Resumen de Automobility and the Politicsof Bicycling in New York City
This article examines the regulatory frameworks and practices that deter bicycling as amode of protest. Through an in-depth case study of New York City’s legal, policing andenforcement practices towards bicyclists in the wake of the 2004 Republican NationalConvention, I explore the assumptions underpinning the regulation of bicycling as amode of protest. In addition to analyzing these regulatory and legal frameworks tohighlight how they suppress bicycling as protest, this case study illustrates how policepractices work in tandem with the law to erode the potential for alternative mobilitiesand citizenships to flourish. Through ‘command and control’ policing and regulatorytactics, the New York Police Department is deterring cyclists from participating in groupbike rides and is carrying out low-level harassment of ‘ordinary’cyclists. The experienceof New York City’s cyclists shows that in addition to changes to infrastructure andtransportation policies, changes to the rules, regulations and practices governing protestwill be necessary for alternative mobilities to fully flourish.
