IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v108y2023ics0966692323000480.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“You always think about what other people be thinking”: Black men and barriers to cycling in London

Author

Listed:
  • Osei, Akwesi
  • Aldred, Rachel

Abstract

The climate crisis and coronavirus pandemic have highlighted the need and potential to increase cycling, alongside inequalities in current cycling levels. In London, UK, groups including women, ethnic minority communities, and disabled people are under-represented. While gender-based marginalisation within cycling is more widely discussed, racial exclusions remain under-researched, and no other study focuses on experiences of cycling among Black men. This small qualitative study recruited Black male Londoners, a group whose cycling rates remain low compared to White males, although they have relatively high cycling potential and expressed demand for cycling. Speaking to Black men who cycle at least occasionally, it explored their experiences of and feelings about cycling, and the barriers that prevent them from cycling more. The analysis identifies barriers associated with direct discrimination or marginalisation, and barriers more connected to London's wider structural inequalities in areas such as employment, poverty, and housing. Among the former are racism, stop and search, and lack of visual representation; among the latter are access to infrastructure, secure parking, and the Cycle to Work scheme. Some interviewees suggest a Black cycling eco-system is needed to address a problematic dynamic of invisibility/visibility among Black men with respect to cycling.

Suggested Citation

  • Osei, Akwesi & Aldred, Rachel, 2023. "“You always think about what other people be thinking”: Black men and barriers to cycling in London," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:108:y:2023:i:c:s0966692323000480
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103576
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692323000480
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103576?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aldred, Rachel & Croft, Joseph & Goodman, Anna, 2019. "Impacts of an active travel intervention with a cycling focus in a suburban context: One-year findings from an evaluation of London’s in-progress mini-Hollands programme," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 147-169.
    2. Rachel Aldred, 2013. "Incompetent or Too Competent? Negotiating Everyday Cycling Identities in a Motor Dominated Society," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 252-271, May.
    3. Steinbach, Rebecca & Green, Judith & Datta, Jessica & Edwards, Phil, 2011. "Cycling and the city: A case study of how gendered, ethnic and class identities can shape healthy transport choices," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(7), pages 1123-1130, April.
    4. Rahul Goel & Anna Goodman & Rachel Aldred & Ryota Nakamura & Lambed Tatah & Leandro Martin Totaro Garcia & Belen Zapata-Diomedi & Thiago Herick de Sa & Geetam Tiwari & Audrey de Nazelle & Marko Tainio, 2022. "Cycling behaviour in 17 countries across 6 continents: levels of cycling, who cycles, for what purpose, and how far?," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 58-81, January.
    5. Barajas, Jesus, 2021. "Biking Where Black: Connecting Transportation Planning and Infrastructure to Disproportionate Policing," SocArXiv wszgv, Center for Open Science.
    6. Vietinghoff, Christina, 2021. "An intersectional analysis of barriers to cycling for marginalized communities in a cycling-friendly French City," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Osborne, Natalie & Grant-Smith, Deanna, 2017. "Constructing the cycling citizen: A critical analysis of policy imagery in Brisbane, Australia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 44-53.
    2. Lugo, Adonia E., 2013. "CicLAvia and human infrastructure in Los Angeles: ethnographic experiments in equitable bike planning," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 202-207.
    3. Aldred, Rachel, 2016. "Cycling near misses: Their frequency, impact, and prevention," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 69-83.
    4. Sherwin, Henrietta & Chatterjee, Kiron & Jain, Juliet, 2014. "An exploration of the importance of social influence in the decision to start bicycling in England," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 32-45.
    5. Gamble, Julie & Snizek, Bernhard & Nielsen, Thomas Sick, 2017. "From people to cycling indicators: Documenting and understanding the urban context of cyclists' experiences in Quito, Ecuador," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 167-177.
    6. Ravensbergen, Léa & Buliung, Ron & Sersli, Stephanie & Winters, Meghan, 2021. "Guest editorial: Critical Vélomobilities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    7. Rybarczyk, Greg & Gallagher, Laura, 2014. "Measuring the potential for bicycling and walking at a metropolitan commuter university," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 1-10.
    8. Aldred, Rachel & Woodcock, James, 2015. "Reframing safety: An analysis of perceptions of cycle safety clothing," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 103-112.
    9. Julie Gamble, 2017. "Experimental Infrastructure: Experiences in Bicycling in Quito, Ecuador," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 162-180, January.
    10. Elias, Wafa & Katoshevski-Cavari, Rachel, 2014. "The role of socio-economic and environmental characteristics in school-commuting behavior: A comparative study of Jewish and Arab children in Israel," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 79-87.
    11. Echeverría, Lucía & Giménez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Alberto Molina, José, 2022. "Who uses green mobility? Exploring profiles in developed countries," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 247-265.
    12. Hudde, Ansgar, 2022. "The unequal cycling boom in Germany," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Li, Xiaomeng & Pooyan Afghari, Amir & Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar & Kaye, Sherrie-Anne & Haworth, Narelle, 2023. "Cyclists perception and self-reported behaviour towards interacting with fully automated vehicles," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    14. Jonas Larsen, 2017. "The making of a pro-cycling city: Social practices and bicycle mobilities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(4), pages 876-892, April.
    15. Tim Jones & Colin G Pooley & Griet Scheldeman & Dave Horton & Miles Tight & Caroline Mullen & Ann Jopson & Anthony Whiteing, 2012. "Moving around the City: Discourses on Walking and Cycling in English Urban Areas," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(6), pages 1407-1424, June.
    16. Jezabel E. Tuling, 2022. "Harmonized Gender and Development Guideline and Its Effect on Gender Responsive Infrastructure Projects of DPWH Region XI," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(10), pages 231-237, October.
    17. Afua Kokayi & Shino Shiode & Narushige Shiode, 2023. "Geographical Exploration of the Underrepresentation of Ethnic Minority Cyclists in England," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, March.
    18. Popan, Cosmin & Anaya-Boig, Esther, 2021. "The intersectional precarity of platform cycle delivery workers," SocArXiv tk6v8, Center for Open Science.
    19. Hamidi, Zahra, 2021. "Decomposing cycling potentials employing the motility framework," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    20. Laura S. Fruhen & Patrick Benetti & Lisette Kanse & Isabel Rossen, 2023. "Why Not Pedal for the Planet? The Role of Perceived Norms for Driver Aggression as a Deterrent to Cycling," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-14, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:108:y:2023:i:c:s0966692323000480. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.