Comparing spatial data sources for cycling studies: a review

Abstract

Cycling is integral for developing human-scale cities. To attract more people on bikes, urban planning and research share a need to better understand the spatial, temporal and social aspects of cycling. Novel data sources provide new opportunities to respond to this need, but understanding their strengths and weaknesses is crucial to facilitate the use of the most fitting data. We reviewed common cycling data sources and carried out a survey among NECTAR researchers and their networks of experts to compare the suitability of different data for answering some of the most common questions on cycling. Our results highlight the need for careful consideration of data availability, representativeness and fitness-for-use. The lack of cycling data and access to it is still identified as a main limitation among several of the reviewed data sources, both novel and traditional. We call for increased emphasis on responsible data sharing and open science practices whenever possible.