Cycling infrastructures and equity: an examination of bike lanes and bike sharing system in Lisbon, Portugal

ABSTRACT

Inequity of access to the cycling network may reinforce social disparities in health and access to resources and opportunities. This study aims to examine whether the area-level material deprivation index is associated with different levels of accessibility to Lisbon’s (i) cycling network and (ii) bike-sharing docking stations network. Independent t-tests were implemented, and regression models were performed to estimate the associations of the multiple deprivation index with each dependent bike lane and bike-sharing docking station variable, adjusting for covariates. The results confirm the hypothesis of a significant difference between the most and least deprived areas in terms of the presence of bike lanes and bike-sharing stations as well as in terms of coverage, distance, and connectivity of the both infrastructures. When covariates are controlled, a higher index of material deprivation is associated with (i) a lower presence of, greater distance to, and lower coverage of bike-sharing docking stations; and (ii) is not associated with the presence of, distance to, connectivity of, and coverage of cycle lane networks. Based on these findings, efforts should be directed to increase access to bike lanes and bike-sharing systems to more deprived areas.

KEYWORDS:

• Bike lane
• bike sharing
• cycling infrastructure
• disparities
• equity

This article is related to:

Research for city practice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. This intention was regularly disseminated in the Portuguese press since 2016 (https://www.dn.pt/sociedade/lisboa-vai-ter-200-km-para-pedalar-e-quer-ir-de-oeiras-a-vila-franca-5400639.html) and more recently in June 2021 (https://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/economia/detalhe/camara-de-lisboa-anuncia-200-quilometros-de-ciclovia-ate-2021-e-apoios-para-compra-de-bicicletas).

2. The most recent population census was implemented in 2021. However, data at the block group level are expected to be publicly available only by the end of 2022 (https://censos.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpgid=censos21&xpid=CENSOS21&xlang=pt).

3. Two block groups with no population were removed from the study.

4. The first version of the paper was based on data gathered in August 2021. For the current version of the paper data have been updated in April 2022.

Additional information

Funding

This study received support from the Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT), funded by national funds through the Foundation for Science Technology (FCT) under the reference UIDB/04084/2020.

Notes on contributors

Miguel Padeiro

Miguel Padeiro holds a PhD in Spatial Planning from the University of Paris-East. His main fields of research include land-use and mobility planning, and the neighborhood context of ageing. He has participated in several projects linked to urban health, mobility, and ageing. He also coordinates the Grampcity project dedicated to the mobility of older adults in four Portuguese urban areas.