Christopher Fletcher and Nathalie Boucher
Christopher Fletcher, Ph.D. is a medical anthropologist concerned with the relationship between culture and health generally, the intersection of Indigenous models of health and healing with mainstream biomedicine, and the identification and reduction of health inequity. He is Full Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at Université Laval, researcher in the Population Health and Optimal Health Practices Axis, at the CHU de Québec Research Centre and project co-lead of the Qavvivik Inuit Family and Community Health Centre in Montréal.
Přednáška
“The success or failure of cycling policies can largely be attributed to differences in bicycle cultures that are rooted in history.”
Harry Oosterhuis, “Bicycle Research Between Bicycle Policies and Bicycle Culture”
How do distinct cycling cultures emerge in local, regional, and national contexts? Who and what are the forces and motivators shaping them? What exactly is a cycling culture? To explore these questions, our presentation draws on our consultations with several non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the province of Québec, Canada, about the social dimensions of cycling. We look first to the history of cycling in Québec since the 1960s to appreciate the catalyzing effects of NPOs in the province. Well-known cycling activist Bob Silverman and allies are widely credited with initiating the “Vélorution” that started Montréal on the path to becoming a groundbreaking cycling city in the 1970s. Other cycling NPOs emerged in the 1980s and 1990s to advocate for province-wide action that ultimately resulted in the development of the celebrated Route Verte, a 5,400-kilometre network of cycling trails throughout the province. While the case of Québec is unique, we see similar processes where NPOs shape cycling in many other places. Despite their importance, however, the contributions of NPOs are often underappreciated compared to politicians, planners, and private sector actors, and there is little research on NPOs as cultural agents. These conditions limit their ability to effect social change without removing any responsibility for it. In this talk, we will present key features of the role of NPOs in shaping local cycling cultures and encourage participants to explore the roles of the non-profit sector where they live, work, and cycle.