Bicycle use and accessibility among people experiencing homelessness in California cities

Urban residents with low (or no) incomes struggle to move through the city, given the expense of owning and operating automobiles. The spatial extent and ubiquity of automobile infrastructure contributes to transportation exclusion the inaccessibility of the city to those experiencing poverty. In response, the urban poor develop their own means and methods of informal transportation in the public streets and open space of the city. I examine the experience of homelessness and bicycling in two California cities in order to answer the question: How does the bicycle improve (or detract from) the interactive accessibility of homeless people? Using mobile ethnographic methods and behavior mapping in the urban landscape, I observed and interacted with homeless people and their movements. Analysis of field notes and mappings shows people experiencing homelessness find an adaptable mode of transportation in the bicycle, more responsive than transit and reaching larger areas than walking. Compared to the car, the bicycle reduces the potential range of travel but increases accessibility to interactions with others within formal and informal spaces.