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Want to Know if an Urban Environment Supports Cycling? Measure the Proportion of Women on Bikes

Patrick James, October 5, 2009, GOOD - Cities Via Yglesias

 

According to Jan Garrard, a senior lecturer at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, the best way to determine how favorable a given city is for cycling is to measure the number of women bike-riders. From Scientific American:



Women are considered an "indicator species" for bike-friendly cities for several reasons. First, studies across disciplines as disparate as criminology and child ­rearing have shown that women are more averse to risk than men. In the cycling arena, that risk aversion translates into increased demand for safe bike infrastructure as a prerequisite for riding. Women also do most of the child care and household shopping, which means these bike routes need to be organized around practical urban destinations to make a difference.

 

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