It’s not just the infrastructure: Lessons from Oulu, Finland
Written by Isabel Scherer | CRB Scholarship Program
Usually, cycling in winter is not popular. In most Finnish cities, the number of cyclists drops by 70-80% during the cold months as icy or snowy roads and freezing temperatures make it difficult for people to keep riding (Traficom, 2023). But one city stands out: Oulu. This city, with a population of 215,000, is located in northern Finland and is known as the “winter cycling capital.” Even in the middle of winter, the cycling share in Oulu is 10% —about the same as the cycling share in Helsinki during summer (Traficom, 2023).
When I asked the planners in Oulu how they achieved such success, their answer was surprisingly simple: good infrastructure and strong winter maintenance. But is it just about having good bike paths and keeping them clear? Or is there something more behind Oulu’s winter cycling success? In this article, we will have a look at how Oulu became a leader in winter cycling and what other cities can learn from it – even if their winter might not be as harsh as Oulu’s.
‘Copy and paste’ is not enough
So, can cities build good infrastructure and provide winter maintenance to see similar results? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Oulu works closely with other cities, sharing insights and strategies. However, the planners in Oulu have acknowledged the fact that a simple “copy and paste” approach of their work won’t magically create high cycling shares. Each city has a unique context that needs to be considered. What’s often missing is an understanding of the city’s cycling identity.
To better understand this concept a glance at typical winter cycling images online can help. Usually, they showcase a similar theme: sporty, tough cyclists in special gear, predominantly male. In contrast, if you search for images of winter cycling in Oulu, a different story is conveyed. Cycling in Oulu is portrayed as fun and inclusive—a social activity for everyone and every day. You see people running errands and children biking to school, even in -20°C weather and deep snow, without needing specialized gear.
It’s About Culture, Not Just Infrastructure
At the heart of cycling in Oulu is its cycling culture. That’s why cities can’t simply copy successful cycling systems from elsewhere. The conversation needs to move beyond infrastructure to include cycling culture itself. My research aimed to understand the concept of winter cycling culture and what other cities can learn from Oulu’s example. To do this, I drew on Stephenson’s Energy Culture Framework (2010), which examines energy behaviors, and Jenssen’s Staging Mobilities Framework (2013), which explores who shapes our mobility systems. Through interviews with politicians, activists, and planners in Oulu, as well as focus groups with Finnish municipalities and organizations, we developed the Winter Cycling Culture Framework.
The Winter Cycling Culture Framework
This article sought to illuminate the complex realities underlying the decision to cycle, particularly for marginalized groups like township cyclists. Recognizing these interrelated factors is essential for developing effective interventions to address the systemic challenges they confront.
The framework identifies three key components of a city’s winter cycling culture:
- Urban Materialities – the physical environment, including infrastructure and winter maintenance.
- Planning Practices – the municipality’s organizational structure, including prioritization, funding, and political support.
- Meanings of Cycling – the values and cultural significance of cycling within the city, including whether cycling has a deep-rooted history in the community.
These components are strongly interconnected, changing one of the components will also impact the others. In addition to looking at what shapes cycling culture it is equally important to have a look at who can change it. On the one hand, it is the people that influence cycling culture ‘top-down’ including politicians, planners, and city officials. They shape the built environment with their planning, policies, and design. On the other hand, citizens play an active role in shaping their city’s cycling culture ‘bottom-up’. They are the ones that make the transport systems come to life with their behavior which is formed by values and expectations. Oftentimes, there is a barrier between the top-down and bottom-up stakeholders. This can lead to miscommunication and different expectations between planners, politicians, and citizens.
Shaping Your City’s Cycling Culture
Municipalities play a pivotal role in shaping their city’s cycling culture. Therefore, the recommendations focus on actions that municipalities can take across the three layers:
- Inside the organization: Create motivated, change-driven teams within the municipality that have a support system to work in since it all starts within the organization structure.
- Built environment: Invest in safe, convenient and attractive infrastructure and maintenance practices as it is part of the cycling culture.
- In contact with citizens: Foster a positive cycling culture by connecting with and supporting citizens and facilitating communication channels.
When municipalities recognize their influence in shaping mobility culture and prioritize collaborative, forward-thinking efforts, they lay the groundwork for long-term success.
To summarize, infrastructure is part of a successful cycling culture but simply ‘copying and pasting’ the infrastructure from successful examples is not enough. It is important to understand the bigger picture of a city’s cycling culture since each city stems from a different context. Winter Cycling Culture Framework offers a first understanding of the factors and stakeholders shaping a city’s cycling culture. However, more research on this topic is needed to grasp the concept of cycling culture further and to understand how to shape it in different cities with different contexts.
A word from the author:
This topic was part of my presentation with the title “Shaping your city’s cycling culture” at the Cycling Research Board Annual Meeting in Zürich this autumn. It was a great opportunity to receive feedback from other participants and researchers as well as get inspired for new research topics that I can work on during my PhD at Aalto University. I want to thank the Urban Cycling Institute for its support and for creating this valuable experience, especially for young researchers.
References
- Google. (2023a). Google Picture search: Winter Cycling. Retrieved May 3, 2023. https://bit.ly/googlewintercycling
- Google. (2023b). Google Picture search: Winter cycling Oulu. Retrieved May 3, 2023. https://bit.ly/googlewintercyclingoulu
- Jensen, O. B. (2013). Staging mobilities. Routledge.
- Scherer, Isabel (2023): A Framework to Understand Winter Cycling Culture: Case study from Finland. Online available at: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/items/4bb554ae-30f9-4bb2-ae1c-70a0982605a6
- Stephenson, J., Barton, B., Carrington, G., Gnoth, D., Lawson, R., & Thorsnes, P. (2010). Energy cultures: A framework for understanding energy behaviours. Energy Policy, 38(10), 6120–6129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.05.069
- Traficom. (2023). Henkilöliikennetutkimus 2021 seutujulkaisut, Online reports. Retrieved August 23, 2023. https://bit.ly/Traficom
