Funny bikes: A symmetrical study of urban space, vehicular units and mobility through thevoyeuristic spokesperson of a video-lens

• This paper presents a video analysis of a biker’s practices in Gothenburg and Toulouse. Itshows how bike-rental stations, bikers, bikes and loads interact, in order to seize theforgotten determinants of sustainable urban logistics. Video recording pays as muchattention to the properties of bikes as to the characteristics of people; it takes into accountthe pragmatic and situated dimension and thus allows a generalized symmetry. From there,we submit the collected material to a double treatment. First, quantitative analysis ofobserved bikes - both “sociographic” and “demographic. Second, through a qualitativeethnomethodological analysis of bike rental sequences we see how processes and systemchannel, standardize and reconfigure behavior.To understand the challenges of our method, we present it in analogy with a famous filmequivalent, Michael Haneke's film(s) Funny games. Despite objectives and content are atodds to one another, the Funny games film(s) and our own videos share at least fiveinteresting features. Empirically the our study focus on the possible reconciliation between sustainability objectives and logistical constraints.

Nyckelord

bicycle

generalized-symmetry

cluster

consumer-logistics

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)