Jack Thurston of The Bike Show interviews Mikael Coville-Anderson of Copenhagenize about his blog, the growth of cycling as a way of getting around in Copenhagen and his work with other cities Well worth a listen!
Not sure I share Jack’s views on the principles being difficult to implement in London due to its narrow streets and historical development pattern…Amsterdam and Copenhagen also have many narrow streets where cars and people cycling co-exist beautifully - without sweat, fear and lycra!
A trip to the Danish capital of Copenhagen, city of stylish cyclists, where Jack Thurston meets Mikael Colville-Andersen, the force behind Cycle Chic and Copenhagenize. We talk about how a single street photograph set him on a new path of bicycle advocacy, fashion and city planning consulting. And lots and lots of blogging.
Cool video! Glad it still exists! The message from 16.45 on is still valid today -
The bicycle is a comfortable and cheap way of getting about, a great boon to man. Ideal for shopping, easy to park, handy for work, a faithful friend ever ready to take tired workers back home and after work, to bring relaxation, health and happiness.
Bicycle traffic is healthy, environmentally friendly, and makes cities more livable. Cycling is a fast and efficient urban transport mode and requires less space than motor vehicle traffic.
The Collection of cycle concepts 2012 presents a number of ideas to help generate more bicycle traffic and reduce the accident rate among cyclists.
Some shots of local Amsterdam street life from a selection I captured over a 15 minute period in one location!
When it comes to liveable cities, Amsterdam has it down to a fine art. What’s more, the city and it citizens, have made a conscious effort to make space for everyone - pedestrians, cyclists, cars, trams and buses.
The comprehensive network of fixed infrastructure for cycling (both in terms of provision of cycle lanes/paths on busy roads and on-street cycle parking) and public transport, coupled with reasonable speed limits on roads, are a visible commitment to creating a credible, comfortable and convenient alternative to car use.
It can be like this in every city. Declaring war on the motorist, cyclist or public transport user is unhelpful and unnecessary. Amsterdam’s approach demonstrates that a city with narrow streets and constrained by historical patterns of development (not dissimilar to London), can successfully accommodate many modes of transport. What is more important is the result that arises from the modal shift made possible by such commitment - a city that is humane, happy, economically robust, socially inclusive, accessible, equal, balanced, quieter, cleaner, safer, healthier…
A bicycle-friendly city is a city with more space, less noise, cleaner air, healthier citizens and a better economy. It’s a city that is a nicer place to be in and where individuals have a higher quality of life. Where accessibility is high and there is a short route from thought to action if one wants to head out into nature, participate in cultural or sports activities or buy locally. Bicycle traffic is therefore not a singular goal but rather an effective tool to use when creating a liveable city with space for diversity and development.
Fortunately, it pays off to invest in urban cycling. Increased cycling levels give society less congestion, fewer sick days, longer life expectancy, less wear and tear on the roads and less pollution. Cycling initiatives are also inexpensive compared with other transport investments.
Gent is definitely getting its urban environment right!
Whilst it might be a medieval city with its heritage peeking out everywhere, it has a palpable vibrancy, youthfulness and liveableness that many cities aspire to! It is thankfully far removed from the dull, soaked in aspic lifelessness of its nearby pretty neighbour, Bruges.
The combination of great architecture, dense but human scaled development, elegant public spaces and streets, canals and bridges give it texture, charisma…soul. Even at night the city is pulls out all the stops by implementing an impressive but sensitive urban lighting strategy.
The city is equally impressive when it comes to local mobility. There aren’t many cities in my opinion that gets this right but Gent does. There is a buzzing pedestrian life, healthy levels of cycling, a great tram and bus network and even a place for cars! To see all these modes sensibly sharing the same space was uplifting. It seems to have the same levels of modal respect you see in Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Berlin. Interestingly it had a 30kph (20mph) limit in operation in the immediate city areas.
Economically, the city seemed to be thriving and it has a lower than average unemployment rate.
Gent also has a buzzing nightlife that left me wanting to go back again! Whilst we were there we enjoyed an excellent Turkish grill in the Patershol area and many glasses of Vedette in a jazz club with an outdoor courtyard that was to be found at the bottom of an inauspicious alley!
Since visiting I have unsurprisingly learnt that Gent Municipality has a strong focus on creating a quality urban environment and that the city participated in the aptly named Liveable City project from 2003 to 2006 funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
There is a comprehensive presentation on the city and its mobility and public realm plans that you can peruse here.
Another report about the damaging effects of cars with unsurprising conclusions and recommendations. Its been a while since I read a “cars are good for you” report….oh…wait…
Read the report “Transport, Physical Activity and Health: Present knowledge and the way ahead”here.
With just 39 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women reaching the Department of Health’s recommended level of health-enhancing physical activity, the answer to the UK’s growing obesity problem could depend on people choosing to swap car journeys for walking and cycling, according to a new study by researchers at UCL.
The report, commissioned by the Department for Transport, highlights the fact that physical inactivity costs the nation upwards of £6.5 billion per year through its impact on overweight and obesity, while also directly costing the NHS an additional £1.08 billion per annum.
The report, compiled by Professor Roger Mackett and Belinda Brown of UCL’s Centre for Transport Studies, concludes that:
increasing physical activity through more walking and cycling is the key to improving health
the only way to increase walking and cycling significantly is through reducing car use
car ownership is entrenched in the lifestyles of many households and reduction is only feasible if households can maintain access to cars when they really need them and make rational, economic decisions about the most appropriate mode of travel for each individual journey (on foot, by car, bicycle, bus, train etc); this will lead to less car use
the recent growth of car clubs, neighbourhood car rental schemes, car sharing and pay-as-you-go insurance helps to make this possible .
“Everyone knows that walking and cycling can provide valuable physical activity, but how we actually get people out of their cars is not so obvious,” says lead author, Professor Roger Mackett.
“The key lies in reducing overall car use, but enabling people to maintain their current lifestyles by ensuring access to a car when necessary. By shifting away from the current situation where most households own cars, to one where people can have the benefits of access to a car when they need it while using other forms of travel when it’s convenient we can empower people to make decisions which benefit their health, their household finances and the environment.
“We need to shift the emphasis from households spending thousands of pounds on a new car every few years and then experiencing a relatively low cost per trip, to a situation where people pay for each individual trip but don’t invest the initial lump sum. By doing this, we will all think much more carefully about the best way to make a journey – sometimes it will be by car, at other times it will be by train, bus, walking or bicycle. Some households will find that they no longer need to keep a car for their personal use and will save money.”
Talk about capturing good city living! His blog is also great…particularly this post! Moaners take note, cycling in cities isn’t about sport, lycra, helmets, cyclists running red lights, riding on pavements, “road tax” arguments….its about sharing road space fairly, conscientiousness, having infrastructure where required and above all, a good quality city environment for everyone!
Objective To estimate the risks and benefits to health of travel by bicycle, using a bicycle sharing scheme, compared with travel by car in an urban environment.
Design Health impact assessment study.
Setting Public bicycle sharing initiative, Bicing, in Barcelona, Spain.
Participants 181 982 Bicing subscribers.
Main outcomes measures The primary outcome measure was all cause mortality for the three domains of physical activity, air pollution (exposure to particulate matter <2.5 µm), and road traffic incidents. The secondary outcome was change in levels of carbon dioxide emissions.
Results Compared with car users the estimated annual change in mortality of the Barcelona residents using Bicing (n=181 982) was 0.03 deaths from road traffic incidents and 0.13 deaths from air pollution. As a result of physical activity, 12.46 deaths were avoided (benefit:risk ratio 77). The annual number of deaths avoided was 12.28. As a result of journeys by Bicing, annual carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by an estimated 9062344 kg.
Conclusions Public bicycle sharing initiatives such as Bicing in Barcelona have greater benefits than risks to health and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Great read!! Gil Peñalosa on how making cities more liveable for everyone can also improve conditions for cycling!
…Politicians often want to have a magic formula when it comes to cycling. How do we get more people on bicycle? With his wealth of experience, Gil said that you need to focus on two major things. The first ‘must have’ is slowing down streets...
…“It’s a real paradox. People actually want to have 30 km/h in their own neighbourhood, but where they don’t live they want to go fast”…
The second ‘must-have’ is segregated bike lanes on all arterial road.
“You need physically separated bike ways. And you don’t just need one separated bike path. You need a whole network.”
