Rethinking Spatial Humanities Cluster-Theme 2023/2024: Mobilities / Immobilities
In Focus: CYCLING
Fionn Rogan (Environmental Research Institute): Bicycle Haiku Workshop
Thursday, 23rd November, 12pm
(ORB_Mary Ryan meeting room)
What are the emotions, encounters, and sensory experiences of a commuting cyclist? This presentation will outline a personal project of the author: a series of 100 haiku poems composed while cycling a daily 10-15KM commute between Inniscarra and Cork City during 2018-2019. Haiku are short three-line poems that typically describe a simple moment or experience. These “mobility haiku” poems give insights to the lived experience of a commuting cyclist on topics such as weather conditions experienced; markers and moments of changing seasons; multi-sensory experiences; encounters with people, animals, and traffic; safety and danger; reflections on traffic and infrastructure; noticing people and nature; and moments of overflowing feeling. Poetry can transcribe and transform personal experience into language in a unique way. By comfortably accommodating the language of emotion, poetry can describe some of the lived experience of cycling that cannot be captured in utilitarian and instrumental language. The hope of this project is to broaden the language that is used to talk about cycling, to go beyond comparative discourse (e.g. cheaper than…, quicker than…, more environmentally friendly than…, etc.) to a vocabulary that captures and communicates some of the intrinsic qualities and experiences of cycling.
Kevin Long (Cork Cycling Campaign): Cycling Cities: The Cork Experience. Talk and Exhibition with a focus on the history of Cycle Parks in Cork
Friday, 24th November, 3pm
(ORB Social Area, 1st floor Block B)
Cork has a rich history and culture of cycling. From the role of the bicycle in the formation of the state to the recent upsurge in cycling following the Covid-19 pandemic, Cork has always been a cycling city. Cycling Cities: The Cork Experience is a book project that explores the following themes:
What was cycling’s mode share for transport in Cork over the past century?
What factors influenced the trends in Cycling in Cork?
How does our experience compare to other cities internationally?
What can we learn from our past experience to inform decision making on cycling mobility in future?
Cycle Parks: In this talk, the role of Cycle Parks in Cork is explored in further detail. Cycle Parks are a common feature of many European cities today, and at one time were available in many locations across Cork City. The provision of safe, sheltered, and affordable bicycle parking in key locations in the city centre, along with other services such as bike repairs, rentals, spare parts & accessories to purchase, were a contributing factor to cycling being one of the most popular modes of transport in Cork during the 1940s – 1960s.
Cycling Cities: The Cork Experience is a project which aims to raise awareness of trends in cycling as a mode of transport over the past century.
Knowledge of our own cycling history encourages people to engage and participate in cycling and mobility policy making.