From mainstream, to marginal, to where? Cycling identities in a changing policy context.
This is a paper I will be presenting at a workshop in September, which relates to the Cycling Policy Review as well as the Cycling Cultures research. It picks up on my interests in the relationships between policy discourses, social practices, and social identities.
From mainstream, to marginal, to where? Cycling identities in a changing policy context.
This paper draws upon the Cycling Cultures research project to address changing cycling identities in the UK context. As motorisation has increased, cycling identities have changed, as cycling moved from being an elite activity, to a mass activity, to a marginal activity. From the 1990s we have then also seen policy-makers explicitly promoting cycling. But how does this all play out in terms of cycling identities? The paper uses interview data to demonstrate the changing and contextual nature of cycling identities; including diverse associations of cycling with poverty, with ‘alternative’ lifestyles, and with health promotion. The interview data is contrasted with cycling policy documents, which link cycling to specific motives and subjectivities. The paper concludes by considering the impact of contemporary cycling identities for future transport policy.