Understanding the social and spatial dynamics in bicycle use in the Randstad and its policy implications

In recent years, bicycle use in the Netherlands has been changing. Although for the Netherlands as a whole levels of bicycle use seem to remain constant, in some regions and cities bicycle use has been increasing, while in other places and among certain social groups bicycle use is becoming less popular. This growing spatial and social differentiation of bicycle use trends have important implications for policy makers in the Randstad. It stresses the need for differentiated approaches in which policy measures are being adjusted to specific socio-spatial circumstances and in which specific threats and opportunities for improvement of bicycle use needs to be accounted for. Scientific knowledge about socio-spatial dynamics in bicycle use and the implications for policy makers is however limited. It is unknown how and why trends in bicycle use differentiate between spatial features and population characteristics of neighborhoods, cities and regions. Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge about the effects of specific policy measures that can address these dynamics and how these should be valued in terms of social cost benefit analyses (MKBAs). This research poses to give answers to these questions. The central research question centers on identifying and explaining changes in bicycle use. Which changes occur in bicycle use in the Netherlands, how do they differentiate between spatial and population characteristics, what are the implications for policy measures aimed at increasing bicycle use in the Randstad, and how are these policy measures to be valued in terms of social cost benefit analyses?