The Production of New Mobilities

Car-dependent cities like Los Angeles (CA), Tempe (AZ), or Paris (France) are making massive efforts to develop public transit and bicycling infrastructure. Meanwhile, car dependence grows fast in most cities around the world. This research experience explores how cities are changing the way people move around and the effects on urban equity and livability. Each cohort focuses on a different city. The Spring 2027 will study the case of French cities, where the bicycling modal share has skyrocketed since the Covid-19 pandemic. The students will use a framework called “the production of new mobilities” to guide the research. This framework looks at three dimensions: how governments design plans and policies (conceived space), how people experience moving around using different modes (perceived space), and how some people inhabit the streets in ways that work better for them — e.g., guerrilla bike lanes, protests (lived space). Students will analyze a rich dataset including transportation plans, newspaper articles, survey data, and video recordings of the streets. Most data will be provided by the instructor. Students will analyze the data using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. They will refine and further develop analytical skills of their choice using data analysis software with which they are familiar (e.g., Excel, Stata, NVivo, ArcGIS).