Bicycle Utopias Imagining Fast and Slow Cycling Futures

Bicycle Utopias investigates the future of urban mobilities and post-car societies, arguing that the bicycle can become the nexus around which most human movement will revolve. Drawing on literature on post-car futures (Urry 2007; Dennis and Urry 2009), transition theory (Geels et al. 2012) and utopian studies (Levitas 2010, 2013), this book imagines a slow bicycle system as a necessary means to achieving more sustainable mobility futures. The imagination of a slow bicycle system is done in three ways:Scenario building to anticipate how cycling mobilities will look in the year 2050.A critique of the system of automobility and of fast cycling futures.An investigation of the cycling senses and sociabilities to describe the type of societies that such a slow bicycle system will enable. Bicycle Utopias will appeal to students and scholars in fields such as sociology, mobilities studies, human geography and urban and transport studies. This work may also be of interest to advocates, activists and professionals in the domains of cycling and sustainable mobilities.

Chapter 1, Prologue: Imagining a slow bicycle systemThe new ‘structure of feeling’The end of neoliberalism: embracing the slowThe urban formBike + train + cargo = loveCycling as mobility policyFrom subculture to cultureThe bicycle economy and big dataKnow-how and technology transferInnovations in bicycles and accessoriesBroader societal and economic changesSteps from 2016 to 2050Chapter 2, Introduction: Tips of the cycling iceberg Chapter 3: How to imagine biketopiasUtopia as methodConclusions: Enacting the socialChapter 4: Beyond autopiaThe elephant in the cityFrom autopia to CarmageddonElectric, autonomous, networked, sharedThe mobility growth paradigmGoing car-freeCareless car-free?Conclusions: Beyond cars, beyond growthChapter 5: Utopias, dystopias, biketopiasIn praise of slownessEarly biketopias of modernity and progressFast cycling for urban regeneration and growthSlow bicycle utopiasMad Max on a bikeConvivial biketopiasBike spaces of hopeConclusions: A break from growthChapter 6: SensesOn growing pedalsVelomobility at a glanceGrow ears, awaken the whole bodyWorking the inner body: balance and movementPain festivities: ‘sufferfest’How to achieve eurhythmia?Conclusions: Flowing towards eudaimonia Chapter 7: SociabilitiesCycling as interaction order and sociable practiceThe Ride-FormationSwarm sociabilitiesConversation sociabilitiesCarnivalesque sociabilitiesClub sociabilitiesThe chain-gangThe accordionConclusions: Fluid Ride-FormationsChapter 8: SlownessNeed for speedTactics of slownessAffecting the slowSlowness, sufficiency, de-growthConclusions: A norm of sufficiencyChapter 9: Conclusions

Cosmin Popan is Research Assistant in the Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University