Cycling projects in low‐income communities: Exploring community perceptions of Te Ara Mua – Future Streets

The cycling priorities and experiences of low-income communities have traditionally received less research attention. This paper explores community perceptions of new cycling infrastructure within the Te Ara Mua - Future Streets project in the low-cycling, low-income, predominantly Pacific neighbourhood of Mangere Central, Auckland. Themes from seven key informant interviews and three focus groups included: local cycling norms; socio-economic barriers; appreciation of the new community walking and cycling trail; desire for connectivity beyond the neighbourhood; concerns about on-road bike lanes; support for local cycling champions; and tensions between views of the project as "experimentation" versus "investment." We explore the implications of these findings for cycling promotion in Aotearoa.