Introduction

Transport and urban planning are very complex issues in general (Koglin and Pettersson, 2017). Moreover, urban cycling is closely connected to urban space and urban and transport planning (Koglin, 2011; 2013). With 12 per cent of all trips made by cycle, a level similar to that of Germany, Sweden is often regarded as a country where cycling is a regular part of everyday mobility. Compared with countries such as the United States or Great Britain, the argument is even stronger. However, the proportion of work journeys using cycles as a mode of travel has declined from 16 per cent in the period 1995– 98 to 12 per cent in the period 2011–14. For school trips, cycling has fallen even further: from 23 per cent between 1995 and 1998 to 14 per cent between 2011 and 2014 (Trafikanalys, 2015). Moreover, research has shown that cycling remains a marginalised mode of transport, especially in Sweden's capital city Stockholm (Emanuel, 2012; Koglin, 2013; 2015). Seeking explanation, Koglin and Rye (2014) have identified space as a vital element in the marginalisation of cycling. This chapter further analyses the impact of the spatial dimension and connects it to a very influential form of rationalisation of transport planning in Sweden.

The theoretical starting point for this chapter is threefold. First, it builds on Lefebvre's (1991 [1974]) discussion of the production of space. This theoretical framework offers a deeper understanding of how space is produced and what effects such production might have on people's everyday lives. The second argument is broader, connecting the rationalisation of the social sciences (see Marcuse, 1999 [1941]; 2002 [1964]) to the development of transport planning as a scientifically valid(ated), rational profession. The third strand of discussion uses Bauman's (1998; 1999) idea of urban space wars to understand the effects of this kind of rationalisation.

This connected framework is used to analyse the Swedish transport and urban planning system through an interrogation of published planning documents, policies and visions for transport and cycling in Sweden. Reading the documentation through the theoretical lens reveals how Swedish transport and urban planning operate to marginalise cycling through a process of rationalisation.