Cycling Pathways

The Politics and Governance of Dutch Cycling Infrastructure, 1920-2020

Henk-Jan Dekker

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2025
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040798690
• Subtopic: City Planning & Urban Development
• Index: History

In an effort to fight climate change, many cities try to boost their cycling levels. They often look towards the Dutch for guidance. However, historians have only begun to uncover how and why the Netherlands became the premier cycling country of the world. Why were Dutch cyclists so successful in their fight for a place on the road? Cycling Pathways: The Politics and Governance of Dutch Cycling Infrastructure, 1920-2020 explores the long political struggle that culminated in today's high cycling levels. Delving into the archives, it uncovers the important role of social movements and shows in detail how these interacted with national, provincial, and urban engineers and policymakers to govern the distribution of road space and construction of cycling infrastructure. It discusses a wide range of topics, ranging from activists to engineering committees, from urban commuters to recreational cyclists and from the early 1900s to today in order to uncover the long and all-but-forgotten history of Dutch cycling governance.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• List of Figures and Tables
• Introduction
• Part I: Roots : How Commuter and Recreational Cycling Became a Dutch Public Good, 1880s-1940s
• Part II: Divergence : How Dutch Cycling Policy and Practice Persevered, 1950s-1970s
• Part III: Dutch Model : How Urban Cycling Became a National Political Demand after 1970
• Conclusion
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Appendix 3
• Bibliography
• Index