The genesis of Cycling futures can be traced to a workshop at the 2010 Australian Cycling Conference (ACC). For the past six years, Australian and New Zealand researchers, policy makers, practitioners and community representatives have convened in Adelaide, South Australia usually during the week of the Tour Down Under professional cycling race to share research, new ideas and contribute to a greater understanding of cycling in the region. As editors of this volume, we developed the original concept and invited the authors to contribute to this book. We appreciate the considerable effort made by each of our contributors and wish to thank them for their enthusiasm and patience as we have slowly progressed toward completion of the book. We would also like to thank the organisers, past and present, of the Australian Cycling Conference (now the Australian Walking and Cycling Conference) for providing the forum to share ideas and advance our knowledge of cycling in Australia and New Zealand.

As this book goes to print, several Australian states and territories are implementing or trialling new road rules, such as minimum overtaking distances, to improve cyclists’ safety. Meanwhile in New Zealand the government has flagged spending NZ$330 million in the next three years on new urban cycling infrastructure. Researchers must critically evaluate these legislative and funding changes to ensure cycling can play a key role in the future of our cities and regions.

Producing and sharing knowledge about cycling is a key element in enabling the growth of cycling. This book provides an overview of cycling research in Australasia today. It includes researchers and practitioners who have made cycling a primary focus of their work and those who have introduced cycling into their academic disciplines or professions. It draws people from a range of different fields — engineering, planning, landscape architecture and urban design, sociology, geography, public health, economics — and diverse theoretical backgrounds.