The City Institute at York University is excited to host Thomas van Laake, a Manchester University doctoral researcher with many years of professional and research experience in planning and research of cycling infrastructure in Mexico City, Bogota, Manchester and Toronto. Thomas will present a comparative analysis of equity-seeking bicycle planning in Mexico City and Toronto.
Time: Wednesday, April 24, 4-5:30 PM
Place: HNES Building, Room 138, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
RSVP: https://forms.gle/uSa3pGcaw3ZcAsPZA
Everyone is welcome! We plan for a small, engaged, interactive research seminar discussion. Please fill out the Google Form above to secure a spot.
Problematising cycling equity: City-wide networks and differentiated infrastructures in Mexico City and Toronto
In recent years, equity and justice have become central issues in bicycle planning and advocacy in North American cities. As transportation researchers highlight the unequal spatial distribution of infrastructures, municipal governments have increasingly adopted criteria and methodologies to address these inequities. Equity indicators help identify and locate transportation disadvantages faced by marginalized population groups. A reliance on quantitative analyses and planning criteria, however, may lead some to overlook how differences in socio-spatial contexts across a jurisdiction shape planners’ ability to achieve more equitable outcomes.
Drawing on my doctoral research on Toronto’s and Mexico City’s bicycle planning processes, I argue that equitable cycling planning requires spatially differentiated approaches that respond to local conditions and needs. Directing attention to the characteristics of infrastructures and the spatial contexts they operate in, I call for furtherqualitative attention to the characteristics of infrastructures, differences in urban context, and the needs of local communities to inform the growing interest in measuring and addressing cycling inequalities.
Thomas van Laake is a Dutch geographer and urban planner from the London School of Economics with experience in urban and active transportation projects. He has worked on projects evaluating urban cycling conditions and the planning and design of cycle-infrastructure networks in several countries. He has adapted his experience with urban cycling from his native country to the Latin American context, specifically as the author of “Cycle-inclusion: Lessons from Holland for Colombia.” Currently, Thomas is completing his PhD research at the University of Manchester with a comparative focus on cycling planning in Mexico City, Toronto and Manchester.
