• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
CyclesOf  Contention
Brandon RhodesPPPM 438: Bicycle PlanningJune 7, 2004
 
Bicycling as a Social Movement
If someone were asked fifty, or even twenty, years ago if they thought bicyclingwould ever become a social movement, they would likely laugh out loud. Even todaysome would gawk at the notion of something as recreational, sporty, and (frankly)childish as bicycling being considered a social movement. Yet it is difficult to deny thatwhat once was leisure now is a charged political issue. For years, rallies have been heldfor bicyclists, hundreds of community and nonprofit groups seek to advance any number of bicycle-friendly agendas, federal Congresspersons are part of a Bicycling Caucus, andcampaigns have targeted nearly ever facet of society. Most generally, those participatingin any of the above courses of action seek to encourage the proliferation of bicycleinfrastructure, bikable communities, bicycle safety, and overall bicycle use.It is evident that today, bicycling is a social movement. Cornell Professor of Sociology Sidney Tarrow believes that social movements are a form of contentious politics, which “occurs when ordinary people, often in league with more influentialcitizens, join forces in confrontations with elites, authorities, and opponents. Suchconfrontations go back to the dawn of history. But mounting, coordinating, andsustaining them against powerful opponents are the unique contribution of the socialmovement.”
1
Indeed the bike movement has had its roots in the lower and middle classes – often among those who cannot afford an automobile – and faces strong cultural,economic, and political opponents. It has evolved from the short-term and looselyorganized realm of contentious politics and become a social movement as time has wornon.
Forms of Expression and Organization
The success of any modern social movement hinges largely on the ability to drawupon a broad repertoire of expression and organization. Posits Tarrow: “Socialmovements are repositories of knowledge of particular routines in a society’s history,which help them to overcome the deficits in resources and communication typicallyfound among the poor and disorganized.”
2
It is critical that a movement be able to tapinto known, recognizable forms of contention while redefining other cultural symbols tosuit their own ends.2
 
 Not surprisingly, the bike movement has relied on many historically successfulrepertoires to further their cause. Chosen repertoires echo those of the civil rightsmovement, labor movement, and “New Left” movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Theycan be placed in five primary groups: Educators, who work to instill bicycle affinity andsafety among children and adults; Policy Wonks, who lobby and educate governmentsand businesses to support bicycle infrastructure and culture; Community Support Groups,who create healthy spaces and structures to nurture bike activists and users; Celebration,Unity, & Culture Enablers, who organize events and clubs which bring bicycliststogether; and Everyday Resisters, those who commute by bike or use their bike for extra-leisurely utility.Let us take a brief, closer look at these groups and excellent local examples of each before moving on to likely future developments. It should be noted that thefollowing groups can have a strong overlap in function, but the outcome of which is moreakin to synergy than to toe-stepping.
 Educators
Educators endeavor to rally two demographics with two goals for both:cultivating an affinity for bicycling and developing safety skills for maneuvering theurban cityscape in children and adults. By overcoming the initial fear and intimidationthat can come along with learning how to utilize urban bike infrastructure through lessonsand tours, Educators empower children and adults to become more independent and moreapt to bike as an alternative to driving. They are creating a community-synthesized“Driver’s Ed” program for bicyclists.Bicycles and Ideas for Kids’ Empowerment (b.i.k.e.) is an Educator group fromPortland, Oregon who, according to their mission statement “facilitates the developmentof values and life skills essential for productive citizenship in inner-city youth through bicycling, tutoring, year-round mentoring, and leadership training.”
3
Through programsranging from summer camps, to sessions coordinated with Portland Public Schools, to a program which encourages sport bicycling among teens, b.i.k.e. has successfully taughtand empowered dozens of at-risk youths. Their programs are nationally recognized as amodel practice and standard-setting for their specialty.3
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...