Faculty of Social Sciences
Department of Geography
Staff Profile
Peter Wood
p.r.h.wood@open.ac.uk
Research Student
Geography
Qualifications
BA (Hons) Geography (Cantab)
MSc (Research Training) Environment, Science and Society (University College London)
Professional Affiliations
Postgraduate Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG)
Research Interests
How does cycling shape the lives of people who cycle in South London? That’s my main question. To be a little more specific, I’m investigating peoples' different experiences and styles of cycling, why people cycle some journeys but not others, and how non-transport factors such as family or work commitments may encourage or prevent them from cycling. I'm also looking into how these change over time, including why people start and stop cycling. From this I hope to draw out the probable implications that London’s cycling revolution will have on life in the city.
This work draws upon theorists who have argued that transport is not simply a means of getting from A to B. Each type of journey is a specific way of experiencing the history, architecture and culture of a city. I’m looking at the ways in which people fit cycling into their everyday lives. Be they bankers on Bromptons, fashionable young things or simply borrowed bikes fetching milk, I’m trying to find out what makes people cycle the winding streets of 21st Century London.
Publications
Inhabiting Infrastructure: How Architectures, Rhythms and Crowds Affect and Effect London's Commuter Cyclists, presented at the 7th Cycling and Society Symposium, 6 - 7 September 2010, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford.
Other Interests
If you cycle in South London and want to know more then send me an email!