Cycling Cities: Lisbon and Tehran with M. Luísa Sousa and Kazem Afradi

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Overview

Podcast: New Books Network
Episode: Cycling Cities: Lisbon and Tehran with M. Luísa Sousa and Kazem Afradi
Host: Jacob Ward
Date: August 6, 2026

This episode, recorded at the Tensions of Europe conference, features a conversation between host Jacob Ward and authors M. Luísa Sousa ("Cycling the Lisbon Experience") and Kazem Efradi ("Cycling the Tehran Experience"). Both books are part of the Cycling Cities series, which explores the complex, interconnected histories of cycling policy and practice in world cities over 150 years. The discussion covers how bicycles arrived in Lisbon and Tehran, the influence of royal and elite patronage, transnational connections, the transformation of cycling from a luxury to a mass activity, regulations and discipline around cyclists, the impact of revolutions and social change, gender and cycling, the rise of car-centric urban planning, and the prospects for cycling today.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to the Authors and Their Work (01:19–03:49)

• Both books delve into the unique yet interconnected histories of cycling in Lisbon and Tehran, tracing developments from the 19th to the 21st century.
• The Cycling Cities series explores how technology, society, policy, and transnational influences have shaped urban cycling across the globe.

2. Arrival of the Bicycle in Lisbon and Tehran (03:50–05:06)

• Kazem Efradi (on Lisbon): The bicycle appeared in Lisbon in the 1880s, initially introduced by sportsmen and soon adopted by elites and the royal family. The city did not experience the "bicycle craze" seen elsewhere in Europe in the 1890s.
• Kazem Efradi (on Tehran): The first bicycle arrived in Tehran around 1885, brought by an American adventurer who met with King Nasir al-Din Shah. Bicycles were originally considered novelties and toys for the royalty, not everyday transport.

3. Royal Patronage and Early Cycling Culture (05:06–07:01)

• Efradi (Tehran): Iranian kings of the Qajar dynasty were fascinated by European technologies. Bicycles were treated as entertaining novelties, reserved for royalty and their children. Local stories depict early bicycles as "iron horses" or even "vehicles of evil."
• Sousa (Lisbon): Royal involvement shaped early cycling. Velodromes and cycling clubs were often founded under royal names, and the queen herself was photographed cycling in the hills near Lisbon.

"There are photographs, archival photographs of the queen riding in Sintra, the Sintra mountain nearby Lisbon. So, yeah, there was a support for the cycling clubs, cycling infrastructure, which then moved to the next vehicle."
— M. Luísa Sousa (06:15)

4. Transnational Exchange and the Spread of Cycling (07:01–11:21)

• Lisbon's cycling scene was embedded in a wider European movement. Bicycles, social clubs, and organizational models were imported, with close involvement of aristocracy connected abroad.
• In Tehran, foreign adventurers and embassy children played a pivotal role in popularizing bicycles among locals. Mass imports, especially from the UK and Germany, eventually made bikes available beyond elites.

"When women ride... it was like something, 'Oh, they are riding now.' Something a bit exceptional and with men behind them, you know, like they had to be accompanied by men."
— M. Luísa Sousa (37:30)

5. From Luxury to Everyday Utility (11:21–15:24)

• In Tehran and Lisbon, bicycles transformed from luxuries to accessible vehicles through mass importation and local production (in Lisbon, by the late 1920s).
• Early on, the bicycle became known as the "poor man's horse" in Lisbon (first recorded in 1906), reflecting both lowered status and economic accessibility, though costs and taxes still posed barriers for many.

"...this discourse of the shift of the elites from one vehicle to the other, and also to declassify the status of people cycling. So it was not a differentiating element to cycle, a status symbol."
— M. Luísa Sousa (13:16)

6. Regulating and Disciplining Cyclists (15:24–22:10)

• As cycling spread, municipal authorities imposed regulations and taxes, seeing economic opportunity and seeking to 'discipline' cyclists’ behavior.
• Both cities introduced bicycle licenses and established rules for traffic, signaling both normalization and marginalization as new transport modes (notably cars) gained prominence.

“They tried to discipline the bicycle in Tehran by making bicycle license mandatory... and by regulations like requiring lights, limiting what could be carried, etc. That's because cycling was seen as 'annoying for traffic' in Tehran at that time.” — Kazem Efradi (16:16)

7. Social Change and the Politics of Cycling (26:34–35:30)

• Both cities witnessed revolutions: Lisbon’s 1910 Republican and 1974 Carnation Revolutions; Tehran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Cycling was sometimes a tool or symbol for protest and social change, but the role varied by context and era.
• In Tehran, cycling played a direct role in worker protests of the early 1950s, while in Lisbon, cycling featured in some demonstrations but often only for men and as a minor element in broader debates.

"Politically, I can say in [1953], we have a considerable number of cyclists to change political atmosphere in Tehran."
— Kazem Efradi (28:30)

8. Gender, Modernity, and Cycling (35:30–42:07)

• In Lisbon, cycling was seen as a social equalizer—but primarily among young men, with women’s cycling limited and often supervised.
• In Tehran, women’s cycling was a symbol of modernity, particularly under government efforts to promote Westernization and sport during the Pahlavi era. However, adult women tended to prefer cars once they became accessible.

"From the beginning, a part of women, they like to cycling. But generally in society it wasn't a norm ... for adults, yeah, if they could afford, they would like to buy motorcycle or car. Even if they were women, they would like to use automobile." — Kazem Efradi (39:38)

9. Rise of Car-Centered Urban Planning (42:07–50:11)

• Both cities deliberately re-engineered themselves for cars from the mid-20th century, often excluding cycling from official plans.
• In Tehran, motorization was part of top-down modernization, oil-fueled development, and auto/motorcycle industries with US and UK influence.
• In Lisbon, policymakers and engineers prioritized car infrastructure in planning, even when bicycles were still common, resulting in lasting effects on city structure and mobility patterns.

"When the plan [for Lisbon in the 1940s] mentioned the number of vehicles, it explicitly excluded the almost 20% of bicycles that were coming to Lisbon in the late 30s. And all the language of the plan was pro car, pro automobility."
— M. Luísa Sousa (46:25)

10. Contemporary Resurgence and Future Prospects for Cycling (50:11–62:07)

• In Lisbon, a recent resurgence of cycling, fueled by social movements (Critical Mass, community bike workshops, advocacy groups like Mubi), better infrastructure, and bike share schemes, brings cautious hope for the future, though progress remains highly politicized and contested.
• In Tehran, cycling reforms have been attempted and briefly advanced (notably under pro-cycling mayor Piruz Hannachi) with support from international partners, but lasting change is hampered by policy shifts, public attitudes, and the entrenched car culture.

“In Tehran, a part of society ... would like to cycling in Tehran and also policymakers are convinced to cycling. I think they have no other option because the environmental capacity in Tehran is full and the congestion or air pollution and diseases has increased. ... But ... the percentage for now I think is less than 1%. So compared to car, which is more than 50%. So that's nothing.”
— Kazem Efradi (57:00)

“But I think we can end with a note of hope that people would not want just to see bicycles in Lisbon for a kind of fashion ... but it would be nice that it would be like a more structural and really preserving the well being of everyone … If there are more people cycling, I think it will preserve the well being of the majority as well because we will have a better city to live in.”
— M. Luísa Sousa (61:05)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “The bicycle was one small debate within bigger debates that were going on in the 1910 revolution ... But there were demonstrations by cyclists in 1910 supporting the Republic.” (Sousa, 32:06)
• “When women ride ... it was like something, oh, they are riding now. Something a bit exceptional and with men behind them.” (Sousa, 37:30)
• “I think, yeah, in 2000 in Tehran they did different plans, but mostly they failed. ... The turning point is coming of Piruz Hannachi, the previous mayor of Tehran. He was and also is pro cycling ... but unfortunately, after a few years, the mayor changed. And for now, as far as I know, their priority is public transportation. And the cycling master plan hasn't applied too much.” (Afradi, 55:30)

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Notable Timestamps

• [01:19] Introduction to Tensions of Europe, authors and their books
• [03:50] When and how the bicycle appeared in Lisbon and Tehran
• [05:06] Royal patronage and early cycling
• [07:44] Lisbon’s integration into European cycling culture
• [08:57] Bicycles as “iron horses” and objects of suspicion in Tehran
• [13:16] “Poor man’s horse”: the bicycle’s shifting social meaning
• [16:16] Taxes, regulation, and disciplining cyclists in Tehran
• [22:10] Licensing and restricting cycling spaces in Lisbon
• [27:25] Impact of political revolutions and role of cyclists in social movements
• [35:30] Gender, modernity, and the (limited) inclusivity of cycling
• [42:52] How and why both cities became car-oriented
• [50:11] Cycling’s 21st-century resurgence and the challenges that remain
• [61:05] A hopeful note for the future of cycling cities

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Conclusion

This episode offers a nuanced comparison of Lisbon and Tehran’s cycling histories, highlighting how technologies, politics, and social change have shaped mobility. While each city’s story is distinct, broader themes emerge: elite adoption followed by mass usage, regulatory oscillations, the overshadowing presence of the car, and the current push (and struggle) for cycling’s resurgence. Both guests conclude on cautious notes of optimism, emphasizing the importance of structural change, active social movements, and the environmental necessity of cycling for today’s urban futures.

Transcript

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[Jacob Ward]

Hear that?

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welcome to the New Books Network.

Hello listeners, this is Jacob Ward and you're listening to a New Books Network episode recorded at the Tensions of Europe conference, Eindhoven in 2026. Tensions of Europe is a transnational scholarly network and hub for research on history, technology and Europe. Scholars in the Tensions of Europe Network are curious about the ways that Europe and its transatlantic, colonial and postcolonial connections have been made and unmade by engineers and scientists, users and consumers, industrialists and experts, humans and animals in a history that has been, well, tense, fraud, and by no means inevitable. The books I'm bringing you from this conference reflect the big tent that is the Tensions of Europe, which includes historians of technology and science, environmental historians, energy historians, animal historians, urban historians, and more. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you enjoy the episode. Hello everyone, and welcome to a special episode of New Books Network where I'm talking with the authors of not just one, but but two books. I'm here today with Louisa Sousa, a historian of science and technology who is assistant professor at Nova University Lisbon and one of the authors of Cycling the Lisbon Experience and Kazem Efradi, an urban planner who is a research assistant at Eindhoven University of Technology and one of the authors of Cycling the Tehran Experience. Cycling the Lisbon Experience and the Tehran Experience were published in 2025 and 2026, respectively by the foundation for the History of Technology as Part of its Cycling Cities series, this series investigates 150 years of cycling policy and practice across 50 cities in 25 countries and keeps adding new cities to the list, including recently Lisbon and Tehran. As someone who loves to cycle all the more since moving to the Netherlands, it was a real pleasure to read these books and discover the stories of bicycles and of their cyclists from Lisbon to Tehran, from the 19th century to the 21st century, and from royals to revolutionaries. Because as we'll see, while there are of course many differences between Lisbon and Tehran, there are also many commonalities in their cycling histories. I'm recording this podcast at the Tensions of Europe conference in Eindhoven, where Cycling Cities has set up a fantastic exhibition in the central core of the conference venue, showing bicycles, art, videos and other exhibits that tell the stories of cycling cities from across the world. It's lent a wonderfully appropriate atmosphere in which to record this podcast. So, Guiza Kazem, welcome to new books from the Tensions at Europe.

[Louisa Sousa]

Thank you.

[Jacob Ward]

Thank you.

I'm going to start with a broad question, something to kind of take us into the histories of cycling in your cities. So can you just tell us a little bit, when and how did the bicycle come to Lisbon and come to Tehran?

[Kazem Efradi]

Well, the bicycle appeared in lisbon in the 80s and it was by sportsman and then it was adopted by the elites, the royal family. So it was in the late 19th century, but I think it was common, as in other European countries, that it would be used by royal families and so on. But I think there was no such a bicycle craze as happened in the 1890s, as in other European countries, it was maybe a bit later.

[Jacob Ward]

Hi everyone, about Tehran. As far as we research, the first bicycle had seen in Tehran when an American adventurer came to Tehran and had a talk with King Nasratdin Shah. But when bicycle came to Tehran, roads in that time, I think it's arrived 1885.

And one thing I'm glad you've both already mentioned because you've set up. My next question is this common theme of royal patronage of the bicycle. So Queen Amelia and her son, Prince Manuel in Portugal, Nasser Al Din Shah and his daughter Taj Al Saldani in Iran. So can you tell us a little bit more about how royal patronage shaped the early years of the bicycle in your cities?

Yeah, about Teflan in that time, kings of Qajar dynasty, they were so interested to come to Europe and visit different countries, including Austria, France, Netherlands. And Nasser Din Shah had different travels to Europe. There he visited different places and saw bicycles on the streets and they found it interesting. And they brought bicycle not as a vehicle, but as a toy, as an enjoying tool for their families. So they brought to palace. And then mostly in that time, it was using as a toy and recreation tool for their children, mostly in palaces and in gardens.

[Kazem Efradi]

Well, in Lisbon, you can see that the royal patronage was used, for instance, to name velodromes, places for running, for cycling, also to support clubs that performing associations. Yeah. And then they would take lessons. And for instance, the queen. There are photographs, archival photographs of the queen riding in Sintra, the Sintra mountain nearby Lisbon. So, yeah, there was a support for the cycling clubs, cycling infrastructure, which then moved to the next vehicle.

[Jacob Ward]

Well, the next vehicle looms ominously in the future of the bicycle in the late 19th century. But we will get to the car and other vehicles later. I want to actually take a little bit more time to ask also about the kind of transnational context and influences that you're talking about. Kazami, for example, you already talked about how the Iranian royal family visited Europe and brought the bicycle back. I actually want to start with Louisa and with Lisbon first on this question, because you talk in the book about how Lisbon was part of a broader European cycling movement in the late 19th and early 20th century. And I wonder if you could just tell us a little bit about this European cycling movement and how Lisbon featured in this kind of transnational circulation of the bicycle in Europe.

[Kazem Efradi]

Well, the first sportsman that brought bicycles into Lisbon, they had been abroad in Germany, in England. So there is this circulation of the people, of the objects and of the practices themselves. And also, for instance, the people that formed the first national cycling association, which gather many associations, there were people from the elites, there were people from the aristocracy that as these transnational connections. So in that sense. And then this club became part of the international federation. So there is this transnational movement. Yes.

[Jacob Ward]

And Kazm, when it comes to the transnational movement of the bicycle to Tehran, as you've already mentioned, you had the royal family visiting the earth and bringing the bicycle back. But you've also mentioned earlier as well, Tehran and its walled city is a kind of orientalist destination for Western cycling adventurers. Right. For cycling tourism in the late 19th century. I'd love to hear more about how Tehran became this kind of cycling destination for Western tourists.

Yeah. In that time, Western adventurers, they like to visit different countries in the Middle east, including Iran. I think one of the difference between Tehran and Lisbon is that in Tehran we had not like association of Cycling and cycling clubs. So just they brought bicycle personally for their personal goals. And gradually, after using bicycle in gardens and palaces, after the mass import of bicycle to Iran, so the bicycle moved from gardens and palaces to on streets. So gradually in that time we can see bicycle, the number of bicycle increased in Tehran and also other big cities in Iran. Also there are some old stories when a bicycle came to Iran. So there are, yeah. After coming to Thomas Stevens, the American adventurers I mentioned, he had a talk with Nasser Din Shah. And after that, family, royal family, they brought bicycle. But as memories shows, one of the first moments that Tehran people, they saw bicycle was by the children of the UK Embassy in Tehran. So they brought bicycle from England to Iran. And they were playing and it was a very strange for Iranian people. And in that time they mentioned the bicycle as iron horse and also as a vehicle of evil, because it was strange for them how it stands without any leg. It was strange for them. And gradually people adopted for that. And after the mass import of bicycle, it was, it, it got affordable for people. And gradually people used bicycle for commuting polices, they used that employees, students. So it got normal for Iranian people, including people of Tehran.

Well, you've, you've, you've anticipated my next question perfectly because I really wanted to get exactly into this process by which bicycle became more commonplace in both cities. Right. So, Louisa, for example, you talk about the bicycle's transformation in the early 20th century in Lisbon from. From a luxury item, right. To. To, I believe it's a poor man's horse. Right. And. And in Tehran, Kazan, as you've just said, you know, the bicycle turns from an item of spectacle, toy. Right. Entertainment to something that is, it is much more commonplace. So, yeah, with this just a kind of a product of mass importation and reducing crisis. Were there other factors at play? How exactly did the bicycle become so widespread in Lisbon and in Tehran in the early 20th century?

I think in that time, factories, bicycle factories, they were looking to export their products around the world. So if you imagine India, China and Turkey, Iraq and Iran, so they exported bicycle mostly by UK because in that time they had colonialism in different countries. Iran wasn't like a colony, but was impacted by policies of uk so they exported bicycle to Iran. And if you check the mark of the bicycle in that time, mostly are from Ukraine and then. Yeah, so I think mostly it's because of the economic relation between Iran and uk, also Germany, that we can see in that time lots of bicycles imported to Iran, Iranian cities.

And Louisa, I am especially Curious about this label, the poor man's horse, and how that became a label for the bicep and Bisman.

[Kazem Efradi]

Well, the sources we found, the first time it appears, it's in 1906, if I'm correct. So I think it was quite early because this big national association that I mentioned with royal patronage was created in 1999. And then you have the automobile club in 1903. And in 1906, you already have this discourse of the poor men's ors regarding the bicycle, and also the discourse of the shift of the elites from one vehicle to the other, and also to declassify the status of people cycling. So it was not a differentiating element to cycle a status symbol. But indeed, bicycles were quite expensive because they were text. They had multiple text taxes as. Can you help me with the words? No, luxury tax. I am sumptuary.

[Jacob Ward]

Well, luxury tax. Trans.

[Kazem Efradi]

Yeah, okay. In Portuguese, it's sumptuario, I think. So it started to be 27%, and then you also had the municipal tax. And so. And it was not cheap to have a bicycle. But then you start to have a second and bicycle to buy, and you add imports like from Germany, England and other countries. And then Portugal started producing bicycles in the late 20s. So then you have the national industry. And then there are, of course, some variations. The First World War, you see decrease, so this becoming the poor man's horse. It's quite interesting that the first source is 1906, but it's a process that unrolls during the first decades, I think.

[Jacob Ward]

And actually, speaking of taxes on bicycles, this kind of brings me to my next question. One thing that you also both talk about is how as the bicycle became more commonplace, cyclists were increasingly disciplined in different ways. Right. By city councils, municipal ordinances and regulations, taxes, but also by other vehicles. Right. And not just the car, but also trams, for example, in Lisbon, and new rules and forms of urban planning that catered to different types of transport. So what was going on here was how and why did the bicycle become a subject of discipline? And to what extent was. Was it just kind of an innocent bystander of the way these cities were changing versus to what extent were there kind of deliberate changes enacted to explicitly discipline the bicyclers?

Yes, about Tehran, the first point that bicycle adoption in Iran was so early. And one of this, you know, when we see the governments, they put taxes for a vehicle, including prestigious vehicle, I think is a sign that the number of the bicycle is increased on the streets. So when the number increases and also they see they can have economic benefits from that number of bicycles. They raise tax for that. And also sometimes they want to discipline the bicycles on streets. That's why they ask the tax from the bicycles in Iran. In Tehran I can say first the National Council they approved different tax for different vehicles in Tehran mobility system. But the amount of tax of bicycle compared with other vehicles wasn't too much. So instead I think they tried to make a balance between catching economic profits from bicycles and also not disencouraging import of bicycle to Tehran. We have some documents about that that they raised in different times taxes on different vehicles, including horse driven carriages, carts and cars. And in that time the highest tax are for cars, not for bicycles. And also one of the interesting points that even though bicycle at the beginning imported to Iran as a prestigious tool and also toy, we also at the same time imported some cars by the kings Mozaffa Din Shah to Iran. So the car also was too early in Iran. And I think somehow it didn't allow that the number of bicycle suddenly increase in Iran because as far as we know Mozaffa Nisha was more interested to cars and not for bicycles. And the second point that shows they tried to discipline bicycle in Tehran was making car bicycle license mandatory. So I think, yeah, 1925, I think in Tehran they approved a rule that everybody wants to cycling has to do some things, for example, have a light on bicycle, not turning on the streets or just one person should sit on bicycle, not carry big things on bicycle. So there were different rules and by bicycle license they tried to discipline the bicycles cyclist behavior in Tehran because that was very annoying for traffic in Tehran in that time.

Well, I'm glad I don't need a bicycle license. And Louisa, how did this disciplining look in Lisbon?

[Louisa Sousa]

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[Kazem Efradi]

Well, there are many similarities, the enforcing of licensing both of the vehicle and of the person. But I was thinking that it started even before because they were, for instance, cyclists were fighting horse riders in Campo Grande Garden. They wanted to have their tracks separated from the horse riders because the horse riders were damaging the path and they lost, they lost and then they got a separate track some years later. But the disciplining effort you can find in regulation, in infrastructure, and also in these representations of status that are sometimes reflected on taxes or discussed through taxes. And the regulation is one of the cases where, for instance, people in Lisbon could only cycle without a license in two places. One is nearby the river Trerdo Passo a square, and the other is a garden in the north Campgrande, because they were the only places where you could teach someone to cycle. So as you were supposedly learning you could ride without a license. But then you have people reporting that cyclos are very indisciplined and you have this in the sources and disciplined. They write whatever in these places in ways that they shouldn't dressed in. I don't know, there are descriptions like this. And then you also find it through taxes. Again the discussion on taxes is that there are people arguing this is the vehicle that people working class uses, so the taxes should be lower. But then again you have the disciplining discourse by. Of course this is not new in this geography, by the Automobile Club of Portugal, which also started to have the royal patronage in the beginning. Then with The Republic in 1910, you lost the royal, but it kept close to the political elites, the Republican ones this time. And then you see through taxes again a story. I don't know if I'm adding in the late 30s, beginning of the. In the late 20s, beginning of the 30s, where, where you have a creation of a road tax that. A unique road tax that only this creation of the circulation tax was. Was applied to automobilists and not to cyclists. And cyclists continued to pay all the other taxes. And they, they, they kind of felt that this was an inequal treatment. And, and then I think it started to be promoted a kind of idea that cyclists, the. The legitimate way of promoting cycling was through sports with this National Tour, the Vuelta in Spanish, Volta in Portuguese. And I think that then you can find in the sources again in national newspapers, in the Automobile Club magazine, it's starting to describe cyclists in a very negative way. Like they would get optical problems because they would look the road, you know, look to the ground or they were behaving like bees in. How do you call a hive of

[Jacob Ward]

bees or a swarm of bees?

[Kazem Efradi]

A swarm of bees. Very undisciplined. And then they were the main victims of the so called accidents, which are no accidents or collisions, but they were the main responsible and no infrastructure was being created for them. That's another topic maybe.

[Jacob Ward]

Yeah, and I think that is a topic we will come to. But I want to pick up on something that you just mentioned as an aside. A new political elite, the Republicans. And one thing that really struck me as kind of coincidental, similar, but kind of too interesting to not ask a question about is that both cities in the 20th century experience revolutions. So in Lisbon you have the 1910 Republican Revolution and then the 1974 Carnation Revolution. In Tehran you have the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And it's clear from both of your histories that these revolutions kind of matter for cyclists and that cyclists play roles in them. So could you tell us a little bit more about. Yeah. What effect these revolutions had on cyclists and what role the bicycle play for in these revolutions.

Yeah, about Tehran, maybe I try to explain the timelines of cycling evolution in Tehran based on our research. Generally, there are seven periods of time, mostly determined by social and political chains. So the first time, as I mentioned, it's around 1885-19 to 20th century. The beginning of 20th century. So that's a Qajar dynasty. Also in that time the bicycle was growing in cities. But after that we have another dynasty, the Pahlavi dynasty. So that dynasty was very restrict in regulation. They tried to regulate everything, including bicycles. And after 20 years and finishing the World War II, we have the son of Reza Shah, Muhammad Reza Shah. So that's the second generation of Pahlavi. And so the third timeline started again for around 20 years on 1960. So gradually, bicycle numbers and using a bicycle was increasing in Iran. And I can say the peak point of cycling in Tehran was around 1950s, 1960s. But gradually, because of the mass industrialization and also focusing more on car industry, influenced by USA strategies in different countries, including Iran, they focus more on cars. So gradually the number of bicycles declined in Tehran and it continued till 1970s. So we had Islamic revolution in 1979. But in that time bicycle is not a prestigious vehicle anymore and the city generally is provided for cars. So in that time we can't say bicycle had important role for revolution. But in the meantime I can say another political change in Tehran that

based

on the images and videos we can see the number of cyclists are considerable in that time, on 1940, 1952, 1953 in Iran, we have oil nationalization moments. And then in that time, based on CIA actions in Iran, they changed Mossadegh government in Iran. And as we can see in documentaries, the number of protests with bicycle is considerable. And also in the book we provided some images that it shows number of protesters, mostly with bicycles. They protest in Tehran, they had association with each other and they tried to support workers, also inspired by communism from Soviet Union, that they tried to support workers. Also oil industry workers. Yeah. So politically I can say in that time, 1953, we have a considerable number of cyclists to change political atmosphere in Tehran. But for Islamic revolution is the time that the bicycle and cycling has declined and the car industry dominated in Tehran mobility system.

Well, I mean, it's one thing that does strike me though about your answer is the role the bicycle has not just as a symbol, but as a tool for protest movements. You mentioned about the oil workers protesting 1950s and it seems to me from your book on Lisbon, that the bicycle does play a similar role, certainly in the. In the Carnation Revolution, Right, where you have people riding around on bicycles. I don't know if that's a fair description.

[Kazem Efradi]

Well, I'm not sure I would agree with that. Although we do have a photograph of the Mayday. Actually, it's down there in the exhibition of a person cycling with. With a red carnation, the symbol of the revolution. But the, The. The bicycle was one small debate within bigger debates that were going on in. In the 1910 revolution from. From the Monarchy to the Republic. Well, Lisbon has a particularity because the National Republican revolution occurred in 1910. But Lisbon, the municipality, had been republican. The Republican Party had won in 1908, so it was not a monarchy party there. But there were demonstrations by cyclists in 1910 supporting the Republic. And then the Republic, I think, tried to low some taxes for cyclists, but they could not low. And the argument was because of First World War and the deficit problems, they could not support having the taxes lower. And in 1974, although we put a question mark on the revolution by biking. 1974, question mark. Because, although, I mean, we come from the oil crisis in the beginning of the 70s, and many measures were taken to reduce car use because there was no gasoline. But still there was an automobile industry, there was an automobile lobby. And there were some mobility debates, but they were not as public as other debates because a model of society was being debated back then. There was two very lively transition years between 74 and 76. Obviously, as a model of society, you have not only a political, economical, also techno and scientific model there. And also mobility is part of all that, also social model. But you can see some. I've studied some newspapers and how it was represented. And you can see, for instance, some popular. A song that. That was sang by Park Wendaira in 1975 in an album called Fighting for the Revolution. And it has a song that is called the Automobile. And at some point it says, if you really like the city, forget the car and ride the bicycle. And the refrain is, forget the automobile body. Forget the friends, forget the automobile. So you have these kind of counter discourses and you find the lobby fighting back and saying, no, having a car is democratic. So they glued the idea of democratization with the idea of having a car. And people, they sell the idea that people wanted to have cars. So we have mass motorization later in the 90s, but still this desire was being built.

[Jacob Ward]

Well, actually, kind of speaking of, I guess, democratization in a way, but More broadly, a kind of inclusivity and accessibility and kind of participation in society. One thing that stood out to me in reading both your books is the ways in which gender or one gender kind of features. So in Louisa, you write about how the bicycle was in Lisbon, a great social equalizer, but only for young men. Whereas Kazen, you talk about how in the 1930s women cyclists became symbols of modernity in Iran. And I wondered if you could just tell us a little bit more about the gendered histories of the bicycle in your cities and the ways in which it maybe enabled mobility and participation in urban spaces for different groups of people. Obviously I'm asking about men and women, but also other groups of people as well.

[Kazem Efradi]

Well, I was thinking that going back previously a bit to the previous question, people that were in the clandestine life from the Communist party during the Shtadunov dictatorship, they would ride a lot of bicycles. And you have even the novel by Alvar Kunal under his false name that deals a lot about riding a bicycle. But you do have these accounts mostly by men. That's true. And what we found in the records, for instance, of cyclists in Lisbon, there are. We found a few like 20,000 records, 24,000 records between 1909 and 1924. And we did a sample and there are few women there. But there are some. There are some. But when you see, for instance, in terms of archival photos, we do have some. I mean the heavily presence is by persons with a masculine expression. We don't know if they identify as men, but with a masculine expression. And when women ride, for instance, I'm reminding of an article of the 40s that they portrayed women riding in again, the Campogrande Garden in the north of Lisbon. And it was like something, oh, they are riding now. Something a bit exceptional and with men behind them, you know, like they had to be accompanied by men. But maybe there are stories that we still haven't found. So I'm not sure if we get the full picture here.

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[Kazem Efradi]

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And about Tehran, the history of women cycling is long. But also I can say for Tehran from the beginning, cycling was a kind of modern behavior for people. So if people wanted to show I'm modern, I would like to be like European countries, European people. Then one of the behavior was using western clothes and another using bicycle. So as you already know, Taja Sultana, the daughter of Nasser Tinsha, was a feminist person based on her memories. And there is a picture that the king himself took a picture from her with bicycle and also western clothes. So from the beginning, a part of women, they like to cycling. But generally in society it wasn't a norm with Pahlavi. I'm coming Pahlavi. So the modernization top down directly was supported by the government. And they mostly wanted to support sport in city for society. And encouraging women to be to do some western behavior was a kind of strategy for the government. And normally they start to teach students. So we can see. Yeah, for students, girl students, they try to use western tools, cycling to school and home. And government was supporting sport of women, including cycling. But the adult women generally, they didn't participate in this movement even though they wanted to be modern. I think in that time they were preferred to use car and not bicycle. So bicycle very soon got a tool for students, either a girl or a boy. But for adults, yeah, if they could afford, they would like to buy motorcycle or car. Even if they were women, they would like to use automobile. Automobile.

Well, the car has come up a lot. And I did promise earlier in this conversation that I would ask the question about car. So we come to it. So prepare yourselves because that is the kind of, as I said earlier, the thing that moons in the background of the ift of the bicycle in cities. Right. Is how cities still became such kind of car centered spaces. So could you tell us a little bit more about how and why Lisbon and Tehran transformed or became cities in which were kind of, I guess oriented or planned around around cars. And maybe I don't know if there are any lessons that can be learned from those histories when we think about replanning our cities here in the 21st century.

Yeah. So for Tehran, as I mentioned, the car imported very soon to Iran by the king and gradually again with the mass import of car and also motorcycles to Iran, the mobility regime in Tehran and Iran changed very soon. They deliberately designed the streets for cars while still there weren't enough people who can drive a car. So they prepared infrastructure for that. That's I think referred to the, the government's policy to modernize society. That was topped down to push society to be modern. Modern. In closing also for you know, media and for movements for bicycle, for using motorcycles and cars. And also I think there were some economic goals. Iran also was impacted by different western countries including UK and usa. So in that time I think car was a symbol of modernization and also economic tool for economic progress in different countries to change GPT for each country. So we have a mass import of cars to Iran. And Shah, I mean the Mohammed Shah directly was supporting car industry in Iran. And very soon they made national car industry in Tehran. In that time they had a motto that every Iranian a Pakan. Pakan is a Persian name of Iranian car. And then they imported, they made lots of cars and they tried to make it affordable for people. That's why Tehran streets got full of cars. And the side effects also shown very soon like traffic congestion and air pollution. So even before Islamic Revolution in 1970s, we have air pollution in Tehran. And so the story of cycling, I mean, yeah, it gradually grew in Tehran but after 1950s it declined. And in my view it didn't reach to its, to its, to its peak point. That make ecosystem for mobility in Tehran like a maturity. I mean the maturity of a system didn't happen for bicycle because the other waves of technologies including motorcycle and cars came after each other and didn't allow bicycle to grow enough in Tehran mobility system. And that's why we can see car and motorcycle very soon in Tehran. And also their side effects in Tehran.

[Kazem Efradi]

Yeah, I mean it's interesting to think of just opposition and similarities, but also the differences because I was thinking this argument about the automobile industry. There is an economic historian. This, this is decades now this article that it says that countries be it's an automobile industry do tend to have a stronger automobile lobby because the industry and the oil industry, they, they, they both in, in the case of Iran you have both. So they, they, the automobile lobby would be very strong. But what, what I've seen, this is my previous work, that even in countries without an automobile industry, the lobby can be as strong, and even without mass motorization. So the path was being prepared, kind of blueprint for the future for automobility, both in terms of regulation, of representations, and of starting the infrastructural planning and specifically the city of Lisbon. And you can see. So I've studied the road engineers in their transnational circulation in piarc, which is the road congress association for state engineers that started in 1908 in Paris, and they met regularly in congresses and they discussed the road problem as a car problem since the beginning. And then what you see this is in terms of national roads, but in terms of Lisbon, you see that this kind of thinking enters through the engineers, because the traffic sensors that are used in the tools. And we know that statistics tell stories as well. And if we read them against the grain, we also find the silences and what ESWIN excludes. But. But we also see that the planners sometimes appropriate these statistics, even creating more invisibilizations. And you have this in the case of the 1940s plan in Lisbon, where, I mean, when we compared the plan with the traffic census it was based on when the plan mentioned the number of vehicles, it explicitly excluded the almost 20% of bicycles that were coming to Lisbon in the late 30s. And all the language of the plan was pro car, pro automobility. So the importance of the construction of motorways, the importance. So it previewed some ring roads and some radial roads of bringing cars close to the center, directly to the center of the city, and criticizing the 19th century urban form and trying to make it more radial. So Lisbon had. The structure in the center, has narrow streets, so kind of two make the circulation possible. So you see that this blueprint is not only national, but at the city level. And this plan had a huge influence. It was still quoted in the urban plan of the 1990s, so it had a huge influence for decades, structuring the city.

[Jacob Ward]

Well, I mean, Speaking of the 1990s and recent history, I'd like. I'd like to end with. With that recent history. Both of your books end in the 21st century, with in some ways kind of cycling resurgences, but I think with different levels of optimism in your books. So, Louisa, it looks like no more recent social movements and the resurgence of the bicycle after stagnation in the 1990s, and no new bike share schemes, for example, as well, paints a more positive future for the kind of bicycle in Lisbon, whereas Kazem, you tell us about the kind of short lived, limited reforms of Tehran's cycling mayor Peru Sanaa and the kind of limits of that cycling reforms have experienced in Tehran. So you know, what does, what does the recent history, present and future of the bicycle look like in your cities? And what options seem available in this land and in Tehran?

Yeah, so maybe I'll explain more of the timelines I mentioned. So yeah, I explained a little about the situation. And during Pahlavi second. So in that time they tried to make ecosystem to be modern. They try to modernize cities, mobility also behaviors, social economy, everything. So they tried to make a master plan for Tehran based on US plans and aspirations. Also the oil was cheap in Iran. The government had lots of oil revenues was rich in that time. So they tried to be modern like other western countries, including usa. So they designed, they tried to design city for car. And we have Islamic Revolution 1979. In that time political regime changed, but still the mobility regime continued. So even after Islamic revolution, as maybe you know, we had five years war with Iraq. And in that time, yeah, it's like a stable situation, just continue of the previous trends. And after the war they tried to reconstruct their country. So again they influenced by liberalism movements and thoughts. And they tried to implement the previous master plan of Tehran in some different forms. For example, construction of different highways in Tehran. And gradually you can see the number of cars increased. The Tehran got a metropolis, urban sprawl happened, the number of motorcycles is too much, oil still is cheap. And also air pollution, traffic congestion continues. So that even after Islamic pollution, after war in mobility, the trend is same. And in 1990s, inspired by sustainability paradigm, Iranians also tried to learn from other countries to pay more attention on environment. So they tried to do some cycling plans in Tehran. But the dominant regime in that time for mobility was car. And also they had some mistake for their cycling plan. For example, the plans were not integrated to each other. And also the society wasn't prepared for bicycle. I think in Tanteg, bicycle, I think somehow was forgotten by the society. They considered car as a sign of progress. And if they couldn't afford car, they wanted to have motorcycle, not bicycle. So socially, bicycle gradually downgraded just for children, for low level people. And then we have, yeah, in 2000 in Tehran they did different plans, but mostly they failed. And the turning point is coming of Piruz Hannachi, the previous mayor of Tehran. He was and also is pro cycling. And he tried to start cycling himself in city. And with the support of activists and NGOs. They tried to convince people to cycling more in Tehran. And they received some help from other countries, including Netherlands. Some consulting companies they invited and they provided a cycling master plan for Tehran. They tried to make an integrated plan, including soft action, hard action and organizational action, and to not repeat their before mistakes. So generally they were successful. And then they changed percentage of cycling in Tehran. Model splits a little. They had different plans to continue, but unfortunately, after a few years, the measure changed. And for now, as far as I know, their priority is public transportation. And the cycling master plan hasn't applied too much. But the general trends is towards cycling, I think a part of society in Iran. They would like to cycling in Tehran and also policymakers are convinced to cycling in Tehran. I think they have no other option because the environmental capacity in Tehran is full and the congestion or air pollution and diseases has increased in Tehran. And. And they have to do they have to focus on clean energy and cycling. I agree that they have to focus also on public transport. But the percentage of cycling in Tehran could be better, could be higher than the number is now. And the percentage for now I think is less than 1%. So compared to car, which is more than 50%. So that's nothing. And in Tehran, given its population, its size, they have to allocate a part of transportation for bicycles. And the movement they started, it's continuing. Yes, there are some problems, but generally I think they made like a heritage for cycling. And this book, in my opinion is like identification card of the cycling efforts for Tehran, including their activities. And if they read this book or if they pay attention to books like this, then they can understand how important was cycling for Tehran and how Tehran changed to a car center city and how and why cycling is important for Tehran.

Wonderful, thank you. And Louisa, the Lisbon experience well,

[Kazem Efradi]

you are right. Social movements have been crucial to this resurgence. I'm thinking of the critical mass which started maybe in the Nordic countries and not only in, as we say in 1992 in San Francisco, California. And the critical mass. And then the movements that start emerge from that mubi, which is an urban mobility association for bicycle commuting. And not only the communitary bike workshops in the community. Bike workshops are extremely important, namely cycloda, the cooperative Bicycultura, which promotes the bike to school programs. Because here in the Netherlands it's quite normal to see children autonomously walking or cycling to school. In Lisbon there is almost this performatic thing of having this bike, train or bypass with adults, where children go in the middle and they go to their school. And it's quite performatic because it's so exceptional because there are safety issues. And Lisbon, indeed some investment in infrastructure, in dedicated infrastructure for cycling. And also the bike sharing system has been extremely important in promoting the use of cycling as a mode of transport. But there are always some buts. And the last government that won the elections in the city has kind of stopped a bit the investments and it even won the elections with one of its flags to remove a very important and structural psychopath in one of the main avenues. And it did not remove because of social protest. There were more than 1,000 of people demonstrating, but it removed from others. So it's still difficult, it still has a lot of tensions. It's a very politicized issue right now. But I think there's hope. And also Lisbon, although there are many difficulties, there are also many voices coming from different parts. And still it plays a kind of nowadays a role model for other cities in the country because people say, okay, you can plane when you're in Lisbon, but if you go to my city, because it became more motorized and with less respect for people who cycle. Um, but I think we can end with a, with a note of hope that, that, that people would not want or politicians would not want just to see bicycles in Lisbon for a kind of fashion because it looks European, because, you know, it's like to have, it's good to have some bicycles around. So when people come from abroad they realize, oh, this is a modern European city. But it would be nice that it would be like a more structural and really preserving the well being of everyone and the well being. If there are more people cycling, I think it will preserve the well being of the majority as well because we will have a better city to live in.

[Jacob Ward]

Yeah, well, I completely agree. And a note of hope, a note of cautious optimism seems like a very nice place to end this conversation. So, yeah. Louisa Kazem, thank you so much for your time. I really enjoyed talking with you both and thank you to our audience for listening. This has been New Books from the Tensions of Europe.

[Kazem Efradi]

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