As part of a cycling renaissance, community bike workshops or ‘bike kitchens’ have flourished in Western countries, now numbering in the thousands. Largely staffed by volunteers, and lying outside mainstream state or corporate control, they assist people's mobility through maintaining and supplying re-used bikes and components. A few specifically work with socially disadvantaged or minority groups. In all cases, workshops contribute to sociality and a culture of active travel.
The project merges previous research on workshops through visits, interviews, and participant-observation in the UK. Workshops form part of the ‘urban commons’ and support ‘mobility justice’ but they vary considerably, requiring interviews and participant-observation in several UK workshops in early 2024. They increase cycling ‘demand’ in particular urban localities, as prior research has shown. A communally authored book, discussions, and presentations will illustrate their trajectories, dynamics, and contributions.
Community bike workshops or ‘bike kitchens’ are non-profit, grassroots organisations that let people maintain a bike and learn the skills to do so. Some also give out secondhand bikes to people in need.
