Faculty Fellow Ralph Buehler‘s research and forthcoming book ‘City Cycling’ is mentioned in a thoughtful article in the September 8, 2012 issue of The Economist.  Noting that cycling is on the upswing, but still only accounting for 1% of all trips in the US, the article explores the aspects of access, safety, and affordability of cycling in the US compared to in Europe.

In a forthcoming book, “City Cycling”, John Pucher and Ralph Buehler argue that the bike boom needs to be expanded to a broader cross-section of people. Almost all the growth in cycling in America has come from men aged 25-64. Rates of cycling have actually fallen slightly among women and sharply among children, most probably because of nervousness about safety. But in fact cycling is getting safer all the time. According to a paper by Messrs Pucher and Buehler with Mark Seinen, fatalities per 10m bike trips fell by 65% between 1977 and 2009, from 5.1 to 1.8. In their book, the authors claim that the health benefits of cycling far exceed the safety risks.