"Green, but not as greener as that": an analysis of a Brazilian bike-sharing system

Discussions on the concept of smart city began in the 2000s and its focus has undergone changes. However, according to academics and urban planners the smart city concept favors technological products and solutions over end... [ view full abstract ]

Discussions on the concept of smart city began in the 2000s and its focus has undergone changes. However, according to academics and urban planners the smart city concept favors technological products and solutions over end users and their adherence to smart city proposal. At first, the concern was with technologies and infrastructures, that is, considered hard, technical and structural aspects of smart cities concept. A concept that also reaches the cities of Latin America, one of the most urbanized and most unequal regions of the world (UN , 2015) and whose implementations in different areas of government can provide lessons on urban innovation in scarce resources in a volatile and unpredictable environment (Steinert et al., 2011). Thus, it is possible to verify that one of the most implemented solutions to diminish the growing urban congestion and its effects on the citizen’s quality of life, deals with intelligent urban mobility. This paper sought to evaluate the perception of cyclist of a bike-sharing system – as one of the sustainable urban mobility mechanisms for smart city - and to analyze the main motivations for using it or not. The research analyzed the bike sharing system of Passo Fundo, a medium-sized city in Southern Brazil. Interviews with 526 residents identified three main motivations for using the bike-sharing system: (i) healthy and cheaper, (ii) green life style, and (iii) influencing others. The respondents' overall perception revealed their low satisfaction with the bike-sharing system and with the overall conditions for cycling. This finding calls for a better understanding of the planning and management of smart cities in conjunction with citizen’s perception and their effects on the city smartness. The research provides some contributions to understand the interconnected aspects of bike-sharing systems in the Smart Cities context. From a smart city perspective, the research concludes that success within the domain of smart mobility can be achieved by observing the three factors revealed by the analysis. According to our results, meeting these criteria through public policies would boost bike sharing, creating a green behavior trend. Finally, the study provides relevant information for social researchers and urban planners by identifying factors that influence citizen’s perceptions on bike mobility and providing elements for political and academic debate.

Keywords: Smart city, mobility, bike-sharing systems, cycling motivation instrument.