Urban Geography
ISSN: 0272-3638 (Print) 1938-2847 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rurb20
Bike lanes are white lanes: bicycle advocacy and urban planning, by Melody L. Hoffmann, Lincoln, Nebraska, University of Nebraska Press, 2016, 210 pp., US$40 (hardback), ISBN 9780803276789 Amy Lubitow & Dillon Mahmoudi To cite this article: Amy Lubitow & Dillon Mahmoudi (2016): Bike lanes are white lanes: bicycle advocacy and urban planning, by Melody L. Hoffmann, Lincoln, Nebraska, University of Nebraska Press, 2016, 210 pp., US$40 (hardback), ISBN 9780803276789 , Urban Geography, DOI: 10.1080/02723638.2016.1248884 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2016.1248884
Published online: 31 Oct 2016.
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Date: 31 October 2016, At: 09:55
URBAN GEOGRAPHY, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Bike lanes are white lanes: bicycle advocacy and urban planning, by Melody L. Hoffmann, Lincoln, Nebraska, University of Nebraska Press, 2016, 210 pp., US$40 (hardback), ISBN 9780803276789 In Bike Lanes are White Lanes, Melody Hoffman challenges, from her own pro-bicycling standpoint, the notion that bicycling is “positive, progressive, and [a] good thing for all people” (3). Using an intersectional, critical, and political lens, Hoffman argues that while “there is nothing about bicycle technology that lends itself to race and class divisions” the bicycle is far from “an apolitical, neutral form of mobility” (4). As the title suggests, the book reframes bicycles and bike infrastructure in the US not as a universal good, but as a racial and spatial project ripe with inequities. Ultimately, the book connects the complicated and historical politics of race and place through an examination of neighborhood case studies in Portland, Oregon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The book begins with an introductory theoretical chapter that firmly situates this book with the realm of planning, communications, and social justice literatures, and then proceeds with a case study from each city. The use of multiple qualitative methods, informed by a feminist perspective, is highlighted in the introductory chapter. Hoffman’s main scholarly contribution lies in the application of the theoretical tool of “rolling signification” to establish how the meaning of bicycling “changes as it rolls through different socioeconomic and cultural spaces and time” (7). Her explorations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, center on the challenges of building a diverse bike culture though a communityled bike race, Riverwest 24. This is followed by an exploration of contested bike lane development in Portland, Oregon, and the historical, racial, and political conflicts that contributed to divergent narratives about bike lanes in a gentrifying neighborhood. The case study on Minneapolis in Chapter 4 stands out as the gem of her empirical work and is where Hoffman’s argument about the varied significations of the bicycle is most apparent. Here she focuses on the tension between white elites who frame the bicycle as an ecologically friendly economic development tool and those residents of marginalized North Minneapolis neighborhood whose interest in bicycling infrastructure are tempered by concerns about gentrification and class barriers to bike share access. This case study demonstrates the challenges inherent in planning for cities that are both equitably designed and economically productive. This chapter raises important questions about what and whom cities are planning for when they aggressively pursue bicycling infrastructure. Ultimately, while breaking free from viewing bicycling as apolitical and economically rational (McLaren and Agyeman, 2015), Hoffman poses a series of questions that fundamentally point to the importance of this research: “What is the benefit in forcing bicycle infrastructure onto a community? When considering the race and class politics embedded into this practice, it can be read as a violent move in its ability to displace people” (140). These case studies provide important context and detail about ongoing dilemmas in planning cities that meet the needs of all community members. The book is both theoretically rich and wonderfully descriptive, yet more discussion and detail on the variety of methods used would have enhanced the book greatly. Additionally, while the author rightfully acknowledges the challenges of gaining research and interview access to marginalized communities, it remains hard to overlook the fact that while the book focuses on the intersectional (gender, race, class) components of bicycling and gentrification, many of
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BOOK REVIEW
the voices are overwhelmingly white. This is not necessarily a shortcoming of the book, and certainly not a shortcoming of the book’s contributions, but simply leaves room for future research. This book is an important read for any urban planner or city official implementing, or considering, bike share programs or bike infrastructure development. Ultimately, the book is a required read for anyone interested in the social dimension of bicycling and bicycle infrastructure and generates important insights over the struggle to find common ground when planning and designing urban spaces. Through the case studies, the book reveals that practitioners interested in inclusive planning must start at the beginning of the planning process—even before bicycling is identified as a possible planning tool—and only by starting earlier in the process can planners understand what the bike means to different people. Reference McLaren, Duncan, and Julian Agyeman. (2015). Sharing Cities: A Case for Truly Smart and Sustainable Cities (1 ed.). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Amy Lubitow Sociology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
[email protected] Dillon Mahmoudi Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA © 2016 Amy Lubitow and Dillon Mahmoudi http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2016.1248884
