Rethinking the role of memory in mobility studies: the case of students’ cycling behaviour

The role that memory plays in shaping mobility choices remains understudied. Rather than viewing memory as an active mediator of mobility experiences and behaviour, mobility researchers have focused on methodological issues related to using recollections as reliable data sources. To address this research gap, this article takes an interpretivist stance on memory and proposes the notion of “cycling memory”, consisting of episodic, semantic, and procedural recollections of previous cycling-related events, social practices, and embodied experiences. Through autobiographical interviews and ride-alongs with 23 students in Amsterdam and Brussels, the influence of cycling memory on the interpretation of new experiences and future mobility choices is explored. The empirical evidence indicates that cycling infrastructures perceived as familiar or improved when compared to the content of available memories lead to feelings of safety, joy, and freedom. Infrastructural settlements that are perceived as less developed lead to feelings of unsafety, anxiety, and anger. Memories of specific events also influence interpretations and future intentions to cycle. This article concludes by suggesting that both mobility scholars and policy-makers might benefit from engaging with the notion of cycling memory in particular and mobility memory in general and offering suggestions for future developments in this underexplored topic.