Cities worldwide are striving towards cycling adoption. It is considered a solution, at least partially, to many a burden to the modern city. Problems such as over-congestion, air pollution, and noise pollution are at the base of the movement. At the same time, lately, research has shown that cycling positively affects a city's social and economic aspects. Milan is no exception to this movement, either. In recent years, steps toward cycling adoption that have affected Milan have been made by a wide range of Italian government structures, starting from the state ministries and regional government of Lombardy to the Milan city council municipal plans. When discussing cities and their actions, from the policymakers' point of view, the city might equal the municipal government. Nevertheless, in Jane Jacobs's words, "Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody." The actions of people influence and affect our cities as much as policies and plans. Similarly, a city transformation, such as a bicycle one, is not only a process that should happen because of policies and projects but also because people are passionate about the change and back it. For the motion to work, we as policymakers should challenge the vision through the lens of its feasibility and think of the actors that will spearhead the process. Is it, not the access to the bicycle itself that will be the first step to cyclability? How can the cycling culture spread through the inhabitants? What happens after a citizen picks up a bicycle and faces a problem? What are the assurances of cycling being reliable to get to the destination? Questions such as those above are among those that could benefit from a qualitative approach to cycling, seen as experiences of the users of our planned network. We could see the factors that provide these experiences through the same lens. Such an outlook leads us to Bicycle-enthusiastic organisations and businesses that create experiences for cyclists by creating bicycle-friendly spaces, gatherings, events, training, campaigning, maintenance and many more. These are groups of people that genuinely believe in the bicycle and should be at the helm of a well-planned bicycle transformation. Milan is a host of many a Bike interested organisations and promoters, as proven by the work "Ciclopolis". Nevertheless, upon interviewing them, it has become evident that these groups still feel like they lack power. They are not known or not heard. As of today, such groups have made numerous attempts to kickstart a transformative process, most notably the Critical Mass, Milano Bike City, Milano Bicycle Coalition, and Milano Bike Film Festival. However, many of these processes have failed to pick up inertia. Some actors have reported a lack of political will and funding as the main issues for the slow progress, while others point to the lack of integrity and cooperation when approaching the complex target of a truly bicycle-friendly Milan. Multiple interviewees have also noted barriers such as the polarisation of the bicycle as a political instrument. Having explored the issue's complexity, it has become evident that a fully bikeable Milan is not a city achieved by a single project but rather by an overlap of many. Based on the literature explored throughout the thesis and the interviews conducted, this work aims to propose possible methods and actions for the desired transformation as imagined by the spirited individuals and organisations ready to act together with the municipality.
Le città in tutto il mondo stanno puntando all'adozione della bicicletta. È considerata una soluzione, almeno parziale, a molti problemi che affliggono le città moderne. Problemi come la sovrappopolazione, l'inquinamento atmosferico e l'inquinamento acustico sono alla base di questo movimento. Allo stesso tempo, recentemente, la ricerca ha dimostrato che l'utilizzo della bicicletta influisce positivamente sugli aspetti sociali ed economici di una città. Anche Milano non fa eccezione a questo movimento. Negli ultimi anni, vari livelli di governo italiano, a partire dai ministeri statali e dal governo regionale della Lombardia fino al consiglio comunale di Milano, hanno fatto passi in avanti verso l'adozione della bicicletta. Quando si discute delle città e delle loro azioni, dal punto di vista dei decisori politici, la città potrebbe essere equiparata al governo comunale. Tuttavia, secondo le parole di Jane Jacobs, "Le città hanno la capacità di fornire qualcosa per tutti, solo perché, e solo quando, sono create da tutti". Le azioni delle persone influenzano e modellano le nostre città tanto quanto le politiche e i piani. Allo stesso modo, una trasformazione della città, come quella legata alla bicicletta, non dovrebbe avvenire solo a causa di politiche e progetti, ma anche perché le persone sono appassionate del cambiamento e lo sostengono. Per far funzionare il movimento, noi come decisori politici dovremmo sfidare la visione attraverso la lente della sua fattibilità e pensare agli attori che saranno in prima linea nel processo. Non è forse l'accesso alla bicicletta stesso il primo passo verso la ciclabilità? Come può diffondersi la cultura della bicicletta tra gli abitanti? Cosa succede dopo che un cittadino prende una bicicletta e si trova di fronte a un problema? Quali sono le garanzie che l'uso della bicicletta sia affidabile per raggiungere la destinazione? Domande come queste potrebbero trarre vantaggio da un approccio qualitativo al ciclismo, visto come le esperienze degli utenti della nostra rete pianificata. Potremmo vedere i fattori che forniscono queste esperienze attraverso la stessa lente. Tale prospettiva ci porta a organizzazioni e aziende entusiaste della bicicletta che creano esperienze per i ciclisti creando spazi, incontri, eventi, formazione, campagne, manutenzione e molto altro a misura di bicicletta. Questi sono gruppi di persone che credono veramente nella bicicletta e dovrebbero essere alla guida di una trasformazione ben pianificata della bicicletta. Milano ospita molte organizzazioni e promotori interessati alla bicicletta, come dimostrato dal lavoro "Ciclopolis". Tuttavia, dalle interviste è emerso che questi gruppi si sentono ancora impotenti. Non sono conosciuti o non sono ascoltati. Ad oggi, tali gruppi hanno fatto numerosi tentativi per avviare un processo trasformativo, più notevol mente la Critical Mass, Milano Bike City, Milano Bicycle Coalition e Milano Bike Film Festival. Tuttavia, molti di questi processi non sono riusciti a guadagnare inerzia. Alcuni attori hanno segnalato una mancanza di volontà politica e di finanziamenti come i principali problemi per il lento progresso, mentre altri evidenziano la mancanza di integrità e cooperazione nell'affrontare l'obiettivo complesso di una Milano veramente amica della bicicletta. Diverse persone intervistate hanno anche notato ostacoli come la polarizzazione della bicicletta come strumento politico. Esplorando la complessità della questione, è diventato evidente che una Milano completamente percorribile in bicicletta non è una città ottenuta da un singolo progetto, ma piuttosto da una sovrapposizione di molti. Sulla base della letteratura esaminata nel corso della tesi e delle interviste condotte, questo lavoro mira a proporre possibili metodi e azioni per la trasformazione desiderata, come immaginato dagli individui e dalle organizzazioni pronti a agire insieme al municipio.
Towards a handbook to the bicycle city inspired by the spirited cyclists of Milan
Niauri, Guram
2022/2023
Abstract
Cities worldwide are striving towards cycling adoption. It is considered a solution, at least partially, to many a burden to the modern city. Problems such as over-congestion, air pollution, and noise pollution are at the base of the movement. At the same time, lately, research has shown that cycling positively affects a city's social and economic aspects. Milan is no exception to this movement, either. In recent years, steps toward cycling adoption that have affected Milan have been made by a wide range of Italian government structures, starting from the state ministries and regional government of Lombardy to the Milan city council municipal plans. When discussing cities and their actions, from the policymakers' point of view, the city might equal the municipal government. Nevertheless, in Jane Jacobs's words, "Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody." The actions of people influence and affect our cities as much as policies and plans. Similarly, a city transformation, such as a bicycle one, is not only a process that should happen because of policies and projects but also because people are passionate about the change and back it. For the motion to work, we as policymakers should challenge the vision through the lens of its feasibility and think of the actors that will spearhead the process. Is it, not the access to the bicycle itself that will be the first step to cyclability? How can the cycling culture spread through the inhabitants? What happens after a citizen picks up a bicycle and faces a problem? What are the assurances of cycling being reliable to get to the destination? Questions such as those above are among those that could benefit from a qualitative approach to cycling, seen as experiences of the users of our planned network. We could see the factors that provide these experiences through the same lens. Such an outlook leads us to Bicycle-enthusiastic organisations and businesses that create experiences for cyclists by creating bicycle-friendly spaces, gatherings, events, training, campaigning, maintenance and many more. These are groups of people that genuinely believe in the bicycle and should be at the helm of a well-planned bicycle transformation. Milan is a host of many a Bike interested organisations and promoters, as proven by the work "Ciclopolis". Nevertheless, upon interviewing them, it has become evident that these groups still feel like they lack power. They are not known or not heard. As of today, such groups have made numerous attempts to kickstart a transformative process, most notably the Critical Mass, Milano Bike City, Milano Bicycle Coalition, and Milano Bike Film Festival. However, many of these processes have failed to pick up inertia. Some actors have reported a lack of political will and funding as the main issues for the slow progress, while others point to the lack of integrity and cooperation when approaching the complex target of a truly bicycle-friendly Milan. Multiple interviewees have also noted barriers such as the polarisation of the bicycle as a political instrument. Having explored the issue's complexity, it has become evident that a fully bikeable Milan is not a city achieved by a single project but rather by an overlap of many. Based on the literature explored throughout the thesis and the interviews conducted, this work aims to propose possible methods and actions for the desired transformation as imagined by the spirited individuals and organisations ready to act together with the municipality.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/212756