A Mobilidade Ciclável em Aveiro: Análise e Diagnósticos

Abstract

Cycling mobility is essential for sustainable and efficient cities. Due to its many benefits, cycling has gained importance and prominence as one of the solutions for urban transportation, especially for short distances. Making cycling mobility an important theme in urban design and planning will potentially improve the quality of life of populations and cities, making them more inclusive and sustainable. However, when compared to the international scene, Portugal is lagging behind in this regard. According to some sources, the use of bicycles as an alternative means of transport has even declined in recent decades, given the increase in car use. Despite its many advantages, the widespread use of bicycles is not ingrained in our country, whether due to a lack of tradition, a lack of adequate infrastructure and urban design, traffic insecurity, or a culture dominated by cars. The city of Aveiro, known as "The city of bicycles," paradoxically (despite its exceptional geographical/topographical conditions for cycling) has a residual and almost non-existent use of this type of urban mobility. Studying the characteristics of this paradox is relevant and necessary. It could contribute to and stimulate a return to bicycle use, cycling mobility, and the design and characteristics of integrated and safe urban planning, which would reduce dependence on motor vehicles and encourage a culture of bicycle use as a means of daily transportation. Thus, based on personal motivation, stimulated by the Erasmus experience in the city of Munich, and a specific object of study, the city of Aveiro, we explore the opportunity to develop research capable of articulating a well-founded theoretical approach to the concepts of urban planning and design applied to Cycling Mobility, with a practical analysis of the territory in question. It is hoped that this research will contribute to the use of bicycles as a viable urban mobility solution that can be generalized and allow for other approaches to thinking about and designing spaces dedicated to their use, that is, the urban space of the city.