The Role of Advocacy and Activism

Purpose – This chapter examines how activism and advocacy have shaped the policy and politics of cycling.Methodology – Evidence drawn upon includes policy documents and interviews with advocates and activists, some carried out as part of the Economic and Social Research Council Cycling Cultures project. The chapter focuses on the United Kingdom but within a comparative context drawing upon material from The Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.Findings – The chapter argues that cycling has always been constructed in relation to social movements and social identities, and so the politics of cycling varies depending on the relationship of cycling to politics more broadly. Understanding this context can contribute to the analysis of policy and infrastructural debates within and between cycling movements.Research limitations – The research could be strengthened by a comparative focus upon middle- and lower-income countries, where the demographic profile of cyclists is likely to be different leading to distinctively different politics of cycling.Research implications – The politics of cycling should be considered as crucial in shaping the content and outcomes of cycling policies, particularly in terms of understanding – and redressing – perceived policy failures.Social implications – The chapter argues that the current political and economic situation is generating distinctive political problems for cycling movements, and this is already beginning to produce new debates and changes in forms of advocacy and activism.