Bicycles, Transportation Sustainability, and Quality of Life

Mixed methods were used in this project to provide a holistic and multidisciplinary understanding of the relationship between quality of life and bicycle transportation. Qualitative methods used in this study include review of bicycle planning documents, interviews with planning professionals and bicycle commuters, and ethnographic participant-observation research in a range of social settings, including public streets, bicycle-oriented community events, and bicycle merchandizing settings. Quantitative methods include estimating impacts of cycling on health, monetary savings, pollution, and subjective wellbeing under various bicycling mode share scenarios. Interviews with utility bicyclists and transportation professionals were conducted in Burlington, Vermont, and Portland, Oregon, to elicit personal histories of bicycle transportation and perspectives on cyclist experience, practice, and perceptions of quality of life. The goal of this research was to offer a rich body of data, coded and analyzed for content and patterns, in order to understand quality of life with respect to cyclist experience and perception. Burlington and Portland display vast differences in climate, which is known to affect bicycle mode share.

• Record URL:
  http://transctr.w3.uvm.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Quality-Of-Life-14-001-Watts.pdf
• Record URL:
  http://www.uvm.edu/~transctr/research/trc_reports/UVM-TRC-14-001.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  UVM Transportation Center

  University of Vermont
  210 Colchester Avenue
  Burlington, VT  United States  05405

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Spencer, Phoebe
  • Watts, Richard
  • Vivanco, Luis
  • Kaza, Stephanie
  • Farley, Joshua
• Publication Date: 2014-1-15

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 47p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle commuting; Bicycle travel; Cyclists; Economic and social factors; Environmental impacts; Quality of life; Sustainable transportation; Weather and climate
• Geographic Terms: Burlington (Vermont); Portland (Oregon)
• Subject Areas: Environment; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Society; I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01529459
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: TRC Report 14-001
• Files: UTC, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 30 2014 9:41AM