Bicycling facility inequalities and the causality dilemma with socioeconomic/sociodemographic change

How well has the recent expansion of bicycling networks advanced transportation justice through appropriate distribution across the socioeconomic/demographic (SED) spectrum? Furthermore, does the installation of bicycling facilities lead to SED changes in a neighborhood or vice versa? We longitudinally assess 11,010 miles of bicycling facilities over ten years (2010-2019) in 11,293 block groups across 29 U.S. cities by facility type. Findings suggest inequalities in bicycling facility installation with People of Color (POC) experiencing the lowest rates of overall facility installation. However, bike lane installation was concentrated in lower-income areas (both POC and White). The causality relationships between bicycling facilities and SED changes were weak and largely non-significant. Income increases were followed by bicycling facility installations more so than increases in White populations were followed by bicycling facility installations. SED changes were more correlated with later bicycling facility installation than the inverse, suggesting that bicycling facilities were not linked to displacement.

Automated summary

The recent expansion of bicycling networks has advanced transportation justice to some extent, but there are still inequalities in the installation of cycling facilities, with People of Color experiencing the lowest rates. The relationships between bicycling facilities and SED changes were weak, with income increases having a stronger correlation with facility installations than changes in the White population.