Understanding conditions for bicycle traffic through historical inquiry : The case of Stockholm

The development of bicycle traffic in Stockholm follows the general pattern of west European cities: high levels before the Second World War, overwhelming levels during the war, and then a rapid decline during the post-war period. More recently a "renaissance" of the bicycle can be discerned. This article treats the conditions for bicycle traffic in Stockholm during the period 1930–1970. Though the demand for automobility and "modern" transit alternatives should not be disregarded as important "pull" factors in explaining the rapid decline of bicycling in the postwar period, the article highlights two kinds of "push" factors: urban development patterns and conceptions of the bicycle among professional groups in urban transport. The final section of the article is devoted to the recent upward bicycle trend in Stockholm and the simultaneous decline in bicycling in many cities in developing countries, using Delhi as an example of the latter. Given the flexibility and contextual character of notions such as "rational"/"irrational" and "modern"/"non-modern", as seen in the case of Stockholm, it is argued that the decline of bicycling in developing countries should be understood as a socially constructed rather than a "natural", inevitable process.QC 20120210