Revealing the Cycling Potential of Starter Cycling Cities

Abstract

There has been an increasing recognition of the potential of cycling for a more sustainable urban mobility. Regardless, many Starter Cycling cities are still struggling with finding the right approach to bring about change and even with finding the right political and social commitment to a real change. In this paper, we explore the operationalization of the concept of potential for cycling aiming to provide detailed knowledge to local authorities on structural conditions of cities to take up cycling. With this in mind, we present an assessment method able to categorize and provide spatial visualization of the potential for cycling of starter cycling cities. Using this method, we explore the potential for cycling in the municipality of Oporto (Portugal), representing an interesting example of a starter cycling city in a particular national context which can in itself be categorized as starter cycling Results regarding the cycling potential of Porto are encouraging, in particular, the composition and spatial distribution of its population and the accessibility and coverage cycling provides to basic facilities such as city centres, schools and public transport stations. The Municipality's planning practitioners found the cycling potential information useful for supporting planning decisions, selecting strategies and to inform the debate on cycling.