Urban Design: Is there a Distinctive View from the Bicycle?

Abstract

Would urban design considerations and practices be different if the experience of bicycling was given a more central place? Drawing on a review of international literature and practice, this paper compares the characteristics of cyclists with those of pedestrians and motorists, showing that cyclists have a substantial number of unique characteristics that warrant further investigation in terms of a special urban design response. Focusing on four issues—community layout, cycling facilities, analysis and design processes, and detailed design—the paper offers a framework and central considerations for cycling-oriented urban design. It concludes with a call to take the experience of cycling seriously in urban design. This involves moving beyond a concern with safe and convenient facilities and complete networks to a more substantial interest in the experience of the environment from a cyclist's point of view.

Notes

1. Classic early sources grappling with the implications of cars for cities include LeCorbusier (1973, orig 1943) and Great Britain Ministry of Transport (1964). For general work on street design see Jacobs (1993); Bosselman (1998); Southworth & Ben Joseph (2003); Marshall (2004). For pedestrian-oriented design see Cullen (1961); Jacobs (1961); Whyte (1980, 1988).

2. Basic bicycle planning texts include Forester (1994); Wilkinson (1994); Oregon Department of Transportation (1995); FHWA (2004).

3. References on visual impacts include Shepphard & Newman (1979); FHWA (1988); audit tools (Clemente et al., 2005; Ewing et al., 2006; Ewing & Handy, 2009; Boarnet et al., 2006, forthcoming; Day et al., 2006; Brownson et al., 2009); cognitive mapping (Lynch, 1960); streets (Jacobs, 1993; Alexander et al., 1977; Bosselman, 1998).