At the time of writing, I am sitting in my parents’ garden in Austria, enjoying the first cloudy and thus slightly cooler day since my arrival from Glasgow. Adjusting to 30+ degrees Celsius, especially when you are used to Scottish summers, is no small feat even though I have found myself in the only cool spot in mainland Europe. Everywhere except my little region in Austria seems to be reporting heatwaves. An adequate backdrop to find myself thinking about rising temperatures, climate change and asking: “What could a sustainable future look like?” A difficult question, but one I’ve chosen to examine for three and a half years as part of my PhD.

Hi! I am Kassandra, a PhD researcher in a project called GALLANT (= Glasgow as a living lab accelerating novel transformation) which looks at different solutions for a sustainable Glasgow ranging from solutions to flood risk, increasing biodiversity and renewable energy solutions. In my case, I focus on mobility; the way we travel from A to B (and maybe C, to get to B, and E and back to A). I try to understand how we can transform the way we travel to make it more sustainable. No matter whether you predominantly travel by car, use public transport, walk, cycle or (if you happen to be a reader from Finland) maybe even ski to work. One thing is clear: the way the transport sector currently operates, in Glasgow and many other cities, needs to change. In Glasgow, the transport sector emits the second most greenhouse gases and high car travel equals air pollution, reduced road safety and physical inactivity, which is a threat that often remains unseen. My premise is simple: to change transport habits and reduce car traffic, we need to offer a range of sustainable transport opportunities including, but not limited to, good public transport and attractive walking and cycling routes. We also need to make sure these options are accessible to all, to have a socially just mobility system and make Glasgow a more sustainable and liveable city in the long run.

One solution, not the only solution, is to increase cycling in Glasgow. Cycling is a healthy, quick, relatively cheap and sustainable transport alternative with the potential power (almost a superpower) to lower transport emissions, reduce NHS costs, improve quality of life and air and make our cities more liveable. But what does liveable mean to you? Does a liveable Glasgow mean building more roads? Or do you envision a liveable Glasgow with plenty of cyclists and pedestrians who smile at one another on their commute? Do you prefer to get into your car and drive to work not having to bother with anyone? Or may there be some charm in smelling the fresh air and feeling the wind in your hair (occasionally even rain on your face) as you cycle to work? I'm not judging - just asking.

But even if we want to increase something as simple as cycling - challenges do remain. Sustainability is always inevitably about social justice and when working towards a more sustainable future it is essential that we leave no one behind and ensure transitions do not exacerbate existing inequalities. Inequalities in cycling? Really? Absolutely. Cycling can be really beneficial to your life, but it isn’t a feasible and accessible option for everyone. There are cost barriers, the geographical barriers represented by large distances, and there are also gender inequalities. If you walk down a street (let’s pick Victoria Road as it has segregated cycle lanes) statistically every fourth person will be a woman. The rest will be men. Of course, this is an average, but I do recommend you stand there during rush hour and wait a few minutes to see who passes by. Now, the premise was to have sustainable mobility options and make them open to all. That includes bridging the gender gap in cycling. Glasgow City Council plans to expand cycling, promote active travel, expand the cycling network by 2031 and they do aim to make it available to all and gender equal. But what is really necessary to make cycling available to all?

My research tries to understand the lived experience of women and nonbinary people in Glasgow to gain a better understanding of how those of marginalised genders can best be supported to cycle more. So, in April 2025 I engaged with 40 participants to create what's called Participatory Systems Maps. I asked people: “What makes cycling easier for you?” and I also asked: “What makes cycling difficult for you?”. With the answers to these questions, participants could start to draw beautifully visual (and sometimes chaotic) maps to try and understand how all these different factors influence each other and, in the end, their choice to cycle or not to cycle (very Shakespearean). The really exciting bit is that these maps have given me, as a researcher, important information to identify where changes and interventions may be most effective. These maps tell me how women and nonbinary people can best be supported to view cycling as a viable transport option in Glasgow. And I hope this knowledge can help close the current gender gap (because really, it’s great to be a woman redefining gender norms on a bike!).

Overall, there is a whole umbrella of possible mobility choices people make and want to make. And there are numerous ways of transforming each one of these, in isolation and together, to be more sustainable. Not all people can and will want to cycle and that is absolutely okay. But hopefully my research can help understand those who would like to cycle better and tell us how we can make cycling an inclusive activity in Glasgow. Ideally, after reading this post you will get your dusty bike out of the shed and give it a spin and you may just rediscover childhood bliss. Or at least, I hope you get a moment to reflect on what a sustainable and liveable city means to you. If you had any choice what would be your ideal sustainable transport alternative? Kayaking down the Clyde? Let your imagination run free: at the end of the day starting to envision the future we want to see is a crucial first step for working towards it.

Some suggested non-academic reading: 

  • Movement: How to take back our streets and transform our lives (Thalia Verkade)
  • Bike Nation (Peter Walker)

First published: 28 August 2025

<< Blog