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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: The health benefits of bicycling, including improvements in cardiovascular fitness and reduction in all-cause mortality have been emphasized in international research. Cycling facilities are a widely used transportation policy tool aimed at promoting healthy and sustainable transportation choices. However, women constitute only a small proportion of current bicyclists in North America, and the impacts of cycling facilities on mitigating gendered barriers to bicycling is unclear. This is potentially a missed opportunity to increase bicycling rates at a population level.
Methods: This paper presents the findings from an online household survey conducted in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada, in 2019, specifically focusing on 10 urban and suburban neighbourhoods- five with a newly constructed cycling facility and five without. Data from 746 adults who commute to work or school was explored to examine- 1) How do a self-identified woman's gendered life experiences influence their bicycling frequently when compared to men? And 2) What is the role of new cycling facilities in modifying these above-mentioned relationships? Statistical correlates of women's bicycling frequency were explored using weighted ordinal logistic regression models. We examined the interaction between gender and four life experiences (living situation, age, employment and trip chaining), providing deeper insight into the gendered construction of mobility.
Results: Results indicated a higher likelihood of commute-related bicycling among women who are between the ages 30-44 years, who work part-time, and who have children, on streets with a new cycling facility. Younger women are likely to bicycle more frequently (for commuting) in the absence of cycling facilities. Similarly, we observed no statistical difference in self-reported bicycling frequency between women who work full time and women who work part time, when cycling facilities were not present.
Conclusions: Using a feminist geography lens, we argue that the presence of cycling facilities potentially allow some women to minimize the patriarchal barriers they experience when bicycling, including psychological and social expectations around feminine performance, and embodiment and material understanding of their "cycling body". This work calls for future gendered mobility work to further explore women bicyclists' intersectional and embodied experiences.
Language: en |