Ghost Bikes: Iconography of Death and Externalization of Grief in the City of Vitória/ES

Abstract

Considering Ghost Bikes as urban icons, which have been little studied in the academic environment, this article aims 

to define Ghost Bikes as tools of externalized mourning in public spaces and to represent how the population interacts with this icon of death displayed in the city. To this end, we narrate two cases in which deceased cyclists were honored with Ghost Bikes in the city of Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo. Likewise, we analyze the profile of the Pedalamente Collective, a group that actively participates in the production of Ghost Bikes in the city, seeking to understand the bike activism movement in Vitória. It is observed that Ghost Bikes are capable of transforming individual mourning into collective mourning, where the collective memory of the city is activated. Additionally, these grassroots monuments turn public space into an unofficial place of mourning, and beyond that, they also transform the streets into spaces of resistance and the fight for better cycling conditions in cities. We conclude that Ghost Bikes can be understood as the externalization of mourning in the contemporary city and as support for the bereaved. Thus, Ghost Bikes represent much more than the georeferencing of an accident site; they represent an ongoing commitment to fight for improvements in cycling infrastructure and the right to the city.