Mental barriers in planning for cycling

Abstract

Deriving from extensive analysis of quantitative survey data in Austria, this chapter focuses on the importance that inherited presuppositions play in the processes of planning and implementation. In a majority of European countries, cycling is considered to play a significant role in a sustainable urban transport system, after decades of car dominance captivating the thoughts and actions of decision-makers and thus appears in transport policy documents ranging from local to national level. However, when actual measures are implemented, mental barriers of decision makers surface and this often leads to suboptimal results. Mental barriers are shown most clearly in resistance to innovation adoption, a phenomenon well documented in social science. In this context, the resistance to innovation adoption causes reservations and limiting beliefs that hinder decision-makers in the introduction of suitable solutions for everyday and every-use cycling. The chapter addresses quantitatively two primary questions relating to mental barriers clearly revealed in the analysis of planning processes: of what are mental barriers comprised, and where do they exist? Our quantitative exploration points the way towards two possible approaches to overcome mental barriers: social pressure upon and self-experience by decision-makers.

Climate Change Scenarios

“…Local advocacy groups have extensive experience in working together with city officials and governance structures to promote change as examples from situations as diverse as the Netherlands (Feddes and de Lange 2019), the USA (Smiley et al 2016), and China (Tan and Martínez López 2020) show. One reason for the necessity of cooperation between civil society and existing governance mechanisms is a reflection of knowledge gaps between traditional transport planners and engineers who may have little or no specific training in the skills and knowledge required for design and planning for cycling (Brezina et al 2020). Partnership working may also be required for those tasked with practical implementation of infrastructural measures who, if not actual users, may not appreciate the importance of the finer scale detail essential in designing for cycle traffic as opposed to general road engineering (Parkin 2018).…”