Graduate School of Social and Political Studies
Degree Title: Taught Masters in Social Research
Examination Number: 3134133
Matriculation Number: 0231341
Gregory Butler
Dissertation
Title:
Sustainability
and Transport: The Case for an Increased Role for Cycling
Word Count: 14,989 Excluding Title Page, Abstract, References, and Appendices.
I hereby declare that this dissertation is my own work and all references have been cited as appropriate:
Gregory Butler
Abstract: One of the key
environmental debates occurring at present involves the role of the automobile,
and our continued ability to depend on it as a foundational transportation
system. The car appears to be a lightning rod for controversy. Often, the solution for the problems posed
by automobile domination is public transit.
There certainly is a strong case to be made for increased public
transportation; however, this dissertation examines the hypothesis that cycling
is also particularly suited to play a central role in the urban transportation
system. This paper examines some of the
criticism against cars – in particular their possible role in contributing to
global warning, as well as accusations that they damage the fabric of civic
life. The case for cycling is then
examined, first by looking at some of its positive aspects, and later by
attempting to determine its ability to serve as a significant urban
transportation mode. This later
examination involves some historical analysis, but primarily is carried out by
comparing characteristics of cyclists at the local (York) and national level in
the United Kingdom.
Acknowledgement: No piece of academic work
can stand on its own, and certainly my dissertation is no exception. I would like to thank first, Dr. Bob Hodgart
for his many insights into possible approaches for the study of my topic, for
his excellent comments on ways to improve the presentation of my findings and
most specifically for his generosity with his time.
Secondly, I would like to thank my course
convenor Dr. Andrew Thompson as well as the lecturers and support staff at
Edinburgh University for helping me to access resources needed for my research.
Third, I would like to thank Dr. Philippe
Crabbé, Dr. Richard Day and Dr. Martin Daly for their willingness to serve as
references for my studies at Edinburgh.
Also I wish to acknowledge the taxpayers of Canada for permitting me the
opportunity to leave my job in Ottawa for a year of research and the taxpayers
of the United Kingdom and the staff of the Census Microdata Unit at Manchester
University who provided free of charge the data which was central to my
research. I hope the final result in
some small way justifies their investment in me.
Finally, and most importantly, I would like
to thank the cast of friends, family and teachers without whom none of my
academic work would have been possible.
From storing boxes, offering prayer or encouragement, to the Herculean
task of getting some knowledge of mathematics into my thick skull, I am in
their debt.
I would like to dedicate the work that I have
done for my dissertation to three people in particular. First, to my late grandmother Ida Conner who
made my studies possible, secondly to my grandfather A.M Butler from whom I
learned the importance of using what gifts one possesses for the common good,
and finally to my great grandfather Harold Butler who fell in love with
Edinburgh during the First World War and who wanted to go to university.
Table of Contents
2.1 Differing views about the nature of sustainability
2.2 Deep Ecology, Sustainable Development and Market
solutions.
2.4 Urban Life, Industrialisation and the Car
2.5 The Automobile - Public Transportation Mix
2.6 Additional Criticisms of automobile Dependency
2.8 Prior Work on Cycling in the United Kingdom
3.0 Methodology for Studying
Cycling – York and the UK
3.2 Overview of data to be employed and why.
3.5 Understanding Cycling at Local and National Levels
5.1 Stabilising Greenhouse Gases Requires Significant
Action
5.2 Urban Travel in the Developed World Contributes to
Carbon Emissions
5.3 Cycling Could Alleviate Some Problems Created by
Automobiles
5.4 Demographically, Urban Cyclists are not a Fringe Group
5.5 Cycling Appears to be Consistent with Economic
Wellbeing
5.6 Cycling is not the Preserve of the Young
5.7 Cycling Appears to be Appropriate for Many Urban
Commuters
5.8 The UK Appears to Have Room to Grow in Cycle Usage
5.9 Cycling and Urban Planning Are Inter-dependent
Appendix A Alternative Cities to York for Investigation
Appendix B The Two
Percent Sample
Appendix C
Variations in the Population of Cyclists
Appendix D Efficiency and Public Transportations
Appendix E Home Tenure by Region
Table of Figures
A debate about the structure of the city is currently underway in the academic and popular press and this is partially connected with the future of urban and industrial society. Much of the debate revolves around the pervasive use of the automobile. In particular, the effects on human well being which result from automobile dependent cities. Automobiles are cited for causing a number of harmful effects including contributions to greenhouse gases, urban sprawl, and leisure time lost to the daily commute. This later concern has a number of consequences. Long commutes of perhaps one hour each way in an automobile mean less time for family, community and political engagement as well as lost time for exercise and other forms of leisure. Even for individuals who travel shorter distances, the cost of maintaining an automobile uses a significant portion of a middle-class person’s disposable income.
This dissertation will examine cycling as a
possible solution to the urban transport problem of how to move large numbers
of people over the often short concentrated distances of the city. The research question I have set for myself
is, “Can the bicycle address some of the
problems associated with auto dependency in modern cities?”. Traditionally, public transit is cast as the
alternative to private automobiles in the city. This dissertation attempts to shine some light on cycling as a
lower cost and often overlooked form of urban transport.
The case for cycling can be made on a number
of grounds. Cycling is relatively
inexpensive, it emits little or no pollution, and it is quiet. Cycling moves at a slower pace than cars and
public transport travelling at high speed, but it can be the fastest mode of
transport over short distances (Tolley and Turton 1995: 211). Bikes are relatively cheap and easy to
maintain and repair. They are easy to
store and require less room to park in the city centre. Moreover, bikes are a source of
exercise. Even in situations where
someone travels 30 or more minutes by bike to get to and from work, the
commuting time is combined with moderate aerobic activity.
In this paper, I propose to examine some of
these advantages for cycling although my discussion in the first part of the
dissertation focuses more on setting the stage for cycling by examining
problems with current urban transport.
In particular, I will review some of the theories framing debate on the
concept of sustainability. I will also
look at the pollution argument for cycling by examining some of the issues
surrounding greenhouse gas emissions. I
will then examine the role that the automobile plays in contributing to
pollutants such as carbon dioxide and many others, as well as considering some
of the criticisms levelled against it as undermining public and private
life.
In the later two thirds of the paper, I begin
examining cycling directly. I will
touch on some of the community and health benefits of cycling, and I will look
in some detail at the historical role of cycling as a way of demonstrating that
at one time it played a far greater role in urban transport than it does
today. More significantly, I will carry
out a comparison of cycling at both the local and the national level by
comparing cycling in the English City of York to cycling in the UK as a
whole. This comparison will be an
effort to investigate whether cycling in its modern form is primarily a fringe
activity or whether it is a broadly based and popular means of travel with
further room for expansion.
Two subtexts run through this dissertation. The first is that there is a potential threat to human well being and our environment posed by our dependence on automobiles for so many of our travel journeys. Generally, there appear to be three categories of response to the perceived threat to the environment posed by our industrialised modern life. These responses can be categorised as the market response, the sustainable development response, and the deep ecology response. In addition to defining these concepts, I will try to put these responses in context, first by examining them in greater detail and then by examining how well they hold up against real world data for energy consumption in the transportation sector and in greenhouse gas emissions. The second subtext is that t