An avid city cyclist, I must admit: there is one automobile trend that has caught my attention – electric cars. While countless cities are beginning to provide better electronic mobility infrastructure and access, Amsterdam is quite literally leading the “charge”. The city’s e-mobility scheme has been acknowledged in both the Korean Times and the New… Read More Amsterdam Electric
Admittedly I’m North American – proudly from Seattle. However, after 10 years living in Budapest, Malmö, Nairobi & Amsterdam and with a Swedish mother, I’ve become a modge-podge of sorts: European as much as anything, especially in my transportation habits. I haven’t driven in 10 years and anymore I’m scared to get behind the wheel.… Read More Copenhagen cycle culture through North American eyes…
Paris has an amazing public space project underway along the River Seine that I’ve followed for the last several months. It intends to permanently deviate vehicular traffic along some of the city’s busiest roads, transforming a few kilometers of this arterial into a cycling and pedestrian zone: full of cafés, art and entertainment spaces, bike paths and floating… Read More Paris: reclaiming the city for cyclists & pedestrians – an update on Les Berges
In April I traveled to Bali, Indonesia for the 7th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia, organized by the UN Centre for Regional Development, and the Environmental Ministries of Japan and Indonesia. Bali, the Island of the Gods as it is known by the locals, is famous for its beaches, its surf, its rice fields,… Read More Balinese dreaming: UN meetings on transport systems and real-life traffic problems
With a variety of traffic calming measures and bicycle promotion, Paris is quickly becoming a cycle city – although this takes time, so one needs to exercise some caution concerning where you bike (trust me)! 🙂 Still, with its famous Velib bike-sharing (and car-sharing) systems, great parks, public spaces and expanded bicycle lanes; the bicycle is… Read More Paris: reclaiming the city for cyclists & pedestrians
At Gustav Adolfs Torg (c) Inga löjliga bilresor Malmö / Jens Lennartsson photography For several years in Malmö (Sweden) May was “No Ridiculous Car Journeys” campaign month, or in Swedish Inga löjliga bilresor. This campaign, launched in 2006 and repeated for several springs, includes animated displays, a dose of humour and a competition for the “most ridiculous car driver.” In one of… Read More Malmö: No Ridiculous Car Journeys
While some trains allow bicycles and the occasional city bus will let you load your cycle, public transport systems often discourage bicycles from being brought on. I get it: they take up space, can be bulky or cumbersome to load, and take time. Besides we should be encouraging more people to hop on the bus… Read More Stuttgart: taking your bike on the tram? No problem!
I spent Easter weekend in the lovely city of Salzburg, Austria – Mozart’s birthplace, the setting for the Sound of Music and famous for its ancient Hohensalzburg Castle dominating over the city. With a four-day holiday weekend for Easter, it seemed like the perfect getaway. Besides, we were trying to escape the unseasonably cold spring in the Netherlands; however,… Read More Salzburg: rich in history, culture – and bicycles
Former mayor of Curitiba, Jaime Lerner is a city evangelist. For Lerner, the city is not a problem; it’s a solution. An architect and urban planner by training, he brought many innovative strategies to his Brazilian hometown of Curitiba during his terms as mayor (1971–75, 1979–84 and 1989–92). The now famous bus rapid transport system… Read More Curitiba: visions of a better city & creative solutions to get there
Copenhagen competes for one of the world’s most bikable – and livable – cities; but it wasn’t always that way. Like many cities in post-war Europe, as cities were rebuilt, bike lanes were taken over by the car. It wasn’t until the oil crisis of the 1970s and the start of the environmental movement that people started… Read More Copenhagen: taking back the city | car-free streets & slow speed zones
The Urban Observer 