Bean Soup and Bike Lanes: Can We Have Nice Things Even If We Don’t All Use Them?
A surprising amount of the backlash against building protected bike lanes, and perhaps against investing in cities in general, can be summed up with the “bean soup theory.”
The bean soup theory emerged from TikTok in 2023, when a creator shared a recipe for bean soup.
In the comments, people said they didn’t like beans, or that they couldn’t eat that type of bean, or some other reason why the bean soup wasn’t for them.
On TikTok, “bean soup theory” came to represent when people get upset that something isn’t for their individual circumstances.
I had never heard of the theory until a few weeks ago, when I made a post that hit the bean-soup nerve.
I wrote, “The U.S. is not too spread out for bike lanes. 52% of trips in the U.S. are less than three miles. 28% are less than one. Remember this when somebody tells you that cycling can’t become a viable transportation option.”
Here were some of the most popular comments.
“The bean soup theory is alive and well,” another commenter wrote.
The numbers, actually, didn’t forget about anyone. Their commutes are part of the 48%.
Protected bike lanes will never replace every car trip in America. They’re meant to provide safe infrastructure for the ~52% of trips where biking could be a viable option.
I’m not sure if it’s human nature or the strain of Internet life that brings out the most selfish in us, but I think there’s something to this idea that we struggle to conceive of, let alone support, ideas that don’t center on our specific circumstances.
And of course, infrastructure requires thinking about collective benefits.
We have sidewalks, even though not everyone walks.
We build roads and deliver mail to the most rural towns, even if few people use them.
We fund libraries even though some people never read.
We should fund bike lanes not because everyone will bike, but because more people will.
Where Do I Believe The Bean Soup Theory?
It’s easy for me to dunk on these comments, to get stuck playing the notes of the Internet’s culture wars.
But where do I believe the bean soup theory? What do I dismiss because they don’t serve me directly? What infrastructure have I opposed or ignored because I couldn’t see myself using it?
Maybe it’s funding for rural broadband when I live in a city? The lack of three- and four-bedroom apartments in NYC (ideal for families), because I’m happy to afford a one-bedroom?
Maybe it’s that, instead of getting mad at trucks idling in bike lanes, I should consider that they have no loading zones to pull over and get out of my way.
What’s Good For All of Us Is Good For You and Me
Yet all of these, even if they’re not for me, are good for me. Perhaps, then, we should reject the framing of the bean soup theory altogether, that some things are just not for us.
One of the arguments I make in favor of protected bike lanes is that they’re good for all of us, whether there’s any universe where you would bike or not.
If everyone who lives within two miles of work could safely bike, there would be less traffic. That means shorter commute times for people who drive. Fewer car trips mean fewer crashes, which means lower healthcare and car insurance costs for everyone. Better air quality means fewer asthma cases and respiratory illnesses.
Even if you never ride a bike, you benefit from living near where others can ride safely.
Next time I hear about a project that doesn’t seem to benefit me, I should ask: am I contributing to the conversation, or am I just complaining about bean soup?
