THAT'S BIKE TALK
EXPLORATION 3
Bikes as identifiers of concentrated wealth.
The urban fabric of Brooklyn is far from banal, just as most urban fabrics are. This is one of the many reasons that people, in one way or another, are attracted to domesticating these locations. The breadth of diversity within its landscape creates a pleasant, "I'm in company" atmospheric feel. It is also a reason for the consolidation of so many creative types to dwell here, as most find great inspiration in this diversity and in constant stimulation... or even that it is the perfect backdrop for a busily wandering mind.
However, many things go untold by the urban facade alone.
This exploration is inspired by the inherent restraints of the last exploration, Building Up. Not all locations of gentrification can be identified by the facades of the buildings that line the streets. Not always does money manifest so physically or literally.
In this exploration, the bike is used as a method of identification of wealth. Within history, the bike has stood as representation of other national or international events. For example, in Argentina, during the Dirty War, an abandoned bike was an indication that its owner had been kidnapped by the Junta, or the military-government. Even today, the bike is a symbol of remembrance of the civilians of Argentina who disappeared during that time. Furthermore, bikes are painted white and left as markers along roads in locations where a biker was tragically killed in a biking accident. They are called ghost bikes and they stand as a constant reminder of the importance of sharing roads and respecting space. They, too, stand as a memorial for those lost.
While the bikes of the New York City streets don't necessarily carry the same heavy narrative that they do in the two stories above, they are important tell-tales of the possible wealth lingering in the area that they are parked within.
The bike, itself, has limitations to its strength as a resource for this project. For example, not everyone in Brooklyn owns a bike. Some rent from the DIVY stations and others choose not to ride at all; however, biking is indeed a widely used method of transport in Brooklyn. Furthermore, the most expensive bikes around are traditionally stored inside. The risk of leaving them tied up to a pole is too high, even with all of the proper locks and chains. As I have learned personally, people of the Brooklyn streets are savages for bike parts. Some are willing to take just about anything they can get to detach from a frame in the matter of minutes.
HOWEVER, bikes have been studied before as an identifier of race inequity in terms of income. The theory here, is that "a bicycle can’t save you money unless you have enough money to buy a bicycle.” What this is saying is that while bikes are deemed a method of affordable transportation, they are only affordable after you acquire them. This discussion plays out on a People For Bikes website (linked below) and talks about the apparent lack of diversity in bike users on the streets, meaning that mostly white folks are seen riding them to work or for recreation.
The discussion is particularly hard to support with evidence because the argument is built upon qualitative and subjective research.
Even if the evaluation of the bike as a reference to gentrification is faulted in some manners, at whole, the bike analysis stands as a lesson to us all about the tinier things around us and how they can tell large stories about our conditions. For example, the idea that more white people are riding bikes than are people of color tells us that the more bikes we see flooding the streets in a given neighborhood in Brooklyn, likely, the more gentrified the neighborhood is becoming. OR, if we can quantify that research point, by asking about how many more bikes are in the streets now than there were in 2003, we might be able to mathematically find a percentage that talks about the influx in gentrification through data- association.
In essence, the intention of using the bike as a research method of gentrification strongly speaks to the initial prompt of this project: to deep read a problem through analyzing its parts, some of which are outside of the boundaries of typical research, in order to better understand the ways that a condition, social, political, emotional, and so on, can manifest in space and time.
To see a collection of photos I took of bikes scattered around Brooklyn during my time there over the past two years, click here:
To see a bit more on the ways that we can learn from bikes in Brooklyn find your way to this page: