Literature Review Researchers have demonstrated perceived correlations between engagement in cycling and variables such as safety, travel time, and household duties. For the purpose of this research, we defined engagement in cycling for purposes of both transport and recreation. For instance, women’s engagement and cycling frequencies occur at various scales and are dependent on perceived safety of the environment and gendered social power hierarchies, that in turn manifest personal trip preferences.
2.1 Bicycle Ridership in the U.S Over the last couple of decades, climate change has been elevated as a largescale issue that we must work hard to mitigate. We have seen a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gases at both local and state levels across the United States through various climate action plans enforced by local agencies. This has led to an increase in bicycling for commuting purposes. Female cyclist commuting patterns have also increased along with these concerted efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. According to new data collected from the app Strava Metro, women reported forty-seven percent more bike rides in 2020 than in 2019 (Fennessy, 2021). This indicates a growing trend in cycling as a more representative activity to partake in rather than the usual marketing that it is only for white males. In growing metropolitan areas, like New York, female ridership has seen a dramatic increase, the number of women using bikes in 2020 elevated to eighty-two percent over the last year (Fennessy, 2021). While there has been an effort to move away from car use within the United States, as aforementioned; there has been a great emphasis on automobile infrastructure in the past. This focus led to less investment in safe, viable bicycle infrastructure within communities. While individual behaviors are impacted by social environment and attitudes along with the physical environment, it is fairly evident that land use patterns and infrastructure impact the safety of bicyclists. This in turn, has created concern particularly in women about whether bicycling is a practical commuting option. Females are much more apt to cycle off-road or separated from traffic as it seems less risky (Emond, Tang & Handy, 2009).
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