Cycling and the City

Mon, 06 Feb 2012

Moving toward more liveable cities

In recent years a trend of changing mobility patterns has been observed, a movement toward active transport like cycling or walking. Cycle hire schemes, which make the rental of pushbikes available for a short period of time, or cycle to work initiatives that reimburse trips made by bicyclists, are available in nearly every modern city. Pedal strokes are promoted as the movement du jour for contemporary citizens.

Over the last few years, urban utility cycling has gained in status in countries with a long forgotten cycling tradition. It is increasingly viewed as a modern mode of transport and is the thing to do for creative individuals, hipsters and the environmentally-conscious middle class in cities throughout the West.

Motorised transport, however, still has a spatial monopoly and is the norm in most parts of the world. It has become customary in cities and societies on the rise. Modernisation and economic growth seem to automatically lead to more motorised traffic, as demonstrated by the (former) cycling nation – China. Here, less and less people cycle, while the young and affluent do not know how to bike altogether.

The construction of roads and parking, mineral oil, and the car industry have a firm stand as the biggest economic sectors. The competitiveness and economic health of a city – or the dominant measurement of success of a place - is often linked with the car and the associated unlimited freedom of mobility. Yet the good performance of a city or society may also be dependent on a better environment that includes less traffic, haste and noise pollution. Sustainable transport is thus able to make a big stride in the direction of a more liveable city.

Some years ago ‘velorution’ – combining the French word for bicycle (vélo) and revolution – began trending in the Anglo-Saxon world, referring to more cyclists on busy city roads. Following publications in American literature such as Pedalling Revolution: How cyclists are changing American cities, it may be overlooked that the bike is not a recent means of transport for urban areas.

Evidence from other parts of the world, however, paints a different picture. Many cities in Europe offer examples of best practice on a large-scale. They successfully restructure city life around cycling, walking and public transport and a concept of shared spaces. The Netherlands have the longest tradition of cycling as an important means of transport and a culture. To use the bike rather than a car for short trips, which most of the trips in urban areas are, is viewed as common sense by the majority of the Dutch population.

Hans Monderman’s concept of a shared space, which tries to designate more space to sustainable mobility rather than motorised traffic, was first trialled in the Netherlands. It was instrumental in making the country a cycling Mecca and slower, but more sustainable mobility the norm.

Today, Copenhagen serves as one of the most inspiring examples for sustainable transport or liveable cities, serving as inspiration to metropolises like New York, London and similar car-tortured places. Meanwhile, cities like Munich are overhauling their image, putting more focus on the bicycle and also becoming inspiring role models.

Ciclovias - the closing of parts of the city for motorised traffic for a day or at least several hours - or the Veló City Conference, where ideas about cycling as the favoured means of transport are shared, are just two of the many noticeably city-friendly ideas and campaigns for cycle accessibility. Many of them have been inspired by subcultural groups and tactics, such as Critical Mass, a monthly bike ride in over 300 cities, or self-help bike workshops that provide people with the skills a city cyclist should have. Such initiatives build their strategies on raising awareness, examining all possible transport, and the de-stressing of cities. They address questions of how much space cities should sacrifice for mobility.

To make the bicycle a friendlier transport system and cycling culture feasible, the so-called three Ds of city planning have to be taken into consideration: density, diversity and design. This is not an easy task, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world. In many of the cities in this part of the globe, a lack of a public transport and long distances between home, work, shopping, and entertainment, render life without cars near impossible. It thus becomes necessary to not only promote cycling, but sustainable transport in general. Cycling is favoured, but ultimately it is not the only one way of making cities more sustainable and liveable – environmentally conscious public transport is also a big step.

Muscle powered modes of transport like cycling and walking are a pivotal step towards more liveable cities that are quieter, less fast paced, easier to get along in, and more relaxed. All of these benefits cannot be undermined and more and more cities are bringing the issue to the foreground, as exemplified in the Netherlands, Copenhagen and Munich, to name a few.

by Bernadette Schausberger