CIMCOLL

Mountain biking in the Natural Park of the Sierra de Collserola. A cartography of the controversy

The aim of this project is to analyse in depth the characteristics of the sporting and recreational practice of mountain biking in the Parc de Collserola through the exploitation of existing sources and to generate new complementary information through the implementation of various research methods.

Principal investigator: Albert Arias Sans

The Collserola Park, a key territory for guaranteeing the biological corridor and metropolitan ecosystem services, is also one of the natural spaces with the greatest anthropic pressure. Mountain biking, with 207 km of pedalling trails, is one of the leisure activities recognised and permitted in the park. However, the public debate on the Special Plan for the Protection of the Natural Environment and Landscape of the Serra de Collserola Natural Park (PEPNat) - approved in 2021 - has led to the emergence of a framework of disputes over the restrictions on cycling. In addition to the requirements for the protection of the park's ecological values, there are the conflicts of coexistence with other uses or the actions for the prevention of fires in the face of the climatic emergency, among others. This framework of disagreements, far from being a mere dispute of interests between interested agents, constitutes a clear example of sociotechnical controversy; that is, a social context of uncertainty and disagreement in which scientific knowledge is not capable of imposing a technical solution (Callon, 1981).

The #CiMColl project envisages two main, complementary lines of work. Firstly, to study in depth the use and practice of cycling in Collserola. To this end, it plans to deploy a battery of analysis methods such as statistical and cartographic exploitation of existing data, as well as the creation of new knowledge through a survey, systematic observation work and ride-along interviews that will allow for an in-depth study of the practice and characteristics of the users. Secondly, the analysis of the different disputes will be deepened through dispute mapping (Surat & Tari, 2021; Venturini & Munk, 2022); a method of collecting information to build a genealogy of the facts as well as a map of the agencies, relationships and interests at stake. The publication of the results aims to enrich the public debate and contribute to improve decision-making by responsible public administrations.