CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Argentina went through the longest Covid-19 quarantine in the world (from March to July 2020) affecting the mobility in the whole country. Particularly, public transport were exclusive for the so-called ?essential workers? pushing the rest of people to resolve mobility through private modes of transport. In fact, the Government urged people to use bikes, motorbikes, scooters, cars and to walk and avoid public transport because this was considered a vector of infection. A boom of bike took place: sales increased (also the price), the use of bikes in Buenos Aires raised about 100% and families cycling became visible, new cycling paths were created not only in Buenos Aires but also in other cities of Argentina. Moreover, there was enthusiasm among cyclist activists -some of them achieved to influencing public policies. we have analysed the responses the local and national governments gave through cycling infrastructure because as many studies have highlighted the layout of cycling paths or the areas they cover express the kind of policies governments applied or, in other words, the politics or regime of mobility. This presentation we try to read critically this politics through spatial structure by comparing models of cycling paths applied and conceived both in the Capital City and the whole metropolitan area. We argue that mobilties in Buenos Aires need to be analysed through a metropolitan scale to decentralize the planning discourse which tends to focus on problems that affect mainly the city centre. We try to show these different points of view through, first, changing the idea of cycling infrastructure for ?the last mile? -which means, concentrate cycling facilities within central areas- and looking at the ?first mile? (practices in the peripheries). And, second, we will show how models of cycling paths show different ways of conceiving cycling and cyclists.

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