Bicycle urbanism as a competitive advantage in the neoliberal age: the case of bicycle promotion in Portland

Mikkel Elkær Ibsen and Kristian Olesen

International Planning Studies, 2018, vol. 23, issue 2, 210-224

Abstract: In the light of the emergent ‘bicycle renaissance’ in the US, this paper analyses the rationale basis of bicycle role model, Portland's promotion of bicycling. By conceptualizing bicycle promotion as a ‘travelling idea’, the paper discusses the key rationales and discourses structuring how bicycle policies are translated into the City of Portland. The study finds that strong neoliberal rationales such as competitiveness, cost-effectiveness, and value for money are pivotal in Portland's legitimization of spending on bicycle promotion, with sustainability and equity concerns being comparatively neglected. It is argued that this approach raises serious questions about the bicycle's potential as an egalitarian and sustainable practice, and urges potential ‘bicycle cities’ and advocates to be aware of the incommensurability of the creative class strategy and environmental justice goals.

Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13563475.2017.1402675 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:cipsxx:v:23:y:2018:i:2:p:210-224

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/cips20

DOI: 10.1080/13563475.2017.1402675

Access Statistics for this article

International Planning Studies is currently edited by Shin Lee, Scott Orford and Francesca Sartorio

More articles in International Planning Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().