Critical mass (social movement)

Critical mass: why this term?

It seems that the term critical mass comes from an observation of the road traffic to China, where without traffic lights to the crossings, the cyclists wait to be rather numerous, to make mass to engage and cross together. One off finds a scene of this kind in the documentary one of Ted White “Return the Scorcher" ” (1992).
This term is inspired very freely concept in physics of critical mass to stress certain thresholds from which physical phenomena can take place (see the article Percolation for more precise details).

On the basis of this principle, the reports are the following:

one needs a critical mass , a sufficient number cyclists to occupy part of the public highway in full safety, excluding its use by the motorized users.
the “critical mass” of the cars is such as it prevents their own displacement, and involves considerable effects on the manner of living downtown.
the “critical mass” of the bicycles determines the traffic, its speed, and either the flow of the cars

From these reports rise from the usual slogans of this movement:

"We do not block circulation, we are the circulation"
" The cars are not in a stopper, they are the bouchon".

Objective of the critical masses

Sometimes the objective of a critical mass is variable, not going beyond the meeting, sociability and the event, with the creation of a public space from where the cars are excluded to leave room to the townsmen, with the sometimes festive alternatives.

Other critical masses can be centered on a topic: to show installations or the absence of installations for the cyclists, the security issues, to make visible and promote the use of nonpolluting means of transport, to facilitate the cohabitation of the road users…

The critical masses are often related to the movement ecologist, which estimates that the private use of the car is a catastrophe for the local and total environment, or related to the movement citizen of reappropriation of urban public space, for conditions of quality of life as well from the social point of view as physical).

According to the participants the critical masses can be festive, claiming. They can practically initiate with the civil Désobéissance, to highlight the rules considered to be dangerous or inadequate for the weak users of the road.

Organization of critical mass

In the beginning, the critical farmhouse are car-organized demonstrations (one frequently uses the term of " coincidence organisée"), with a structure in rhizome rather than hierarchical, without leader, organizer and without affiliation of member, initiated by a simple appointment given to a crossroads or a place, for example. At the last minute, volunteers propose to place at the head group in order to make safe the crossroads. Sometimes, the road can be decided by vote a few days before between several suggested routes; if not, it is selected the very same day, randomly evolutions in the ville.
These methods release the movement of the critical masses of a hierarchical structure, meetings, of internal policy, etc

When they are prepared, they are generally environmental organizations or associations of cyclists who deal with and promote the critical masses, which can then proceed with a course marked out with spectacular action in places of important traffic, routes chosen with a topic, an accompaniment of a service of order. The points of appointment are sometimes indicated on Internet, of the sites showing the addresses of the various cities where critical masses are organized.

Historical anecdote: 1997, conflict with the mayor of San Francisco

After being blocked in his limousine by a critical mass, the mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, declares the war to them: it requires that all the participants be stopped and begins a polemic with interposed press, which ends in the handing-over in question of the following critical mass of July. The mayor refusing to meet the cyclists, a group of autoproclamés leaders tries to establish a pretense of order and the press diffuses an “approved” pseudo route. Friday, the mayor tries to address to crowd at the point of appointment but is tiny room to silence. The mass follows during a block of houses the supposed route then deviates “downtown”. The event is transformed into battle cyclist against motor mechanic, in the demolished bicycles, driving with more than 200 arrests. After this event, the fame of the critical masses is made: certain authors (whose Naomi Klein) locates the birth of the critical masses in 1997.

See too

Vélorution, critical mass in France
Day without car, an appointment from now on institutionalized
Carfree
Activism anti-car
Festival of street

External bonds

www.critical-mass.info, total list of the critical masses.
www.critical-mass.org, total list of the critical masses.
discussion forum
the movement cyclo-ecologist, reference marks historical.
http://merlmabase.googlepages.com/home, Critical mass of Montreal
http://www.masse-critique.org, Critical mass of Montreal

Category: Urban cycling Category: Transport and company

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