The "randeurive" (pronounced: ran-deu-reave) is a research strategy that very loosely fuses elements from the long-distance cycling sport of rantdonneuring with the Situationist concept of dérive. In randonneuring, cyclists attempt to complete routes of 200km or more in a given time period, stopping in at check points every so often. Like a randonneur the randeurive uses a bicycle in order to engage in long-distance travel, allowing us to get outside of our immediate surroundings and broaden our view of psychogeography and constructed landscapes.I use the randeurive as a research methodology in order to retrace and de-scribe these spaces, as well as the technical objects, people and social relations that fill them.

<P> The automobile is truly the most dominant mode of transport in Canada; a car is used by nearly 75% of the Canadian adult population each day. Under the auspices of sustainable development and practices, the impacts of automobile driving and its associated land-uses need be investigated using a triple bottom-line approach. This necessitates an understanding of the associated economic, environmental and social costs. Whereas much research attention has been drawn to external economic and environmental costs, the quantification of social costs, especially those related to social interaction and activity participation, has been far less studied. Despite calls from sociologists warning of the role of automobility in diminishing levels of social interaction, community cohesion, and social inclusion, there has been no response from the research community in the form of empirical investigation. The three studies comprising this dissertation seek to rectify the current state of neglect and fill this gap. </p> <P> The modelling efforts in this dissertation lead to the discovery of a complex, nonlinear, and heterogeneous relationship between automobile use and social participation. For many individuals, particularly those who are not traditionally constrained by mobility and time limitations, automobile use is found to limit the likelihood of participation in a slew of social, discretionary, and outof-home activities. Moreover, non-drivers who still participate in a spatiallydispersed lifestyle designed for automobility are at risk of exclusion from various forms of activities. </p> <P> The research findings make significant contributions to the study of automobility, the measurement ofsocially sustainability transportation systems, and the role of transport in social exclusion. The findings also have broader implications for cities in terms of creating competitive social environments in a highly mobile and well-informed labour market, fostering equity between social groups, and promoting the participation in activities with positive social outcomes. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Yes / This article is based on ethnographic research carried out in Bradford, an ethnically diverse city situated in the north of England. The sample of over 60 participants mostly comprises males of British Pakistani Muslim heritage but varies in terms other markers of identity such as social class, profession and residential/working locale. The article analyses the cultural value and meaning of cars within a multicultural context and how a consumer object can feed into the processes which refine and embed racialized identities. Small cases studies reveal the concrete and discursive ways through which ideas around identity and ethnicity are transmitted and how, in particular, racialization continues to feature as a live, active and recognisable process in everyday experience.

This thesis explores how rally drivers in Scotland perceive environmental issues and the environments through which they drive. The overarching aim behind this is to think about a group of people who may be more hostile towards questions of environmental responsibility, and look at how such stakeholders reason round their behaviours and perceive environmental issues. I argue that due to the potentially farreaching impacts of contemporary environmental challenges, it is crucial to take seriously the viewpoints and values of those who are perhaps not so willing to engage with environmental issues. The work draws on several bodies of literature. First is work in environmental philosophy on the practical contribution of this sub-discipline, in particular environmental pragmatism. Second is thinking in sociology and human geography on responsibility, especially the interface between responsibility and care. Third is recent material in geography on the body and movement, in particular the burgeoning field of automobility. These issues are addressed through a three-fold research design. Ethnographic and participatory techniques are used to foster an understanding of what exactly ‘the environment’ might mean to rally drivers (and indeed other users of the forest with whom rallying may come into conflict) and how it is experienced. In-depth interviews and subsequent narrative analysis seek to delve further into participants’ narratives and life histories in order to get a handle on how rally driving sits in relation to broader life contexts. Finally, two small-scale participatory projects with rally organisers relating to environmentally-responsible practice look at how this all comes together when participants make practical responses to environmental challenges. The key conclusions arising from the empirical data are that environmental problems are experienced through a range of senses, with different groups using different sensory ‘evidence’ to make claims about environmental damage; that in some cases stakeholders’ views of environmental issues are based on perceived conflict with others as opposed to actual conflict; and that the values activities such as motor sport may represent are just as significant as their physical environmental impacts. In terms of the broader applicability of this research, I suggest two things. Firstly, that one of the key challenges in responding to contemporary environmental issues lies in thinking through how publics link up their everyday practices with much bigger discourses on global environmental change. Secondly, that careful and critical reflection on the rich narratives of place and people, and on the range of emotions shaped by embodied experience, can go some way to explaining why people may persist with more environmentally damaging practices in spite of ethical and environmental criticisms.

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.

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.

The mobility of urban residents has been expanding over time. Kitamura and susilo (2005) have shown that this expansion stems more from structural change (i.e. change in the relationship between travel behavior and demographic factors), than from change in demographic and socio-economic characteristics (for example, attributes of the individuals and households, such as, more women employed, the household size shrinking, and the resident population aging) of urban residents. Urry (2005) went to conjecture that this structural change is due to increasingly prevailing automobility, i.e., conversion of social and economic system and way of life to adapt to the ownership and use of the automobile. In this study, this conjecture is explored by examining automobility characteristics across lifecycle stages and across automobility cohorts over time. The level of automobility is operationally defined in this study in terms of: automobile ownership, total auto travel time, modal split, and the fraction of trip attraction in traditional central city in the study area. The Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe (Keihanshin) metropolitan area of Japan is the study area of this effort. Intra-household interaction has dominant influences on household members' activity and travel, and also it is closely associated with lifecycle stage. Lifecycle stage factor is introduced into the analytical scope of this study and regarded as a main factor through this research. Nine stages of household lifecycle are formulated according to the classification scheme of the family lifecycle stage. The classification scheme utilizes the criteria, which generally are age and marital status of household head, presence and age of children of head, presence of other relatives and non-relatives. On the other side, changing the built environment affects urban residents' travel behavior to a large extent. This study explores how automobility characteristics and travel activity behavior changed across lifecycle stages within different residential areas over time using statistical analyses. The results confirm that the residence area rather than lifecycle stage is a significant explainer for automobile ownership and automobile use. It further suggests that even within each lifecycle stage, change in the automobile use over time is suppressed in commercial and mixed commercial/residential areas. However, the fraction of automobile trips for suburbs, unurbanized areas, and autonomous areas increased over time in the range of 0 to 4 times depending on the lifecycle stage. Younger childless couple stage and all adults' stage are more auto-oriented in suburbs, unurbanized area, and autonomous areas, and this trend becomes stronger as automobility progresses. No significant differences were observed in the numbers of trips for households of the same lifecycle stage across different residential areas, suggesting that similarly active lifestyles exist. The results suggest that household members' age is also a strong explainer for the fraction of auto trips and total auto travel time, through a four variable ANOVA analysis, including lifecycle stage, residence area, time, and age effect. It has been pointed out that the elderly of these days behave differently than the elderly grew up with the automobile and have been using it ever since their habit forming ages. Thus another important factor introduced into this research is automobility cohort which is defined by grouping individuals who turn 20 years old during the time period indicated. Each time period is chosen with respect to the level of automobility. The following five cohorts are developed for the study area and used in the analysis: pre-war (up to 1945), pre-motorization (1946-1960), initial growth (1961-1970), mass-ownership (1971-1980), and multi-car ownership (1980-). Using the repeated cross-sectional data of Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area in 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000, this study has attempted to offer a possible explanation of the increases in automobility characteristics by examining automobility characteristics of automobility cohorts. In addition, time effects and age effects are introduced into the analysis as in standard cohort analysis. It focused on statistical age-period-cohort analysis using the popular multiple classification APC model. The identifiability problem attendant with the use of APC model was discussed with repeated cross-sectional data. An interesting finding is shown that pre-war and pre-motorization cohorts show little, roughly 6%, increase on the fraction of auto trips and nearly unchanged on total auto travel time over 1970 through 2000, although their household automobile ownership has increased more than 2 times. Initial growth, mass-ownership, and multi-car ownership cohorts show a great growth of automobile ownership, the fraction of auto trips, and auto travel time from 1970 to 2000, but a little surprising result is that mass-ownership cohorts, not multi-car ownership cohorts, show the largest increases to rely on auto use over 1970 through 2000. The above results confirm that each cohort having certain automobility traits that are unique, especially in terms of auto use. The standard age-period-cohort analysis confirms that automobility cohort effect do exist, unfortunately, automobility cohort effect is not an important explainer for automobility characteristics, while time effect plays an important part in automobile ownership choice, and age effect mainly determines automobile use. An attempt at APC-RA model illustrate that residence area rather than time effect have the strongest impact on automobile ownership, and age effect is still a significant explainer for the fraction of auto trips and auto travel time. This result is different with the results of age-period-cohort analysis, which further emphasize that residence area is a significant explainer for household automobile ownership in the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area from 1970 to 2000. Significant changes in demographic and socio-economic characteristics of urban resident have taken place over the past several decades. Most notable are: aging of the population and resulting increases in retired, non-employed individuals; decreasing household size caused by increasing fractions of single individuals and couples with fewer children; increased labor force participation by women; general increased in income; and increasing auto ownership and auto dependence. The overall effects on travel of these changes are complex and future trends are not immediately obvious, partly because some of the changes have opposite, cancelling effects on travel, and partly because these changes themselves are not independent but closely linked to each other. Prevailing tendencies in travel, however, have been expansion—urban residents' travel has continuously expanded over time in terms of total travel time (or distance), auto use, energy consumption, and the spatial extension of their action space. Will these trends continue into the future? Or will the trend change due to the aging of the urban population? Or are there other factors at work? If so, what are the magnitudes of demographic effects relative to theirs? The focus of this study is on auto travel. The analysis examines how auto travel has changed over time with changing demographics, residential location, and metropolitan structure. Simultaneous equations model systems are developed at the household level, with auto ownership, fraction of auto trips and total auto travel time as its dependent (or endogenous) variables. Their automobility characteristics are characterized and behavioral distinction identified through examination of the models' coefficient estimates. Using the repeated household travel survey results, the stability over time of the simultaneous equation system is statistically examined, and thereby the effects of demographics changes are separated from those of structural change. Using the results, it is shown how much of the change in urban auto travel is due to changes in demographics and how much is due to structural change. The statistical analyses have offered strong evidence that urban residents' auto use have been expanding. The results have further indicated that this expansion has been caused primarily by changes in the structural relationships even mixed changes in demographic factors have had opposite, cancelling effects on auto travel. In addition, the resultant model system is applied in a scenario analysis to forecast possible changes in future auto travel that will follow hypothetical demographic changes in the metropolitan area. To face the coming global energy crisis and air pollution issues, the above results with the findings of this study would suggest that significantly more sustainable behavior for society would be possible with more compact built environments that facilitate non-motorized and public transit travel. Unfortunately, it takes time, money, resources, and the political will to change the built environment and initial steps that educate the public such as voluntary travel behavior change may be necessary first steps on the move to more sustainable travel. As a suggestion for future works, more statistical analysis on interaction effects of three variables or four variables ANOVA analysis, including lifecycle stage, residence area, time, and age effects, need to be considered. Also, the interaction effects of age-period-cohort analysis need us to pay more attention on the future work. The simultaneous equations model system is developed as an attempt to explore how much of the change in urban travel is due to changes in demographics and how much is due to structural change, more endogenous variable could be considered in the future research, such as, residential location, commute distance, and commute trip mode choice. / Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第14925号 / 工博第3152号 / 新制||工||1473(附属図書館) / 27363 / UT51-2009-M839 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻 / (主査)教授 藤井 聡, 准教授 吉井 稔雄, 准教授 宇野 伸宏 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

This dissertation examines how popular experiences of nature and history in the British Columbia Interior were structured by automobility – the system of objects, spaces, images, and practices that surrounded private automobiles and public roads. The Fordist state poured massive resources into the provincial road network during the period 1920 to 1970, and in the process created new possibilities for leisure and for profit. Motoring was a new, very modern way of experiencing BC, and also an important economic engine. Making the province’s highways and the landscapes that were visible alongside them look appealing to the motoring public became a matter of concern for many different parties. Boosters, businesses, and tourism promoters who stood to benefit from increased automobile travel often cultivated roadside attractions and lobbied the state to do the same. Starting in the early 1940s, the provincial government established numerous parks along the Interior highway network: the two examined here are Manning and Hamber parks. Beginning in the late 1950s it did the same with historical sites: Barkerville, Fort Steele, and several others are examined here. These and other parks and historic sites were established, developed, and managed as roadside amenities, and were used to deliver lessons about nature and history to the motoring public ‘by the road.’ Drawing on a wide range of examples from across the BC Interior, including both successes and failures, this thesis examines how the motoring public’s common landscape experiences were shaped by state-built infrastructure and by various groups’ efforts to manage, manipulate, and modify the landscapes that were visible by the road. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2012-12-12 23:49:31.501

This licentiate thesis, with the English title Automobility towards Regional Equality? Studies of the geographical and socioeconomic diffusion of the private automobility in Sweden 1950-2000, has the overall aim to investigate the interaction between the private automobility and the Swedish socio-economical development in general. Firstly, the diffusion of private car ownership in Sweden is mapped both geographically and economically at the national level covering all citizens above the age of 18. Secondly, a comparison with the Norwegian diffusion pattern shows how automobility has interacted with two partly different national contexts. This aim will be dealt with in two articles. Since the diffusion of private cars in Sweden has not yet been examined in a long run and national perspective covering all individuals, the first article, Driving from the Centre to the Periphery? The Diffusion of Private Cars in Sweden 1950-2000 with focus on 1960-1975, investigates how the diffusion of private cars followed the over all socio-economic and geographical changes from 1960 to 1975; did changes in car ownership per capita primarily follow changes in incomes or changes in population density (urbanisation)? Swedish traffic and regional policies in the 1960s aimed at making the car an instrument for national integration and regional equality, and make it available throughout the country. In the article the effect of that policy is tested. The analysis is based on Swedish census material that includes all car owners for the years 1960, 1970 and 1975. Our conclusion is that income levels were more important than other explanations to the diffusion of private cars in Sweden between 1960 and 1975. Since Norwegian private car density has lagged behind the Swedish and did not reach the same national levels until the late 1980s, despite the same GDP per capita levels, the second article, Two Sides of the same Coin? Private Car Ownership in Sweden and Norway since 1950, compares car diffusion in Norway and Sweden in both historical time and model time in order to find specific explanations for the national and regional patterns of car diffusion. Can both the time lag and the diffusion process be explained with national differences in income, institutions, infrastructure, and population settlements? Or have regional differences in income and population density affected the outcome? Our conclusion is that car diffusion in Norway and Sweden displays two sides of same coin; the national levels converged, but the process did not follow the same regional pattern. Regional differences in income and population density have in general been a significant explanation for car density in Sweden but not in Norway. Thus, the licentiate thesis shows how private car ownership in Sweden from the 1950s has interacted with increasing regional equality, especially concerning geographical diffusion. / På omslaget år 2007.

<p>This licentiate thesis, with the English title Automobility towards Regional Equality? Studies of the geographical and socioeconomic diffusion of the private automobility in Sweden 1950-2000, has the overall aim to investigate the interaction between the private automobility and the Swedish socio-economical development in general. Firstly, the diffusion of private car ownership in Sweden is mapped both geographically and economically at the national level covering all citizens above the age of 18. Secondly, a comparison with the Norwegian diffusion pattern shows how automobility has interacted with two partly different national contexts. This aim will be dealt with in two articles.</p><p>Since the diffusion of private cars in Sweden has not yet been examined in a long run and national perspective covering all individuals, the first article, Driving from the Centre to the Periphery? The Diffusion of Private Cars in Sweden 1950-2000 with focus on 1960-1975, investigates how the diffusion of private cars followed the over all socio-economic and geographical changes from 1960 to 1975; did changes in car ownership per capita primarily follow changes in incomes or changes in population density (urbanisation)? Swedish traffic and regional policies in the 1960s aimed at making the car an instrument for national integration and regional equality, and make it available throughout the country. In the article the effect of that policy is tested. The analysis is based on Swedish census material that includes all car owners for the years 1960, 1970 and 1975. Our conclusion is that income levels were more important than other explanations to the diffusion of private cars in Sweden between 1960 and 1975.</p><p>Since Norwegian private car density has lagged behind the Swedish and did not reach the same national levels until the late 1980s, despite the same GDP per capita levels, the second article, Two Sides of the same Coin? Private Car Ownership in Sweden and Norway since 1950, compares car diffusion in Norway and Sweden in both historical time and model time in order to find specific explanations for the national and regional patterns of car diffusion. Can both the time lag and the diffusion process be explained with national differences in income, institutions, infrastructure, and population settlements? Or have regional differences in income and population density affected the outcome? Our conclusion is that car diffusion in Norway and Sweden displays two sides of same coin; the national levels converged, but the process did not follow the same regional pattern. Regional differences in income and population density have in general been a significant explanation for car density in Sweden but not in Norway.</p><p>Thus, the licentiate thesis shows how private car ownership in Sweden from the 1950s has interacted with increasing regional equality, especially concerning geographical diffusion.</p>