Cyclability in London: Associations between the quality of the local cycling environment, cycling participation, and perceptions of the cycling environment

Abstract

Increasingly, researchers are exploring how multiple factors affect the quality of the cycling environment (here “cyclability”), relating this to perceptions of cycling, to route choices, and/or to cycling levels. This recognises the impact the many built environmental characteristics have on experiences and levels of cycling, beyond the presence of infrastructure such as cycle tracks. For instance, the accessibility of local services is likely to be important for utility cycling, which involves specific destinations, while the ability to cycle through greenspace may be important both for utility and for more leisure-focused cycling.

In this paper, we conduct a multi-factor analysis of cyclability across Greater London, a megacity of 9 million people. Our cyclability measure is calculated at small-area level using ten-minute travel-time polygons. It combines the local prevalence of cycling infrastructure, green pathways, neighbourhood roads, cycling facilities and service accessibility. After calculating cyclability across Greater London, we use survey data from several thousand Outer London residents to examine associations between the cyclability of respondents' residential locations, their self-reported cycling participation and views on the local cycling environment. This allows us to explore the extent to which our measure of cyclability, and its components, predict both cycling participation and subjective assessments of cyclability.

The pan-London analysis shows substantial differences across the city related both to individual components and the resultant score, illustrating spatial disparities in the quality of the cycling environment. The survey analysis finds that living within higher scoring isochrones is associated with a higher likelihood of participation in cycling and more positive views of the local cycling environment, with past-week cycling predicted better than past-year cycling. However, predictors of cycling perceptions differ from predictors of participation. Policy-makers can use such methods to explore and address inequalities in cycling provision, which in London are substantial and correlated with perceptions and with participation.