Motivations and Strategies for Bicycle Planning in Rural, Suburban, and Low-Density Communities: The Need for New Best Practices

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Many planners view bicycles as a critical component of sustainable urban transportation, but assumptions about cycling derived from urban places may not translate to the social, political, and built environment contexts outside of cities. Our study focuses o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Planning Association 2018-04, Vol.84 (2), p.99-111
Main Authors: McAndrews, Carolyn, Tabatabaie, Sara, Litt, Jill S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Best practice
Bicycles
Bicycling
Built environment
Critical components
Cycling
Density
Disadvantaged
Economic development
Grants
Infrastructure
Planners
Property values
Quality of life
Real estate
Recreation
Research methods
Rural communities
Suburban areas
Suburban development
Sustainable transportation
Technical assistance
Tourism
Transportation
Urban areas
Urban environments
Urban transportation
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Summary:Problem, research strategy, and findings: Many planners view bicycles as a critical component of sustainable urban transportation, but assumptions about cycling derived from urban places may not translate to the social, political, and built environment contexts outside of cities. Our study focuses on the motivations and strategies that rural, small, and low-density (RSLD) communities have for investing in bicycle systems; our goal was to learn what kind of technical assistance such communities might need to realize their cycling goals. We conducted in-depth interviews in 10 communities that received grants from a Kaiser Permanente program in Colorado to increase cycling.Takeaway for practice: These 10 cases present a conflict between a recreational or quality-of-life approach to increasing cycling in RSLD communities and a transportation approach more common in urban areas, which stresses the use of cycling to supplement or replace auto travel for purposive trips. Most RSLD cities did not have the political or cultural support to plan for and begin constructing major cycling infrastructure for either recreational or transportation cycling. Most need best practices to educate local stakeholders on the value of cycling to support economic development, increase tourism, and improve property values without significantly reducing auto access. Planners in RSLD places also need special guidance for addressing the needs of riders with diverse environmental values and those from disadvantaged communities.
ISSN:0194-4363
1939-0130
DOI:10.1080/01944363.2018.1438849