Book ID: CBB136951588

Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road (2015)

unapi

Americans have been riding bikes for more than a century now. So why are most American cities still so ill-prepared to handle cyclists? James Longhurst, a historian and avid cyclist, tackles that question by tracing the contentious debates between American bike riders, motorists, and pedestrians over the shared road. Bike Battles explores the different ways that Americans have thought about the bicycle through popular songs, merit badge pamphlets, advertising, films, newspapers and sitcoms. Those associations shaped the actions of government and the courts when they intervened in bike policy through lawsuits, traffic control, road building, taxation, rationing, import tariffs, safety education and bike lanes from the 1870s to the 1970s. Today, cycling in American urban centers remains a challenge as city planners, political pundits, and residents continue to argue over bike lanes, bike-share programs, law enforcement, sustainability, and public safety. Combining fascinating new research from a wide range of sources with a true passion for the topic, Longhurst shows us that these battles are nothing new; in fact they're simply a continuation of the original battle over who is - and isn't - welcome on our roads.

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Reviewed By

Essay Review Peter Cox (June 2017) Review Essay: Cities, states and bicycles. Writing cycling histories and struggling for policy relevance. The Journal of Transport History (pp. 124-136). unapi

Review Martin Emanuel (March 2017) Review of "Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road". Transfers (pp. 154-156). unapi

Review Joshua Lupkin (2016) Review of "Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road". Journal of American History (pp. 1233-1234). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB136951588/

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Authors & Contributors
Loukaitou-Sideris, Anastasia
Johnston, Van R.
Annika Levels
Michal Ďurčo
Christoph Bernhardt
William W. Buzbee
Concepts
Automobiles
Technology and society
Urban planning
Roads and highways
Land transportation
Bicycles
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, early
19th century
Places
United States
Germany
Berlin (Germany)
New York City (New York, U.S.)
Sweden
Great Britain
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