The Chicken and the Egg: Gentrification and Bicycling

Shaun Courtney of Urbanful discusses the relationship between gentrification and bicycling in many American cities today. Although intended to be a safe designation of space for cyclists amid vehicular traffic, bike lane plans have caused controversy due to their perception as a step toward gentrification.

Alex Wilson, the executive director of the nonprofit West Town Bikes / Ciclo Urbano in Chicago said, "sometimes I think [bike] education and encouragement doesn’t get a fair shake. The city needs to think about the folks who will actually use all these new bike lanes. They should consider, how much is this a plan for pavement and how much is it a plan for people?" in a recent post on Grid Chicago.

Courtney believes that cities must remove the perception that bike lanes getting built in a new neighborhood are intended to attract new-comers, and propose bike lanes instead of imposing bike lanes. One way to do this is to solicit input and adjust plans according to community buy-in, and stress that the benefits of bike lanes serve “all residents regardless of status: They reduce congestion, create a safer road environment, incentive healthy behavior and create access to jobs and economic centers.”