Cycling Pathways

The Politics and Governance of Dutch Cycling Infrastructure, 1920-2020
Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-94-6372-847-8
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 1, 404 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 567 g

Reihe: Studies in History, Technology and Society

In an effort to fight climate change, many cities try to boost their cycling levels. They often look towards the Dutch for guidance. However, historians have only begun to uncover how and why the Netherlands became the premier cycling country of the world. Why were Dutch cyclists so successful in their fight for a place on the road? Cycling Pathways: The Politics and Governance of Dutch Cycling Infrastructure, 1920-2020 explores the long political struggle that culminated in today’s high cycling levels. Delving into the archives, it uncovers the important role of social movements and shows in detail how these interacted with national, provincial, and urban engineers and policymakers to govern the distribution of road space and construction of cycling infrastructure. It discusses a wide range of topics, ranging from activists to engineering committees, from urban commuters to recreational cyclists and from the early 1900s to today in order to uncover the long and all-but-forgotten history of Dutch cycling governance.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Dekker, Henk-Jan

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technikgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Abbreviations

List of Figures and Tables

Introduction

Introducing Cycling Governance

Taking Stock of Cycling History

Locating Cycling Governance: Sources and Methods

Part I - Roots: How Commuter and Recreational Cycling Became a Dutch Public Good, 1880s-1940s

1 Citizen Power: from Bourgeois Clubs to Governance Groundbreakers

1.1 Dutch Cycling Clubs’ Unique Position in an International Context

1.2 Citizens Building Recreational Cycling Paths

1.3 Advocating Cycling as Part of Car-Centric Planning

1.4 Conclusion

2 A Contested Compromise: National Government Supports Commuter Cycling

2.1 Justifying Road Funding and the Bicycle Tax

2.2 A Polder Model for Cycling Governance

2.3 Is Cycling Infrastructure a Public Good?

2.4 Making Cycling Infrastructure the Default Norm

2.5 Governing Cycling Publicly or Privately?

2.6 Conclusion

Conclusion Part I

Part II - Divergence: How Dutch Cycling Policy and Practice Persevered, 1950s-1970s

3 A Right to Recreation: Provincial Policymakers Design Cycling Networks

3.1 Pioneering Recreational Cycling Governance in the 1940s

3.2 Pioneering Provincial Cycling Governance in Drenthe and Zuid-Holland

3.3 1960s National Subsidies for Recreational Cycling

3.4 Conclusion

4 Popular or Outdated? National Policymakers’ Ambivalence about Bicycles

4.1 Dutch Cycling’s Staying Power from an International Perspective

4.2 Ambiguities and Continuities

4.3 ANWB Expands its Role as an Expert Organization

4.4 Conclusion

5 An Accident of History: How Mopeds Boosted Dutch Cycling Infrastructure

5.1 Mopeds Widen Citizens’ Action Radius

5.2 Sharing the Cycling Path

5.3 Framing Mopeds and Cycling Paths

5.4 How Mopeds Boosted Cycling Path Construction

5.5 Conclusion

Conclusion Part II

Part III - Dutch Model: How Urban Cycling Became a National Political Demand after 1970

6 Citizen Expertise: Urban Activism Shapes Local Cycling Policy in the 1970s

6.1 Early Cycling Activism: Goals and Methods, 1965-1975

6.2 User Expertise and Cycling Infrastructure: Cyclists’ Union Activism, 1975-1985

6.3 Working with the Government: Activists and Cycling Governance

6.4 Conclusion

7 Catching Up: The State Acknowledges Urban Cycling as Public Good, 1975-1990

7.1 Expanding National Cycling Governance, 1975-1985

7.2 Frictions and Distrust: Struggles with Multi-Level Cycling Governance

7.3 Governing the Redistribution of Urban Road Space

7.4 Decentralizing Cycling Governance (Once Again), 1985-1990

7.5 Conclusion

8 Self-Evident: Mainstreaming Cycling Policy and Practice since 1990

8.1 National Government Settles on Expert Role

8.2 Provinces and Municipalities Double Down

8.3 Cyclists’ Union Professionalizes Further

8.4 Conclusion

Conclusion Part III

Conclusion

Explaining Dutch Cycling Success

Making the Case for Cycling Infrastructure

Turning Beliefs into Infrastructure

Contributions, Limitations, and Further Research

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Dekker, Henk-Jan
Henk-Jan Dekker is a historian who received his PhD in 2021 from Eindhoven University of Technology. His research interests include the history of cycling policies in relation to culture, governance, and social movements, and the history of technology.