I have taught in the department of Social and Political Science since completing my PhD. My doctoral thesis (Liverpool, 2002) explored the links between Gandhian theory and practice, post-development and the political ecology of sustainability: the areas now covered by the term degrowth.
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Email
peter.cox@chester.ac.uk
About Prof Peter Cox
My teaching specialises in the study of social movements and the politics of sustainability. I also cover introductory social and political theory. And contribute to the Working Group on Decolonisation.
My research covers a range of studies on the sociology of cycling and cycle activism, as well as continuing to work on the problems of sustainable mobility, active travel and its importance for social justice. I contribute to a number of international networks developing policy for cycling and sustainable mobility.
Prior to re-entering academia, I ran my own cycle business and was involved in a range of cycle campaigning and community organising projects, particularly linked with issues of social and environmental sustainability.
Teaching
- Self and Society (Level 4)
- Introduction to Politics and International Relations
- Social Change and Social Movements (Level 6)
- Politics of Sustainability (Level 6)
Research
My research interests reflect the Mobilities turn in the social sciences and in particular the issues of sustainable futures, with the sociology of cycling as a key element. A founder member of the Cycling and Society Research Group and chair of the international Scientists for Cycling network for the European Cyclists’ Federation, my research has contributed to a number of international forums and policy documents on sustainable transport.
During 2014-15, as a Leverhulme International Academic Fellow, I worked at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich developing cross-disciplinary research techniques in to bicycling and the environment, exploring in particular the use of video interpretative models for understanding mobility practices.
In 2023 I returned to The Rachel Carson Center as a Landhaus fellow, with a project entitled Care, Commons and Uncontrollability: cycling as transformative interaction, examining how active mobilities can contribute to fostering responsible citizenship for the anthropocene era.
Published Work
Books (monographs and edited collections)
Cox, P. (2023) Cycle Activism: Bike Politics and Social Movements. Abingdon: Routledge.
Norcliffe, G., Cox, P., Gao, B., Hadland, T., Hanlon, S., Jones, T., Oddy, N., Vivanco, L., (eds.) (2022) Routledge Companion to Cycling. Routledge ISBN 9780367683993.
Cox, P. & Koglin, T. (eds.) (2020) The Politics of Infrastructure, Bristol: Policy Press
Cox, P. (2019) Cycling: Toward a sociology of vélomobility. Abingdon: Routledge
Cox, P. (ed) (2014) Cycling Cultures University of Chester Press. ISBN 978-1-908258-11-3
Cox, P. (2010) Moving People: sustainable transport development. London: Zed Books
Cox, P. (2010) Emancipation Re-enchanted: A Study of Gandhian Thought, activism, post-development, radical green politics and spirituality. Saarbrucken: Lambert Academic Publishing
Boran, A & Cox, P (eds.) (2007) Implications of Globalisation Chester: Chester Academic Press (includes chapter: Cox, P ‘The Globalization of What? Knowledge, Power and Neo-Colonialism’)
Horton, D; Rosen, P and Cox, P (eds.) (2007) Cycling and Society, Abingdon: Routledge
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
Cox P., 2022. Citizenship in the Anthropocene, chapter for Encyclopedia of Citizenship Studies, Edward Elgar.
Cox, P., 2022. “What if there were no cars? Prefigurative cycling activism for a degrowth world.” Ephemera Journal (online)
Leyendecker, K and Cox, P., 2022. Cycle campaigning for a just city. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives. 15, 100678 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2022.100678
Cox P., 2022. Vélomobility is to Degrowth as Automobility is to growth: Prefigurative cycling imaginaries. Applied Mobilities. https://doi.org/10.1080/23800127.2022.2087134
Cox, P. 2022. Distance, Time, Speed & Energy: A Socio-Political Analysis of Technologies of Longer Distance Cycling. Active Travel Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(2) DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/ats.1064
Cox P., (2022) Becoming a Space for Urban Cycling. In M. Adam, and N. Ortar (eds.) Becoming Urban Cyclists. From Socialization to Skills. University of Chester Press. ISBN 978-1-910481-17-2
Cox P. (2020) Cycle Transport Partnerships for Attaining Sustainable Development Goals. In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., Lange Salvia A., Wall T. (eds) Partnerships for the Goals. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71067-9_124-1
Cox, Peter (2020) Sensory ethnography and film interpretation: sociological readings of historical archives, in David Turner (ed.) Transport and its Place in History: Making the Connections Abingdon: Routledge.
Manfred G. Neun, Giulia Cortesi, Peter Cox, Moritz Neun, Ida Sabelis, Martin Held, Sven Kesselring (2020) ‘Prioritizing Active Mobility’. A report and recommendations arising from ESOF 2020 addressing the EU Commission on the European Strategy for a Sustainable and Smart Mobility. https://transformateure.org/prioritizing-active-mobility/
Cox, P., Bunte, H. (2019) Social practices and the importance of context. In K. Grafl, H. Bunte, K. Dziekan & H. Haubold (eds.) Framing the Third Cycling Century: Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice. Dessau-Rosslau: German Environment Agency & Brussels: European Cyclists' Federation pp. 124-133
Cox, P. (2018) ‘Rethinking Bicycle histories’ in Tiina Männistö-Funk & Timo Myllyntaus, The Invisible Bicycle: New Insights into Bicycle History (Technology and Change series) Leiden, Netherlands: Brill pp.23-47
Cox, P. (2017) ‘Fahrräder, Proteste und Wandel: Radfahrer als Gestalter von Städten und Maschinen’ in Gundler, B & Steinbeck, F. (eds.) Balanceakte: 200 Jahre Zweirad. Technik –Kultur – Mobilität Munich: Deutsches Museum
Cox, P. (20i7) ‘Senses Matter: A Sensory Ethnography of Urban Velomobility’, in Experiencing Networked Urban Mobilities Malene Freudendal-Pedersen, Katrine Hartmann-Petersen, Emmy Laura Perez Fjalland (eds.) Abingdon: Routledge
Cox, P. (2017) ‘Bicycle Design History and Systems of Mobility’, in Spinney, Justin, Reimer, Suzanne & Pinch, Philip (eds.) Mobilising Design, Designing Mobilities: Intersections, Affordances, Relations. pp. 49-61 Abingdon: Routledge
Cox, P. (2017) ‘Cities, States and Bicycles. Writing Cycling Histories and Struggling for Policy Relevance’, Journal of Transport History 38(1) pp. 124–136
Emanuel, M., Veraart, F., & Cox, P. (2016) ‘Cycling at a standstill’ in Ruth Oldenziel, Martin Emanuel Adri Albert de la Bruheze, and Frank Veraart (Eds.) Cycling Cities: The European Experience: 100 Hundred Years of Policy and Practice (pp. 100-112) Eindhoven: Foundation for the History of Technology
Cox, P. (2015) ‘Wider Implications of Bike Design Diversity’ in Tadej Brezina (ed.) "Beiträge zu einer ökologisch und sozial verträglichen Verkehrsplanung", (pp. 1-10) Vienna: TUWien
Cox, P. (2015) ‘The Role of Human Powered Vehicles in Sustainable Mobility’ in Ole B Jensen (ed.) Mobilities [Four volumes] (pp.) Abingdon: Routledge
Cox, P. (2013) ‘Class and Competition: The Gentrification of Sport Cycling’ in Thurston, J (ed.) The Bicycle Reader ASIN: B008LX6SYU
Cox, P. (2015) ‘Bicycles as transport’ in Kopper, C & Moraglio, M (eds.) The Organization of Transport: A History of Users, Industry, and Public Policy London: Routledge ISBN 978-0-415-74420-1
Cox, P. (2014) Cyclists and Conflicts over Road Use in Britain, 1926-1935’ in Duc, G; Perroux, O.; Schiedt, H & Walter, F. (eds.) Histoire des transports et de la mobilité: Entre concurrence modale et coordination (de 1918 à nos jours) Neuchâtel , Switzerland: Editions Alphil pp.279-305 ISBN 978-2-940489-54-1
Cox, P. (2013) The past and future of rickshaw Transfers 3(3) 119-123 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/TRANS.2013.030308
Cox, P (2012) ‘Strategies promoting cycle tourism in Belgium: practices and implications’, Tourism Planning and Development 9 (1) 1-15 DOI:10.1080/21568316.2012.658167
Cox, P. (2012) ‘Cycling: Image and Imaginary in the Cultural Turn’ Transfers 2 (1) Review essay
Cox, P. (2012) ‘“A denial of our boasted civilisation”: cyclists’ views on conflicts over road use in Britain, 1926-1935’ Transfers 2(3) 4-30
Cox, P. (2012) ‘Human-Powered-Vehicles in Britain, 1930 – 1980’ in Ritchie, A . (ed) Proceedings of the 21st International Cycling History Conference, Prague, August 5th-7th, 2010 London: Cycling History (Publishing) Ltd. pp19-26. ISBN 0957342705
Stoffers, M; Oosterhuis, H & Cox, P (2010) ‘Bicycle history as transport history: the cultural turn’ in Mom, Tissot and Divall (eds.) Transport, Traffic and Mobility pp. 265-274 ISBN 978-2-940235-70-4
Bonham J and Cox P. ‘The disruptive traveller? A Foucauldian analysis of cycleways’, Road & Transport Research 19 (2) June 2010
Cox, P (2008) ‘The Role of Human Powered Vehicles in Sustainable Mobility’, Built Environment 34 (2) 140-160
Cox, P & Hope, M (2008) ‘Suburbia, Utopia and Social Experimentation’, chapter in Home & Urbanity University of Copenhagen: Centre for Housing and Welfare pp.150-167
Cox, P. (2004) ‘Re-evaluating Gandhi: Swaraj and Swadeshi in ‘environmental’ activism’ Ecotheology 9 (1) 105-123
Cox, P. (2004) ‘Framing Consumption: Social Impediments to Velomobile Adoption’ in Fuchs, Joachim (ed.) Proceedings of the 5th European Velomobile Seminar: Towards Commercial Velomobiles, Troisdorf, Germany: Deutsches Strassenmuseum, Germersheim
Selected Conference Keynotes and Public Lectures
Cox, P 2022. What if there were no cars? Public lecture, Storyhouse, Chester
Cox, P. 2021 Exploring academic cycling research Keynote presentation to Cycling Research Board 5th annual meeting #CRBAM21, 13-15 October 2021, Copenhagen. 14/10/2021
Cox P. Understanding the Politics of Infrastructure. Keynote for Cycling Active City virtual conference (co-sponsored by DfT) on LTNs & the politics of infrastructure. 25/08/2021
Bicicultura, 07-10 September 2017, Recife, Brazil (Momento de rebelião: formas de cicloativismo e possibilidades de ação e articulação com outras pautas)
Foro Munidal De la Bicicleta FMB6, Mexico City, April 2017 (‘Movimiento social emancipatoria y su conexion con las prácticas ciclistas’)
Cycling Forum at URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority), Singapore, February 2016 (Biking and Tourism)
Cox, P. (2014) Wider implications of Bike Design Diversity public lecture as part of Radfahren In der Stadt Lecture series organised by Institut fur Verkehrswissenschaften, TUWien, Vienna, Austria March 10
Cox P. (2013) Diversity and Power Inequalities: Notes of Caution in Promoting Change invited presentation for “Active Mobility” International Workshop at Tutzing Academie, Germany, November 27-29
Qualifications
- BA Independent Study [Interdisciplinary research] (University of Lancaster)
- PhD Philosophy (University of Liverpool)