COUV ACTES - Psychologie communautaire

Community Psychology: Common Values, Diverse PracticesI cycle in all weathers.(Would you be able to fix the bike yourself? And does this help your independence as a cyclist?) Oh yeah I wouldbe able to fix that myself, yes.Cycling and the cityIt’s a bit of a pain, because you’ve got a painted cycle route on the road, but it’s not a proper cycle route becauseyou can still get cars parking in the way, and of course there are traffic jams.(Cycle lanes are) incorporated into a pavement and you’ve got a pavement split into walking and cycling.(Suggestions of what might encourage people to cycle more?) Mmm, I suppose if you could get more safe cyclelanes.It’s not often that you have a cycle path that is continuous.We were particularly interested in the possibility that cycling could play a role in ‘flattening’ societal differencesbetween various socio-economic groups, because of its potential ability to enable people to socialize acrosspossible barriers. One of our theories was that there are different ‘types’ of cyclists, designated by types of bicycleand the clothes people choose to wear. However, despite cycling for a variety of purposes, the participants werereluctant to categorise themselves as a ‘type’ of cyclist… the purpose of the ride seemed to determine the ‘kind’of cyclist that they felt at the time, but this state is temporary. It would seem, though that being a cyclist maybecome a part of self-description; using self-propelled two-wheel vehicle may mean becoming part of a ‘group’.Our earlier concept of ‘communities’ of cyclists was shown to be far too simplistic. There are likely to be realtensions related to class factors, aspirations and rights, and though cycling may have the potential to diminishsome of these differences, we need to take the research much further.Results of participating in this research groupFor the group, the following benefits accrued from participating in this pilot study:Participatory research methodology highlighted ethical challenges related to traditional research;It promoted interdisciplinary communication and breaking down of some of the traditional barriers to research indifferent university faculties;Engagement in something that drew us together, and that we believe to be of benefit, led to frank and opendiscussions;It highlighted some of the power dynamics implicit in research.We are hoping that the project may continue in some form …238