The Bicycle and the Geography of the United States Roadscape

The Bicycle and the Geography of the United States Roadscape

 By Mike T. Beck

Better Bicycling Bureau

©2014 Mike T Beck

Abstract

The history of bicycling is interwoven with the shaping of the geography of the United States of America. The impact of the bicycle has broadly affected the roadscape and transportation planning policy. By the end of the 19th Century, the bicyclist-led Good Roads movement reshaped the nature of domestic travel. The bicycle expanded the reach of local roads, led to uniform traffic regulations, put folded road maps into favor, and brought progressive transportation tax policies to the country side. The bicycle led a contested dialogue about land use and fundamentally changed how the public interacts with geography. During the 20^th Century, the automobile rose to prominence and subsumed the bicycles’ earlier impact on the roadscape. In the 21^st Century, federal to local governmental policies increasingly mandate the inclusion of bike traffic in roadway design. The bicycle continues to alter how the public interacts with local geography. Through a survey of the literature, the historical record, the popular press and current transportation planning standards, this paper will clarify the influence of the bicycle on the geography of the United States. The findings contribute to the academic discourses on transportation planning and urban form with a detailed consideration of the impact of the bicycle on the geography of the United States roadscape.

Keywords: Bicycle, geography, roadscape, urban planning