were conducted in order to better understand the structure of Lexington’s cycling community, revealing three prominent groups/types of cyclists: (1) road cyclists, (2) underground/urban cyclists, and (3) commuters. The characteristics of each group are discussed, with particular attention devoted to the underground/urban cyclists, due to their politically-minded culture. Building from prior social movement literature, the unique framing processes of the underground/urban cycling group are analyzed in order to explore the group as a new social movement. Finally, the potential for a broader cycling movement based upon interests common to all cyclists is discussed.

The world is becoming increasingly urban. This puts pressure on a number of functions within cities, not the least the transportation system. Motorized traffic is responsible for a number of negative environmental effects, such as carbon dioxide emissions and particle pollution. To halt this development an increased share of bicyclists is needed. Stockholm County is an area with rapid urbanization. Therefore, a comparative study was undertaken to analyse how Stockholm City and Nacka Municipality are including communication, advocacy and participation measures in documents important for increased bicycling. This as those measures are important to increase the number of bicyclists. The analysis was undertaken by using two typologies, a modified version of the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) to understand how the two cases include communication and advocacy measures whereas Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizens Participation was chosen to understand how participation is included in the documents. The findings suggest many similarities between the two cases but Nacka Municipality perform better with their use of social media, and the activities ”bicycle-friendly workplace” and ”winter bicycling”. From the findings three recommendations where provided: create bicycle councils to improve inclusion of bicyclists in the processes. Second, it is important to have different type of role models across the municipality, both in socio-economic strong and weak areas. And third, create dedicated outlets for bicycle issues, tentatively on a social media outlet. This will increase the status of bicycles, it will promote bicycling as a good transportation choice and it open ups channels for citizens interaction. / I dagens allt mer urbaniserade värld börjar fler funktioner i staden sättas under hårt tryck, inte minst transportsektorn. Motordriven trafik är orsaken till en rad negativa miljöeffekter, så som koldioxidutsläpp och partikelföroreningar. För att stävja denna utveckling och öka framkomligheten i de allt mer fullbelagda städerna behöver andelen cyklister öka. Tre områden som är av stort intresse för att öka andelen cyklister är kommunikation, påverkan och delaktighet. Därav undersöktes dessa områden i en jämförande studie. Stockholms län är en region med kraftigt ökande befolkningsandel och där transportsektorn är särskilt ansatt. Därför valdes regionen för att genomföra en jämförande studie där Stockholms stad och Nacka kommun selekterades som studieobjekt. Detta eftersom Stockholms stad är den störta kommunen i regionen, de är många som arbetar i de centrala delarna och de finns ökande framkomlighetsproblem i kommunen. Därefter valdes Nacka kommun som jämförande kommun, baserat på differensmetoden. Stockholms stad och Nacka kommun har liknande socio-ekonomisk sammansättning och de har liknande förutsättningar vad gäller cykelmöjligheter. Utöver det har båda kommunerna egna cykelstrategier. De som skiljer kommunerna åt är att Nacka kommun under senare år har blivit prisat för sitt arbete inom cykelområdet. De tilldelades 2016 Årets Cykelprestation av Stockholms regionala cykelkansli under 2017 placerade sig Nacka kommun som nummer ett för medelstora kommuner, och fyra totalt, i Kommunvelometern presenterat av Cykelfrämjandet. I Kommunvelometern hamnar Stockholm Stad som 8 av 11 stora kommuner och på plats 16 totalt. Undersökningen gjordes genom analys av dokument som ansågs ha betydelse för cykelsatsningar inom respektive kommun. Det innefattade bland annat översiktsplaner, framkomlighetsstrategier och interna kommunikationsdokument. Analysen gjordes med hjälp av två typologier. För att se hur kommunikation och påverkan används i dokumenten användes en utveckling av typologin Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) och för att se hur delaktighets beskrevs i dokumenten användes Arnsteins delaktighetsstege. Analysen visade många likheter mellan fallen. Dock framgick det att Nacka kommun presterade bättre med sin användning av sociala medier och genom främst två aktiviteter, Cykelvänlig arbetsplats och Cykla på vintern. Från slutsatsen kunde sedan tre rekommendationer lämnas. För det första bör cyklister inkluderas tidigt i processerna genom någon from av cykelråd. Det är också viktigt att försöka skapa cykelförebilder runtom i hela kommunerna, både i socio-ekonomiska starka och svaga områden. Till sist bör cykeldedikerade kommunikationskanaler skapas, förslagsvis på sociala medier. Detta ger en plattform som ger cykling ökad status, där cykling kan främjas och det skapar inte minst en möjlighet för medborgarkommunikation.

On two occasions six competitive, male triathletes performed in random order, two experimental trials consisting of either a timed ride to exhaustion on a cycle-ergometer or a run to exhaustion on a motor-driven treadmill at 80% of their respective peak cycling and peak running oxygen uptakes (VO₂peak)- At the start of exercise, subjects drank 250 ml of a 15 g.100 ml⁻¹ w.v⁻¹ glucose solution with U-¹⁴C glucose added as tracer and, thereafter, 150 ml of the same solution every 15 min. Despite identical metabolic rates (VO₂ 3.51 ±0.06 vs. 3.51 ±0.10 l.min⁻¹; values are mean± SEM for the cycling and running trials, respectively), exercise times to exhaustion were significantly longer during cycling than running (96 ±14 vs. 63 ±11 min; P<0.05). The superior cycling than running endurance was not associated with any differences in either the rate of blood glucose oxidation (3.8 ±0.1 vs. 3.9 ±0.4 mmol.min⁻¹ ), nor the rate of ingested glucose oxidation (2.0 ± 0.1 vs. 1.7 ±0.2 mmol.min⁻¹) at the last common time point (40 min) before exhaustion, despite higher blood glucose concentrations at exhaustion during running than cycling (7.0 ±0.9 vs. 5.8 ±0.5 mmol.l⁻¹; P<0.05). However, the final rate of total CHO oxidation was significantly greater during cycling than running (24.0 ±0.8 vs. 21.7 ±1.4 mmol C6 .min⁻¹;P<0.01). At exhaustion, the estimated contribution to energy production from muscle glycogen had declined to similar extents in both cycling and running (68 ±3 vs. 65 ± 5%). These differences between the rates of total CHO oxidation and blood glucose oxidation suggested that the direct and/or indirect (via lactate) oxidation of muscle glycogen was greater in cycling than running.

In public spaces, we constantly interact with each other - whether we are aware of it or not. Most of these interactions are indirect and subtle, ranging from flâneurial people-watching, over negotiation of turns in urban traffic, to passive aggression. This is not only true for pedestrians, but equally so for bicyclists.Bicycling is an embodied and social practice. When designing for cycle-based experiences, interaction designers face many problems while conducting research: mobility is always on the move and therefore hard to capture; the fleeting moments of interaction are almost imperceptible to the eye; and verbal accounts of bicyclists cannot represent the experiential qualities of a ride properly.While there exists a history of ethnographic studies into bicyclists' behaviour, it proves to be difficult to enquire into these more subtle interactions. More conventional representations of experience, such as video, fail to capture many of the qualities inherent in taking a ride and being 'out there'. It would be naive to neglect these qualities in our research when designing for cycle-based interaction.This thesis builds on the work of ethnographers and designers engaged in bicycling research. It explores new ways of enquiry that help researchers find out what really happens on the saddle and beyond.

This study explored the impact of commitment tactics and individual differences in personality on change-agent participation in a peer-to-peer intervention. The intervention involved approaching bicyclists on campus, discussing the importance of helmet use, and rewarding them with a coupon for a discounted helmet if they signed a promise to wear one. Change-agent volunteers (n = 82) were trained in one of three commitment conditions to explore their relative impact on approaching a set number of bicyclists. Specifically, change-agents were asked to commit to a personal goal of number of targets they would approach in private, in public to a small group of people, or in public to a large group of people. In addition, change-agents completed measures of the "Big Five" personality traits and susceptibility to social influence tactics to explore their potential influence on intervention performance variables. No statistically significant differences were found in goal attainment between the commitment conditions. However, 10% more of the change-agents making a public, group commitment met their goal when compared to those who made an individual, private commitment. No significant relation was found between the Big Five personality traits and the number of bicyclist targets approached. However, the Big Five predicted 19% of the variance in the rate of obtaining signed promise cards from bicyclists. Of the susceptibility to social influence variables, only the Ingratiation score was shown to be useful for predicting change-agent effort, accounting for 18% of the variance in the number of targets approached. The peer-to-peer intervention was not successful in increasing bicycle helmet use on campus. Limitations of the intervention in comparison to a successful helmet program are discussed. / Ph. D.

xi, 63 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Walking, bicycling, and other modes of active transportation can be utilitarian modes of personal transport, but barriers exist that limit the ability of groups of people to use these modes. This research looks at the walking and bicycling behaviors and attitudes of residents of suburban multifamily housing, a housing type identified in previous literature as needing research. Particularly, the roles of pedestrian route distance and directness as well as physical route characteristics are explored in their effects on walking and bicycling behavior. Results show that both the pedestrian network distance and major arterials are significantly correlated with a person's mode choice. Recommendations include increasing density around suburban commercial centers and encouraging pedestrian and bicycle connections between developments to limit arterial interaction. / Committee in Charge: Nico Larco, Chair; Dr. Marc Schlossberg; Dr. Kathryn A. Lynch