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Critical Mass
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''Currently the article [[Critical Mass]] is only a redirect page to this article. [http://criticalmass.wikia.com/index.php?title=Critical_Mass&action=edit Start an own wiki article "Critical Mass"!]'' "Critical Mass (English Wikipedia article)" is a one-to-one copy of the English Wikipedia article "Critcial Mass", released under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]] (see also [[#External links|at the bottom of the page]] for attribution). The aim to host a copy of the Wikipedia article in the Critical Mass wiki is to have a master copy of the text to translate it into other languages, see below for available translations. Only some very special Wikipedia templates are exluded from this page. {{lang|key=Critical_Mass (English Wikipedia article)|lang=en}} [[Image:Critical Mass, San Francisco, April 29, 2005.jpg|thumb|right|[[San Francisco]] Critical Mass, April 29, 2005.]] [[Image:Cyklojizda Prague 4517.jpg|thumb|right|Critical Mass on the bridge over Nusle, Czech Republic, September 22, 2007]] '''Critical Mass''' is a bicycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 [[city|cities]] around the [[world]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/729324/London-How-cyclists-around-the-world-put-a-spoke-in-the-motorist%27s-wheel.html|title=London: How cyclists around the world put a spoke in the motorist's wheel|author=Richard Madden|date=15 December 2003|publisher=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> While the ride was originally founded in 1992 with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to bicyclists,<ref name=10years/> the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it any one specific goal. In fact, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the [[direct action]] of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city or town streets. ==Background== [[Image:Criticalmass-sf-broadway-tunnel.jpg|thumb|right|[[San Francisco]] Broadway Tunnel 29 September 2006]] Critical Mass rides have been perceived as [[protest]] activities. A 2006 ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'' magazine article described Critical Mass' activity in [[New York City]] as "monthly political-protest rides", and characterized Critical Mass as a part of a [[social movement]];<ref>{{cite news | title=Holy Rollers | first=Ben | last=Mcgrath | date=November 13, 2006 | url=http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/061113fa_fact|archiveurl=https://archive.is/3NqG|archivedate=September 4, 2012}}</ref> and the [[UK]] [[e-zine]] [[Urban75]], which advertises as well as publishes photographs of the Critical Mass event in [[London]], describes this as "the monthly protest by cyclists reclaiming the streets of London."<ref>{{cite web | title=Critical Mass London | publisher=[[Urban75]] | year=2006 | url=http://www.urban75.org/photos/critical}}</ref> However, Critical Mass participants have insisted that these events should be viewed as "celebrations" and spontaneous gatherings, and not as protests or organized demonstrations.<ref>{{cite web | title=Pittsburgh Critical Mass | url=http://pghcriticalmass.org/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Critical Mass: Over 260 Arrested in First Major Protest of RNC | date=August 30, 2004 | publisher=Democracy Now! | url=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/30/1453256}}</ref> This stance allows Critical Mass to argue a legal position that its events can occur without advance notification of local police.<ref>{{cite news | title=Critical crackdown | first=Matt | last=Seaton | publisher =The Guardian | date=October 26, 2005 | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1600570,00.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=[*BCM*] Hong Kong Critical Mass News | first=Adam | last=Rosi-Kessel | date=August 24, 2004 | url=http://www.bostoncriticalmass.org/pipermail/bostoncriticalmass/2004-August/000146.html}}</ref> Critical Mass rides vary greatly in many respects, including frequency and number of participants. For example, many small cities have monthly Critical Mass rides with fewer than twenty riders which offer [[safety in numbers]]<ref name=unsw>{{cite web | last = Gaffney | first = Dan | title = A virtuous cycle: safety in numbers for riders says research | date = September 3, 2008 | url = http://www.science.unsw.edu.au/news/a-virtuous-cycle-safety-in-numbers-for-riders-says-research | accessdate = 2008-10-03}}</ref> to cyclists in those locales, while on the opposite extreme, in what have been the largest events using the name Critical Mass, cyclists in [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]] hold only two rides each year on April 22 ([[Earth Day]]) and September 22 ([[Car Free Days|International Car Free Day]]). The'' 'Budapest style' ''attracts tens of thousands of riders.<ref> [http://www.budapestsun.com/cikk.php?id=15300 Budapest Sun Online - Daily news coverage, information on Hungary 's upcoming cultural events, cinema listings, restaurant and music reviews - A critical mass critique<!-- Bot generated title -->] </ref> The April 20, 2008 Budapest ride participation was generally estimated at 80,000 riders.<ref> [http://mti.hu/cikk/266730/ MTI] - Minden eddiginél többen vettek részt a Critical Mass felvonuláson (''Hungarian'')</ref><ref> [http://www.budapestsun.com/cikk.php?id=28149 Critical Mass wheels away] - Budapest Sun Online</ref> ==History== Critical Mass-like bike tours with hundreds of participants took place in Stockholm, Sweden in the early 1970s <ref>[http://www.alternativstad.nu/Dokument/cyklister-i-storsthlm.html]</ref>. But the first ride within the present wave took place on Friday, September 25, 1992 at 6 p.m. in [[San Francisco]]. At that time, the event was known as ''Commute Clot'' and was composed of a couple of dozen cyclists who had received flyers on [[Market Street, San Francisco, California|Market Street]].<ref name=10years>{{cite news |last=Garofoli |first=Joe |title=Critical Mass turns 10 |publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=September 28, 2002 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/26/BA133774.DTL |accessdate=2007-07-02 }}</ref> Shortly after this, some participants in that ride went to a local bicycle shop for a screening of Ted White's documentary ''Return of the Scorcher'', about bike culture overseas. In that film, American [[human powered vehicle]] and [[pedicabs]] designer [[George Bliss (pedicab designer)|George Bliss]] noted that, in China, both motorists and bicyclists had an understood method of negotiating intersections without signals. Traffic would "bunch up" at these intersections until the backlog reached a "critical mass", at which point that mass would move through the intersection. That term from the movie was applied to the ride,<ref>{{Citation |first = Joel |last = Pomerantz |editor-last = Carlsson |editor-first = Chris |contribution = A Critical Mass Cultural Glossary |contribution-url = http://www.joelpomerantz.com/genlresources/cmglossary.html |title = Critical Mass: Bicycling's Defiant Celebration |year = 2002 |place = Edinburgh, Scotland |publisher = AK Press |url = http://www.akpress.org/2002/items/criticalmassbicyclingsdefiantcelebration |id = 1-902593-59-6}}</ref> and the name caught on, replacing "Commute Clot" by the time of the second event.<ref name=10years/> By the time of the fourth ride, the number of cyclists had increased to around 100 and participation continued to grow dramatically, reaching about 1,000 riders, on average.<ref name=10years/> The name was soon adopted as a generic label by participants in similar but independent mass rides that were either initiated in various locations around the world at around the same time, or had already existed before 1992 under other names. It is estimated that there are Critical Mass-type rides in more than 325 cities to date. The term "masser" is sometimes applied to frequent participants.<ref>[http://chicagocriticalmass.org/about/faq FAQ Chicago Critical Mass<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Structure== Critical Mass differs from many other social movements in its [[Rhizome (philosophy)|rhizomal]] (rather than hierarchical) structure. Critical Mass is sometimes called an "organized coincidence", with no leadership or membership. The routes of some rides are decided spontaneously by whomever is currently at the front of the ride, others are decided prior to the ride by a popular vote of suggested routes often drawn up on photocopied flyers. The term ''[[xerocracy]]'' was coined to describe a process by which the route for a Critical Mass can be decided: anyone who has an opinion makes their own map and distributes it to the cyclists participating in the Mass. Still other rides decide the route by consensus. The "disorganized" nature of the event allows it to largely escape clampdown by authorities who may view the rides as forms of parades or organized protest. Additionally, the movement is free from the structural costs associated with a centralized, hierarchical organization. In order for the event to function, the only requirement is a sufficient turn-out to create a "critical mass" of riders dense enough to occupy a piece of road to the exclusion of drivers of motorized vehicles, pedestrians, and other road users. Authorities in New York, California and Oregon have expressed concern with the difficulty of coordinating with the riders, due to the lack of leadership.<ref name=oregon>{{cite news|url=http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/05/20/a1.criticalmass.0520.p2.php?section=cityregion|title=Rolling protests hit bump|author=Susan Palmer|publisher=The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)|date=May 20, 2006}}</ref><ref name=usatoday>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-15-bikes-new-york_x.htm|date=November 15, 2004|publisher=USA Today|title=Big pack of bikes piques police|author=Martha T. Moore}}</ref><ref>[http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/04.03.97/bikes-9714.html MetroActive News & Issues Critical Mass<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The city of [[New Haven]] includes the event in its city-published [[Green Map]].<ref>[http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/CityPlan/EnvironmentalInitiatives.asp Welcome to the City of New Haven City Plan Department<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Corking== [[Image:Headbg.jpg|right|thumb|280px|Detail from the November 20, 1992 flyer by Joel Pomerantz which introduced the concept of corking.]] Because Critical Mass takes place without an official route or sanction, participants in some cities have sometimes practiced a tactic known as "corking" in order to maintain the cohesion of the group. This tactic consists of a few riders blocking [[traffic]] from side roads so that the mass can freely proceed through [[traffic light|red lights]] without interruption. Corking allows the mass to engage in a variety of activities, such as forming a cyclone, lifting their bikes in a tradition known as a "Bike Lift" (in Chicago this is referred to as a Chicago hold-up), or to perform a "die-in" where riders lie on the ground with their bikes to symbolise cyclist deaths and injuries caused by automobiles, very popular in [[Montreal]]. The 'Corks' sometimes take advantage of their time corking to distribute flyers. Critics argue that the practice of corking [[road]]s in order to pass through red lights as a group is contrary to Critical Mass' claim that "we are traffic", since ordinary traffic (including bicycle traffic) does not usually have the right to go through intersections once the [[traffic signal]] has changed to red. Corking has sometimes led to hostility between motorists and riders, even erupting into [[violence]] and [[arrest]]s of motorists and cyclists alike during Critical Mass rides.<ref>{{cite news | title=2 bicyclists arrested at Critical Mass get out of jail | last=Gutierrez | first=Scott | publisher=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] | date=July 3, 2006 | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/276237_sheriff03.html}}</ref> ==Reaction and controversy== ===General impact=== The name of the event has been subjected to [[word play]] in many contexts, ranging from [[advertising campaign]]s for [[commercial product]]s to numerous other public events.<ref>[http://www.ignitionnw.org/criticalmassive Ignition Northwest<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The [[Rand Corporation]] produced a [[white paper]] entitled "What Next for Networks and Netwars?" analyzing the tactics of the ride, as part of an evaluation of decentralized [[decision-making]] for potential [[military]] battlefield use.<ref>[http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1382/MR1382.ch10.pdf MR1382chap10.fm<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The ride has generated books,<ref>[http://www.akpress.org/2002/items/criticalmassbicyclingsdefiantcelebration Critical Mass: Bicycling's Defiant Celebration :: AK Press<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> documentary films,<ref>[http://www.akpress.org/2002/items/bicyclingasaradicalsocialmovement We Are Traffic! DVD :: AK Press<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> murals,<ref>[http://www.bikemural.org/ The Duboce Bikeway Mural<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and other secondary artifacts. ===Conflicts involving Critical Mass=== ''Main article: [[Conflicts involving Critical Mass (English Wikipedia article)]]'' Critical Mass rides have generated considerable controversy and public opposition.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clash reignites road wars:Skirmish between driver, Critical Mass participants triggers another round of debate about monthly ride|author=Michael Cabanatuan, Jaxon Van Derbeken and Cecilia M. Vega|date=April 5, 2007|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/05/CRITICAL.TMP|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071220042444/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/05/CRITICAL.TMP|archivedate=December 20, 2007}}</ref> Critics claim that Critical Mass is a deliberate attempt to obstruct [[traffic]] and disrupt normal [[city]] functions, asserting that [[individual]]s taking part refuse to obey traffic [[law]]s.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Winnipeg Sun|url=http://winnipegsun.com/News/Columnists/MacFarlane_Gord/2006/08/06/1722420.html|title=Critical Mass protesters too critical|author=Gord MacFarlane|date=August 7, 2006}}</ref> Altercations with police and motorists have occurred. Although uncommon, protesters are sometimes present at Critical Mass events to oppose the group's methods. ===Reaction of other cyclists=== Some bicycling advocacy groups have expressed concern that the "subversive" nature of Critical Mass and altercations with motorists could weaken public support for bicyclists.<ref name=usatoday /> Though it does not condone incidents of violence and rudeness, the [[San Francisco Bicycle Coalition]] credits Critical Mass with spotlighting bicycle issues and aiding their efforts in advocating for cyclists.<ref name=10years/> ===Critical Manners=== In San Francisco, an event known as "Critical Manners" was created as a response to Critical Mass. Critical Manners rides through the city on the second Friday of the month, with riders encouraged to obey all traffic laws such as stopping at red lights and signaling.<ref>{{cite news | last = Steve | first = Rubenstein | title = Critical Manners takes a stand for sharing, harmony, red lights. | publisher = [[San Francisco Chronicle]] | date = April 14, 2007 | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/14/MNGB6P8R1U1.DTL | accessdate = 2007-07-02}}</ref><ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/critical-manners-ride-sf?hl=en Critical Manners Ride SF Google Groups<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Critical Manners ride starts at 6 p.m.|author=Steve Rubenstein|date=April 13, 2007|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/13/BABADIGEST4.DTL|accessdate=2008-02-23}}</ref> Tucson, Arizona holds the Tuesday Night Community Bike Ride as their alternative to Critical Mass. The weekly ride encourages bicycle commuting and motor vehicle awareness in a peaceful and friendly way.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=102923 |title=Tucson on Two Wheels |accessdate=10 December 2008 |author=Herreras, Mari |date=November 8, 2007 |work=Tucson Weekly }}</ref> In 2007 there were conversations about starting Critical Manners in [[Portland, Oregon]].<ref>[http://bikeportland.org/2007/08/14/would-critical-manners-catch-on-in-portland/ Would Critical Manners Catch On In Portland?]</ref> According to the Critical Mass book, edited by Chris Carlsson, a similar project known as [[Courteous Mass]] is described as "an alternative to Critical Mass." Courteous Mass was discontinued in late 2002 due to "lack of interest"<ref>[http://bicycleaustin.info/events/ (Austin) Rides & Events]</ref> An alternative ride named RideCivil formed in [[Seattle, Washington]] in late 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bikehugger.com/2007/10/critical_mannerds_ride_report.htm|title=Critical Man-nerds ride report|date=October 16, 2007|publisher=Bike Hugger|accessdate=2009-02-25}}</ref> Rides are on the 2nd Friday of every month, and focus on encouraging civility between motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seattle.ridecivil.org|title=Seattle Ride Civil website}}</ref> ===Other movements=== The Critical Mass rides have inspired a number of other bicycle movements, that range from political movements to the "Critical Tits" ride during the yearly [[Burning Man]] festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.criticaltits.com/faq.html|title=Critical Tits Party FAQ|accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> In Chicago, a movement has grown out of the Critical Mass community to promote winter cycling via the bikewinter campaign.<ref>http://www.bikewinter.org</ref> The extensive news coverage of [[San Francisco]]'s July 1997 ride spawned an international celebration of bicycling, called Bike Summer.<ref>[http://www.bikesummer.org/2006/history/history.php BikeSummer 2006: History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Critical Sass is an all female version of the ride in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that takes place the second Friday of every month. Examples of Critical Mass rides for political movements includes the Free Tibet Rides (May 2008): [[Free Tibet Critical Mass]] in Columbia, MO, "Tibetan Freedom Bike Rally" in San Francisco (Aug 2008), and in "Bike Ride for Tibet" in London (Aug 2008).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/05/02/free-tibet-protesters-hit-streets-bikes/ |title=Free Tibet protesters hit the streets on bikes |accessdate=2008-11-26}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== * [http://www.critical-mass.info/ Critical-Mass.info]: A directory of Critical Mass rides worldwide (no longer regularly updated) * [http://criticalmass.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Critical Mass wiki] {{Wikipediabased|Critical_Mass|March 04, 2009|3=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Critical_Mass&oldid=274979882}} [[Category:Texts]]
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