Walking versus cycling? Negotiating active travel practices over logics of automobility and productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic

Walking and cycling are the central practices within the concept of active travel. However, research, policy and planning have so far only managed to form a comprehensive perspective on both practices with difficulty. They are either treated as equivalent or unique and distinct. In order to find out what connects and alienates them, we argue for a closer look at how these practices relate to each other. We draw on the disruptive context of the COVID-19 pandemic and ask: How are practices of walking and cycling in the pandemic urban neighbourhood negotiated? Our analysis is based on focus group discussions that juxtapose experiences of walking and cycling in a German urban neighbourhood. Drawing on social practice theories as an analytical perspective, we identify four settings of negotiations: (1) representations of the self; (2) everyday coordination; (3) street interactions; (4) representations of transport policy. Walking is subordinate to cycling in these negotiations due to the predominant logics of automobility and productivity. This study provides qualitative empirical insights into the diversity of relations between walking and cycling in the context of the pandemic disruption. It proposes a social practice approach and contributes policy implications regarding a shared agenda of walking and cycling.