Designing and policy implementation for encouraging cycling and walking trips, interview transcripts 2016-2017

DOI

This data collection is comprised of anonymized transcripts of interviews. The research project investigated community-led (i.e. grassroots) walking and cycling organizations that aim to improve walking and cycling for largely marginalized groups in London, UK and São Paulo, Brazil through the development and provision of soft (social) and hard (material) infrastructures. Answers to several questions were sought, such as: what sorts of infrastructures are provided? Who gets involved, and in what capacity? Who benefits from these projects? How do these initiatives embody visions of collective well-being, equity, and justice? Is it possible to upscale or mainstream these initiatives? Interview participants consisted of leaders, staff, and volunteers who create and run grassroots walking and cycling organizations, those who benefit from the infrastructural initiatives, as well as intermediaries who help support the work of the organizations. Interviews were conducted in São Paulo and London in 2016 and 2017. Walking and cycling are the most sustainable modes of transport in cities and should be placed at the heart of a transition towards low-carbon urban mobility systems. This is because walking and cycling can improve the life chances and health and well-being of each city inhabitant - irrespective of their socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, age - with hardly any adverse impact on the lives of fellow inhabitants. Research on how walking and cycling in cities can be encouraged is burgeoning and provides many compelling insights. However, insights about the role of infrastructure in stimulating urban walking and cycling are limited because the focus is typically on the 'hardware' of cycle lanes, sidewalks, bike sharing schemes, road design, urban design and so forth; the 'software' of governance, regulation, information provision, maintenance and repair as well as the embedded knowledge, know-how, meanings, values, aspirations and emotions are not always given the emphasis they deserve. Moreover, the research is often set in cities in the global North and assumes insights and concepts that has emerged from there as universally valid and easily transferable to cities in the global South. This international research project will adopt a broader understanding of infrastructure and develop original empirical and theoretical insights on the basis of comparative research in the UK, the Netherlands and the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The activities undertaken by the Oxford team focus on the role of community-led initiatives in London to encourage walking and cycling and in creating infrastructures that are conducive to these practices. The Oxford researchers will make an inventory of the heterogeneity of recent community-led initiatives in both cities, covering such issues as what they consist of, who are involved, what the goals are, and who benefits. The Oxford team will also critically evaluate if and how such initiatives can contribute to a large-scale transition towards low-carbon urban mobility. A mixed-method approach consisting of document analysis, interviews and focus groups will be adopted, and the team will engage with local communities, policymakers, interest groups and other stakeholders in various ways. It can be expected that, apart from creating academic outputs, the project will contribute to: social learning among community-led initiatives through the sharing of experiences and good practices; to greater reflexivity about how policy, governance and regulation affect community-led initiatives; and to the creation of more effective support structures for such initiatives.

A list of citizen-led (grassroots) walking and cycling infrastructure initiatives in London and São Paulo was compiled using internet searches, local key informants, and national surveys. Organizations of potential research interest were prioritized according to the extent to which they specifically targeted disadvantaged individuals and social groups. 85 individuals associated with these organizations agreed to take part in the research. These individuals included organizations' leaders, paid staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries, as well as intermediaries who liaised between the grassroots organizations of interest and other organizations. Between the two cities, 71 interviews were conducted in total (some interviews involved more than one participant). These were semi-structured in nature; most were audio-recorded and transcribed and notes were taken in instances where recording was refused. Most interviews were conducted in English, though for some in São Paulo Portuguese was used due to the participants' comfort with their native language. Translations of the latter are included here.

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-853677
Metadata Access https://datacatalogue.cessda.eu/oai-pmh/v0/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_ddi25&identifier=031d5c13c8d243a909b5f11fc0382c8cccc41e44e8bf5e3eaf36282ca495595c
Provenance
Creator Nixon, D, University of Oxford
Publisher UK Data Service
Publication Year 2019
Funding Reference Economic and Social Research Council
Rights Tim Schwanen, University of Oxford; The Data Collection is available for download to users registered with the UK Data Service.
OpenAccess true
Representation
Language English
Resource Type Text
Discipline Social Sciences
Spatial Coverage Greater London and São Paulo; United Kingdom; Brazil