Ana Carolina Girão
I am an Architect and Urbanist with a Research Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Transport Engineering, and I am currently a PhD researcher in gender-inclusive cycling in the UK. My academic journey builds on the foundations developed during my Master’s research in Fortaleza, Brazil, where I analysed cycling accessibility inequalities related to gender, race, and income.
I am now continuing this research with a new focus on perceived accessibility and women’s lived experiences in diverse and multicultural cities in the Global North, while maintaining the theoretical and methodological base developed in my previous work. My research connects transport engineering, social sciences, and urbanism to better understand how equitable cycling planning can promote more inclusive cities.
I am a collaborative and socially engaged researcher, working with both qualitative and quantitative methods to bridge data-driven accessibility analysis with feminist and intersectional perspectives. I am fluent in Portuguese and English, with working knowledge of Spanish.
Sessione
Fortaleza, a Brazilian city, has experienced a cycling infrastructure revolution, expanding from less than 70 km to more than 500 km. But women still occupy less than 15% of bike trips, indicating persistent inequalities. This research questions the extent to which changes in Fortaleza’s cycling system have reduced these accessibility inequalities among women from different social groups. It calls for a re-examination of how we analyse accessibility by considering the broader context.
I want us to rethink how we use accessibility data and simulation. Previously, most measures have been developed by men. I want to focus on WOMEN and how intersectionality within different groups can either improve or worsen their access to opportunities by bicycle. This study addresses cycling accessibility metrics with a focus on women, viewed through an intersectional lens. Using the R5R tool for bicycle routing, the research examines women's travel accessibility while emphasizing that safety is critical for women’s accessibility. As a result, routing was confined to the cycling network using different LTS levels instead of considering the entire city. The analysis is based in feminist and intersectional theories, promoting a critical approach to accessibility and innovative ways to leverage data analysis in urban planning + transport engineering. The findings reveal differences in accessibility when comparing the cycling network with routes that factor in LTS classifications. High-stress infrastructure (LTS4) dominates the city. Racialized women benefit from networks closer to peripheral areas, while non-racialized women enjoy greater accessibility in the city centre, aligning with higher incomes and employment opportunities. Although both groups improved with infrastructure changes, non-racialized women gained greater access to formal jobs, whereas racialized women experienced increased accessibility in peripheral areas, farther from job opportunities. This research is now being extended to Leicester, a multicultural city in the UK, where I will incorporate perceived accessibility.