ABSTRACT

Society’s planning for and dependence on automobility has created several major problems and calls for a shift away from car-based mobility are proliferating. There is a growing recognition of the positive effects of cycling and modal shares for cycling are on the rise in cities. Nevertheless, bicycling is still marginalised in national transport policies. In Sweden, cycling shares are decreasing at a national level, and to steer towards increased cycling, a policy shift is needed. We adopt a post-structuralist view and consider a policy shift to be a discursive shift. With the help of Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory, the paper depicts the position of cycling in Swedish national transport policy. As accessibility is a key concept in national transport policy and planning, we consider the meaning bestowed upon this concept paramount with regard to the marginalisation of cycling at the national level. The lack of decisiveness in national bicycle policy can be traced back to a suppression of certain meanings of accessibility. This calls for a reinterpretation of accessibility and a revaluation of the national responsibility for cycling. The framing of cycling as a local and primarily urban issue hampers the pro-activity of the national government regarding cycling.

摘要

社会对汽车的规划和对汽车的依赖造成了几个主要问题，并且越来越多地呼吁摆脱以汽车为基础的出行方式。人们越来越认识到骑自行车的积极影响，城市中骑自行车的模式份额正在上升。尽管如此，骑自行车在国家交通政策中仍然被边缘化。在瑞典，全国范围内的自行车出行份额正在下降，为了增加自行车出行，需要进行政策转变。我们采用后结构主义的观点，并将政策转变视为一种话语转变。借助拉克劳和墨菲的话语理论，本文描绘了自行车在瑞典国家交通政策中的地位。由于可达性是国家交通政策和规划中的一个关键概念，我们认为赋予这一概念的意义对于国家层面的自行车边缘化至关重要。国家自行车政策缺乏果断性，可以追溯到对某些无障碍意义的压制。这需要重新解释可访问性并重新评估国家对自行车的责任。将自行车作为地方性和主要城市问题的框架阻碍了国家政府在自行车方面的积极活动。