The Politics of Bicycle Innovation: Comparing the American and Dutch Human-Powered Vehicle Movements, 1970s—present

M. Stoffers

The Politics of Bicycle Innovation: Comparing the American and Dutch Human-Powered Vehicle Movements, 1970s—present

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic

Abstract

This paper deals with the history of the international Human-Powered Vehicle (HPV) movement, originally launched in the 1970s by engineers and scientists who believed that bicycle innovation could give a major impetus to a coveted western bicycle renaissance. Based on a reading of magazines and books from the American and Dutch HPV scenes, it compares ideas and practices within the Dutch Human-Powered Vehicle association NVHPV (established 1984) with those of the American-based IHPVA (established 1976), asking why the American ideas about innovative Human-Powered Vehicles did not evoke a stronger response in a bicycle-friendly country such as the Netherlands. The paper shows that while new ideas to promote cycling may travel easily, national trajectories and cultures of cycling prove remarkably resilient to change.

KEYWORDS:
bicycle renaissance; environmentalism; glocalization; Human-Powered Vehicle movement; IHPVA; innovation; Netherlands

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Cycling and Recycling. Histories of Sustainable Practices
Editors	R Oldenziel, H Trischler
Place of Publication	New York, Oxford
Publisher	Berghahn
Pages	33-57
Number of pages	25
ISBN (Print)	978-1-78238-970-5
Publication status	Published - 2016

Publication series

Series	Environment in History: International Perspectives
Number	7

Cite this

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title = "The Politics of Bicycle Innovation: Comparing the American and Dutch Human-Powered Vehicle Movements, 1970s—present",

abstract = "This paper deals with the history of the international Human-Powered Vehicle (HPV) movement, originally launched in the 1970s by engineers and scientists who believed that bicycle innovation could give a major impetus to a coveted western bicycle renaissance. Based on a reading of magazines and books from the American and Dutch HPV scenes, it compares ideas and practices within the Dutch Human-Powered Vehicle association NVHPV (established 1984) with those of the American-based IHPVA (established 1976), asking why the American ideas about innovative Human-Powered Vehicles did not evoke a stronger response in a bicycle-friendly country such as the Netherlands. The paper shows that while new ideas to promote cycling may travel easily, national trajectories and cultures of cycling prove remarkably resilient to change.KEYWORDS:bicycle renaissance; environmentalism; glocalization; Human-Powered Vehicle movement; IHPVA; innovation; Netherlands",

author = "M. Stoffers",

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series = "Environment in History: International Perspectives",

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booktitle = "Cycling and Recycling. Histories of Sustainable Practices",

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The Politics of Bicycle Innovation: Comparing the American and Dutch Human-Powered Vehicle Movements, 1970s—present. / Stoffers, M.
Cycling and Recycling. Histories of Sustainable Practices. ed. / R Oldenziel; H Trischler. New York, Oxford: Berghahn, 2016. p. 33-57 (Environment in History: International Perspectives; No. 7).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic

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