Cycling as social practice: a collective autoethnography on power and vélomobility in the city

Abstract

Cycling uptake is on the rise in many cities worldwide, yet inequalities remain in who is represented amongst urban cyclists with respect to gender, race, income, and other axes of social difference. Social Practice Theory (SPT), a framework wherein practices (such as cycling) are understood within three interrelated elements: competences, meanings, and materials, has often been used to understand cycling uptake, however, it has yet to engage fully in discussions on cycling equity. In this paper, we bring together the literature on cycling equity and SPT by arguing that cycling practices are shaped by uneven power relations. Using an auto-ethnographic process, four voices are presented to demonstrate how the competencies, meanings, and materials that shape cycling are embedded within intersecting power relations, such as patriarchy, automobility, classism, and racism. In doing so, we theoretically extend SPT by showing how it is embedded within uneven power relations and contribute to the literature on mobility justice and cycling equity by demonstrating some of the barriers to cycling amongst under-represented groups. We conclude by discussing how this framing can be applied to create more equitable—and just—cycling cities, focusing on cycling initiatives grounded in anti-racism and feminism.

Keywords:

• Cycling
• Social Practice Theory
• mobility justice
• autoethnography
• equity

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all other students in the fall 2021 course The History and Geography of Cycles and Cycling at the University of Toronto for contributing to conversations that inspired this research.