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Plans for pavement or for people? The politics of bike lanes on the ‘Paseo Boricua’ in Chicago, Illinois

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  • Amy Lubitow

    (Portland State University, USA)

  • Bryan Zinschlag

    (Portland State University, USA)

  • Nathan Rochester

    (Portland State University, USA)

Abstract

Over the course of the past two decades, bicycling has become increasingly popular in the USA. Although the rate of bike trips made in the USA has more than tripled since 1977, it is relatively low compared with many European cities (Pucher et al., 2011a). In urban areas throughout the USA, bicycling is increasingly being touted as an environmentally friendly way to enhance transit choice as public transportation budgets are slashed and automobile infrastructures remain congested. Discourse around the proliferation of bicycling infrastructure development in American cities often obscures complex aspects of community-level choice regarding transit, including the placement and implementation of bike lanes. This paper seeks to explore the dynamic ways that community members and city planners make sense of bike infrastructure development in Chicago, Illinois. Qualitative interviews and participant observation were employed to clarify the community context of bike lane development in a gentrifying area of the city. We find that community engagement is a critical component of promoting the acceptance and use of bike infrastructure and discuss the role of a community bike shop in facilitating community engagement around bicycling in the neighbourhood of Humboldt Park, home to the second largest Puerto Rican community in the USA.

Suggested Citation

  • Amy Lubitow & Bryan Zinschlag & Nathan Rochester, 2016. "Plans for pavement or for people? The politics of bike lanes on the ‘Paseo Boricua’ in Chicago, Illinois," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(12), pages 2637-2653, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:53:y:2016:i:12:p:2637-2653
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098015592823
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Erik Swyngedouw, 2009. "The Antinomies of the Postpolitical City: In Search of a Democratic Politics of Environmental Production," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 601-620, September.
    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. Pucher, J. & Buehler, R. & Merom, D. & Bauman, A., 2011. "Walking and cycling in the United States, 2001-2009: Evidence from the National Household Travel Surveys," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(SUPPL. 1), pages 310-317.
    4. Pucher, John & Buehler, Ralph & Seinen, Mark, 2011. "Bicycling renaissance in North America? An update and re-appraisal of cycling trends and policies," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 451-475, July.
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    Cited by:

    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. Biehl, Alec & Ermagun, Alireza & Stathopoulos, Amanda, 2018. "Community mobility MAUP-ing: A socio-spatial investigation of bikeshare demand in Chicago," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 80-90.
    3. Braun, Lindsay M. & Rodriguez, Daniel A. & Gordon-Larsen, Penny, 2019. "Social (in)equity in access to cycling infrastructure: Cross-sectional associations between bike lanes and area-level sociodemographic characteristics in 22 large U.S. cities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

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