Rebecca Mayers
Bio and CV
I am from Toronto, Ontario and completed my BA Honours in Recreation and Business from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, mainly focused on sports business and small entrepreneurial fitness companies. While studying, I worked for various companies in Canada, Switzerland, and Australia. Once I started living in other cities, I picked up cycling as my main mode of transportation. Although the majority of cycling in large cities was great, some of the streets and cultures surrounding transportation reminded me of the dangerous suburban roads of my childhood—the feeling of being marginalized for my attempt at mobility. In contrast to the suburban streets of Toronto, the main thoroughfares and arterial roads of cycle-friendly cities seemed like the heartbeat and veins of the city, in proper working fashion. Not clogged, and overall enjoyable places to be. My goal is to enable those who choose a bike for transport, to be able to have as much enjoyment as possible. It's a leisure activity too! To help achieve this goal, I completed my Master’s degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. My thesis titled “Whose Lane is it Anyway? The Experience of Cycling in a Mid-sized City” exposed the experience of cyclists within the city of Waterloo and how “bicycle-friendly” infrastructure sometimes disadvantaged urban cyclists and further privileged car culture.
My current research interests are in the political economy in relation to city cycling, gentrification, political attitudes, cycling advocacy, planning processes and the outcomes achieved. The intended purpose of my doctoral research entitled “Shifting Gears: The Politics of Mobility, City Cycling Advocacy, and Investment” is to problematize the process of city cycling investment in an effort to propose more equitable city cycling networks from the stage of advocacy to implementation.
(In Review) Mayers, R. F. (2021). Shifting gears: cycling infrastructure development during COVID-19. In Doucet, B., Melik., R., & Filion, P. (Eds), Global Reflections on COVID-19 and Cities. Policy Press.
(In Review) Mayers, R. F., & Glover, T. D., (2020). Claim the lane: cycling space, safety, and the right to the city. Journal of Leisure Research.
Mayers, R. F. (2020). Dogs unleashed: the positive role dogs play during COVID-19. In Lashua, B., Johnson, C., & Parry, D. (Eds), Leisure in the time of coronavirus. Taylor & Francis.
Mayers, R. F. (2020). See the light: ‘biking-with’ as a methodology for public pedagogy. Arts & Communities.
Mayers, R. F. (2020). Dogs unleashed: the positive role dogs play during COVID-19. Leisure Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2020.1774010
Mayers, R. F., & Glover, T. D. (2019). Whose lane is it anyway? The experience of cycling within a mid-sized city. Leisure Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2018.1518174
Mayers, R. F., Wilson, A. W., & Potwarka, L. R., (2017) Moderating effects of campus recreation participation in the relationship between grade point average and first-year student engagement: an exploratory study. Recreational Sports Journal. 41(2), 101-110.
Mayers, R. (2017). Whose lane is it anyway? the negligence towards cyclists within in a mid-sized city (Master's thesis, University of Waterloo).
Graduate Student Travel Award, (2018)
4 Year Doctoral Fellowship, The University of British Columbia, (2017-2021)
Applied Health Sciences Teaching Assistant Award, The University of Waterloo, (2016)
Cycling Into The Future Consultant, Waterloo, Ontario, (2019-2021).
Community Access Bike Share Consultant, The Working Centre, Waterloo, Ontario, (2016-2017).
Research Assistant, Healthy Communities Research Network, The Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Waterloo, Ontario, (2016-2017).