Bicycling in the Balance: A Case Study of Factors Affecting Urban Bicycling in Tampere, Finland
Author
Uusinoka, Taru
Term
10. term
Education
Publication year
2010
Submitted on
2010-06-10
Abstract
This thesis investigates which factors affect urban bicycling in Tampere, Finland, and how urban planning can influence them to advance sustainability. It starts from a theoretical link between cycling and the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. Drawing on literature, it develops a theoretical model of key drivers and barriers—including traffic safety, level of facilities, climate and topography, individual factors, and urban layout—which is translated into an analytical framework to assess the scope of planning influence. The case study combines document analysis, interviews, and social media sources (blogs and discussion forums) to identify perceived problems in central Tampere. These findings are analyzed against the framework and used to formulate local recommendations spanning planning documents, planning processes, and technical measures to improve cycling conditions. The project concludes that urban bicycling contributes to city sustainability goals and that targeted planning interventions can strengthen cycling conditions; specific effects and detailed results are beyond the available excerpt.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvilke faktorer der påvirker bycykling i Tampere, Finland, og hvordan byplanlægning kan påvirke dem for at fremme bæredygtighed. Udgangspunktet er en teoretisk kobling mellem cykling og bæredygtighedens miljømæssige, sociale og økonomiske dimensioner. På baggrund af litteratur udvikles en teoretisk model over centrale drivere og barrierer—herunder trafiksikkerhed, facilitetsniveau, klima og topografi, individuelle forhold og bystruktur—som omsættes til en analytisk ramme for at vurdere, i hvilket omfang planlægning kan ændre betingelserne for cykling. Casestudiet kombinerer dokumentanalyse, interviews og analyser af sociale medier (blogs og debatfora) for at identificere oplevede problemer i Tampere centrum. Disse resultater analyseres i forhold til den analytiske ramme og danner grundlag for lokale anbefalinger vedrørende planlægningsdokumenter, planprocesser og tekniske tiltag, der kan forbedre cykelforholdene. Projektet konkluderer, at bycykling spiller en vigtig rolle i byers arbejde med bæredygtighed, og at målrettede planlægningsgreb kan styrke cyklingens vilkår; konkrete effekter og detaljerede resultater ligger uden for det tilgængelige uddrag.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]