I wrote this lengthy review for a class assignment, with Amazon in mind:
John Pucher and Ralph Buehler, the principle authors of City Cycling, aim to portray recent trends in cycling, identify the most effective measures for increasing cycling levels, improve safety, and make cycling possible for all segments of society (for those who are able). 16 of the 21 contributors have their doctorates; City Cycling is a wonky book, and does not pretend to be anything different. Nevertheless, the book is quite readable. It would easily hold the interest of any related academic, professional, student, or bicycle enthusiast.
The book is very comprehensive and full of detailed explanations, at 393 pages, including references. Here is a listing of the chapters, for those whose interests may be rather specific:
1. Introduction
2. International overview: cycling trends in North America, Western Europe and Australia
3. Health Benefits of Cycling
4. Effective Speed: Cycling Because It's "Faster"
5. Developments in Bicycle Equipment and Its Role in Promoting Cycling as a Travel Mode
6. Bicycling Infrastructure for Mass Cycling: A Transatlantic Comparison
7. Cycling Safety
8. Integration of Cycling with Public Transportation
9. Bikesharing across the Globe
10. Women and Cycling
11. Children and Cycling
12. Cycling and Small Cities
13. Big City Cycling in Europe, North America and Australia
14. Cycling in Megacities: London, Paris, New York, and Tokyo
15. Promoting Cycling for Daily Travel: Conclusions and Lessons from across the Globe
As the chapters hint, much of the book compares the current state of cycling to Western Europe and Australia. As the authors state, "the most detailed analysis is for the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the countries for which the available statistics are most comparable." Select European cities, principally Copenhagen and Amsterdam, are rightly held up as models for North American and Australian cities to aspire to.
In its initial international comparisons, the book describes the current, relatively advanced state of cycling in Western Europe and later goes on to describe when and why Europe's pro-automobile policies were dramatically reversed towards cycling. The impacts of this reversal are then generally described.
The health benefits of cycling are addressed next, which is the subject I am most familiar with in this book. I was disappointed that the authors did not explicitly state that the health benefits are the largest single economic benefit gained from cycling. The chapter goes on to discuss social, mental, emotional and psychosocial benefits, all of which are more subjective by nature, and thus lack hard data. The high cost-benefit ratios (CBR) of health benefits (citing a literature review study that found an average ratio of 5:1) and their context are addressed, but I find the impact of the CBR findings to be understated.
The one other qualm I have, again comes from my own knowledge. Chapter 7, Cycling Safety, naturally follows the bicycle infrastructure chapter to discuss the safety impact of infrastructure designs. Best practices and their related statistics are described, which is consistent throughout the book, but some statistics are also left out, like the fact that cyclist injury rates are somewhat higher than motorist rates. I consider myself relatively well-informed with the specific facet of health and cycling, which gives me the ability to use outside knowledge for evaluation. These two inconsistencies do make me alert to any other omissions, but I do not doubt the authors' accuracy.
There is more than statistics and current practices; the book also includes historical information, which includes cycling's relationship to women, and the history of bikesharing. Women cyclers are very underrepresented in North America, and the authors state that improving safety (both perceived and actual) should be the primary concern of cities pursuing cycling. Safety is even more important for children, as is education on urban cycling. Minorities in biking are divided more by gender and age, not race. Thus, the most common association with minority, race, is not specifically addressed, though it is acknowledged that more bicycle infrastructure will lessen racial disparities.
The policies and successes of Davis, CA and Boulder, CO are detailed. The even greater success of small European cities is then fully explained, as they have unique natural advantages when it comes to utilitarian cycling. The following chapters on large cities and megacities follow a similar format to the small cities chapter. Each chapter compares the cities and examines the unique problems that different sized cities face, and their strategies to overcome those obstacles.
If you are still not convinced that you should pick up this book, that is because this is a review, and therefore short on mind-blowing specifics. Here are a couple Easter eggs I found:
`Effective speed' concludes that average cycling rates in most countries are actually faster than automobiles, once all the costs of vehicle ownership are accounted for. A second find was the reasonably-backed statement that helmet laws can actually have the perverse effect of increasing deaths.
City Cycling is a great resource for academics, professionals, students, and bicycle enthusiasts. The number of citations and their wide variety provide an excellent source of current and popular studies (which are separated by chapters, and thus subject) from two well-respected academics, as well as their notable collaborators. Civil engineers, transportation planners and similar professionals would likely benefit more; the best practices included are many and straightforward, and are presented in short table form, followed by detailed descriptions. Students like me would have a great comprehensive starting manual of studies from nearly every subject related to urban cycling. Average citizens interested in urban cycling would find this book a great resource as well. Should any citizen be compelled to push for a more bicycle-friendly community, this book is the only resource they would need; it is an arsenal of peer-reviewed persuasion.
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2012
Top reviews from other countries
- Peter HirdReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2012
City Cycling edited by John Pucher
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Beatrix WuppermanReviewed in Germany on February 8, 2013
Ein Muss auch für deutsche Fahrradförderer
