Bicycling for mutual aid: centering racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ cyclists in Toronto

Abstract

ABSTRACTWithin the context of a (post-)COVID-19 pandemic world, there is an urgent need to critically explore how bicycle-related activities may contribute to an environmentally sustainable and equitable world for vulnerable populations. In recent years, mutual aid projects have surged globally, with scholars pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic as a key driver of communities being forced to respond to the unfolding social and environmental crises, alongside state abandonment. In this paper, we discuss how cycling has been taken up by communities disproportionately harmed by colonial systems. Using a decolonial feminist participatory action research approach, the authors collaborated with The Bike Brigade, a non-profit bicycle delivery organization that partners with mutual aid organizations. Using arts-based methods and semi-structured interviews, we draw on the perspectives of 2SLGBTQ+ and racialized cyclists who volunteer with The Bike Brigade. A key theme of the research was the unique way in which research colleagues used bicycles to participate in community care by embodying mutual aid values: community thriving, resource reallocation and solidarity. Thus, this paper puts forth mutual aid as a potential framework for understanding radical mobility practices to foster community care.

Keywords

• Mutual aid
• bicycles
• bicycle justice
• participatory action research
• decolonial feminist methodology
• arts-based methods