Cycling and transitions theories: A conceptual framework to assess the relationship between cycling innovations and sustainability goals

Abstract

Through its novel and systematic application of the multi-level perspective (MLP), sustainable mobility paradigm (SMP), and strategic niche management (SNM) principles, this article provides a framework for evaluating the relationship between cycling innovations and sustainability goals within a given institutional context. It then demonstrates the practical application of this framework with an analysis of the implementation of three comparable cycling innovations in three different mobility regimes. The article contributes to the literature on the transition to sustainable transportation systems by showing how the application of the SMP to transition theories provides an improved understanding of the role that cycling innovations play in transition processes. It also critically evaluates the limited amount of literature examining cycling innovations through the lens of transition theories and how this literature has been adopted by other scholars.