Speed vs. Sense: The Hidden Logic of Cyclist Routes

A visual exploration of cyclist route choices in London

Explore the intriguing paradox of urban cycling: the choice between speed and sensory experience. As London continues its shift towards promoting urban cycling, this webpage invites you to visually compare two distinct routes: the efficient Whitechapel Road Superhighway and the picturesque Regent's Canal. This visual journey highlights the diverse factors influencing a cyclist's decision-making, whether prioritising a rapid commute or embracing the "ideal" scenic path.

Whitechapel Road Superhighway

Aldgate East to Mile End

This route exemplifies the "fastest" choice, often reflecting infrastructure designed for vehicle speed, similar to distribution roads. Cyclists might prioritise such routes for efficiency, especially during morning commutes when being on time is key. For shorter distances, cyclists are notably more likely to choose the fastest path.

Regent's Canal Route

Mile End to Victoria Park via Regent's Canal

The Regent's Canal pathway represents the "ideal" or "scenic" route, chosen for its aesthetic appeal and enhanced cycling enjoyment. This choice highlights the influence of qualitative predictors such as streetscape design features (SDFs) like greenery, water bodies, and diverse land use, which significantly increase engagement. It also offers an escape from high-speed traffic, prioritising safety.

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Research Methodology & Future Development

Photographic Documentation as a method for future research

Emergent Findings

My statistical model, relying on quantitative data, only explained 23% of cycling route choices, with 72% accuracy, indicating many unquantified predictors. The qualitative method of systems mapping was introduced to conceptually identify these unaccounted factors. The next crucial step is to deeply explore and capture these qualitative predictors such as streetscape design features, route familiarity, and safety concerns to achieve a comprehensive understanding of cyclist behavior.

Cultural Probes Development

Photography as a cultural probe offers significant value for ethnographic research by capturing "environmental qualities". This visual documentation is crucial for capturing qualitative predictors like streetscape design features (SDFs), route familiarity, and safety concerns that the statistical model could not quantify. Future development should emphasise participatory photography, empowering cyclists to document their perceived environments and provide rich insights.

Data Limitations

This kind of approach includes a small sample size (two routes, single observer) and limited time scope.

Geographic specificity to East London limits generalisability to other urban contexts with different infrastructure, topography, or cultural cycling practices.

Future Research Directions

To mitigate current limitations, future research must integrate qualitative methods, with a strong focus on participatory photography:

  • Mixed Methods: Strengthen qualitative visual data integration to complement statistical modeling through collecting evidence for identified predictors.
  • Collaborative Documentation: This might be achieved by organising wikis (it is like a focus group but with people being able to contribute and supervise researcher's output).
  • Digital Integration: Link visual data with spatial (GIS) information, allowing qualitative insights from photographs to be correlated with quantitative data for richer analysis.

Methodological Biases

I acknowledges several inherent biases within this photographic research that must be addressed in future research:

  • Confirmation Bias: The photographer's preconceptions about route differences may influence image selection and framing, potentially reinforcing expected contrasts
  • Temporal Sampling: Documentation was done during specific weather and time conditions, potentially missing seasonal or daily variations in route experience
  • Subjectivism: The selection of 9 representative images per route inherently involves subjective editorial decisions
  • Observer Effect: The presence of a photographer may alter the natural cycling environment and user behavior


    • We can try to mitigate these by attaching a camera to a cyclist directly. It will be an effective way of adressing these biases but it will introduce a more intricate one:
  • Unconiscious Bias:When capturing data, based on where the cyclist looks, we will only gather the information that the cyclist is trying to see. This will result in high levels of subjectivism.given the small sample size of such type of research