Academic interest in cycling has burgeoned in recent years with
significant literature relating to the health and environmental benefits
of cycling, the necessity for cycle-specific infrastructure, and the
embodied experiences of cycling.
Based upon primary research in a variety of contexts such as London,
Shanghai and Taipei, this book demonstrates that recent developments in
urban cycling policy and practice are closely linked to broader
processes of capital accumulation. It argues that cycling is
increasingly caught up in discourses around smart cities that emphasise
technological solutions to environmental problems and neoliberal ideas
on individual responsibility and bio-political conduct, which only
results in solutions that prioritise those who are already mobile.
Accordingly, the central argument of the book is not that the
popularisation of cycling is inherently bad, but that the manner in
which cycling is being popularised gives cause for social and
environmental concern. Ultimately the book argues that cycling has now
become a vehicle for sustaining pro-growth agendas rather than
subverting them or shifting to sustainable no-growth/de-growth and less
technologically driven visions of modernity.
This book makes an innovative contribution to the fields of Cycling
Studies, Mobilities and Transport and will be of interest to students
and academics working in Human Geography, Transport Studies, Urban
Studies, Urban Planning, Public Policy, Sociology and Sustainability.
