Modern trafik – En studie kring cykelfrämjandet i Umeå kommun

Purpose: To determine the progress in Umeå concerning the furtherance of bicycle traffic in the city and to investigate the possibility of a similar progress in Jönköping. Method: Semi structured interviews with officials, politicians and enthusiasts in Umeå and Jönköping, document analysis of documents provided by the municipalities and observations of Umeå city center. Findings: Umeå’s mindset around a sustainable society have been identified and the vast difference between the two cities is the time that they’ve actively worked with the bike issue and how public officials prioritize while planning. Umeå’s large advantage in their decision making is that officials and politicians are working towards the same goal and are united in the bike issue. This makes decisions regarding bicycle promotion easier to make. Due to the difference in conditions between the cities, the writers states that Umeå’s way of planning their traffic not necessarily is the right way for Jönköping to plan theirs. Implications: In order to develop it’s bicycle network, Jönköping must dare to let go of their old way of thinking. Instead of thinking that car traffic is necessary in a city, they should have the courage to take difficult decisions that benefit bicycle promotion and thus develop a sustainable transport system. Limitations: The study does not address the economic aspects that are involved in the development of an attractive bicycle network. Also the environmental issues are only dealt with in a thorough level, as it’s necessary to fulfill the study’s objectives. The study’s purpose is considered to be achieved but the result could have been even more developed if more parties were interviewed. Keywords: Bicycle path, bicycle, sustainable transport planning, sustainable society, sustainability, Umeå, Jönköping 

Sustainability or climate change? An ecocritical analysis of Ian McEwan’s Solar :

This essay is an ecocritical literary analysis of the novel Solar. The aim is to investigate the effect on the reader of the main characters, place, symbols and satire with focus on climate change and sustainability. The protagonist Michael Beard, a despicable, selfish antihero, consumes everything and everybody whereas Tom Aldous, the heroic character, is devoted to a life of sustainability. Beard represents the greedy capitalistic Western consumer society and its male leaders who close their eyes to the warnings of a changing climate, and Aldous represents the sustainable and alternative lifestyle. Humor and ridicule exhibits the weaknesses and greed of mankind in a satirical way. Symbols like cancer and the Co2 emitting transport system symbolize overconsumption and a stressed globe. The effect on the reader is a reflection about the ongoing struggle between climate change and sustainability and the demand for a change towards a sustainable lifestyle.