Good news for public transport/ bicycle planners – and certainly for our public health and environmental challenges like climate change. According to a graphic found on Visual.ly (see below) it looks like young people in the United States are less keen about the car than former generations – preferring instead the bike, the bus or by… Read More America’s young people: drive less and bike more
Leave it to the Danes to prove how much cooler public transport can be than the private car. Probably one of the best commercials out there to advertise public transport, depicting the adventure, the glamour, the impressive views… one can enjoy while riding the bus. Albeit, a Danish friend informed me that while bus transport is widely promoted… Read More Making public transport sexy…
In November/ December 2012, the UN Climate Conference (COP18) took place in Doha, Qatar. Expectations were low from the start, with most parties setting their sights on 2015 when world leaders are expected to construct an agreement strong enough to stay below 2° Celsius of warming. Doha served as a bridge: from the former agreement, towards a… Read More Doha hope: UN climate meetings, suburban sprawl – and a potential for city cycling?
The City of Bonn, Germany sits on the Rhine River and has historic roots dating back to the Roman period. It is also the birthplace of the famous composer Beethoven – a pride point for the city. Bonn, population circa 325,000, boarders Germany’s wine producing region to the South, and to the North, the cities… Read More Bonn: cycling down by the River Rhine
Short & sweet, but worth watching this short video. Leave it to the Dutch to find fancy new ways to make cycling safer, more convenient – and high-tech. BBC discusses with innovative designers of cycling infrastructure on possible future strategies to increase cycling in the Netherlands (more than current rates!!) One of the key messages… Read More Futuristic cycling
I was in Geneva, Switzerland for the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. I attended the 24th Meeting of the Parties (MOP24) as a writer with IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin. The Montreal Protocol is hailed as the most successful environmental treaty of its kind, signed by 197 countries.… Read More Geneva: free public transport for tourists, but locals prefer the bike
My first impression of Berlin was boxy, geometric and structured. This, however, deserves some context. I stayed next to its central train station (Hauptbahnhof) which opened in 2006 on the border of what used to be East and West during the Berlin Wall (1961- 1989). Today in and around this area stand many of Berlin’s most impressive… Read More Berlin: a big city with history (and bicycles)
Copenhagen is famous for its walking streets & the colourful buildings of Nyhavn – best explored by foot or bicycle. It is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world; and this is no accident. The city is planned that way. Already in the 1970s, stubborn and foresighted architects &urban planners challenged the Danish capital to… Read More Copenhagen Colour
My fervent enthusiasm for the bicycle-way-of-life comes from my own perspective. I do not (yet) have children, and I rarely transport anyone but myself – save for a ‘double-bike’ if a friend has a flat tire or left their bike at the wrong location. And fairly, I often get the comment from friends (who are… Read More Family-friendly transport: lifecycle by bicycle
If you asked me my favourite thing about the Netherlands… The Netherlands is the most densely populated, and the flattest, country in Europe. This can be difficult for someone like myself, accustomed to mountains. In the beginning I felt claustrophobic, unable to escape or see a high point on the horizon. With time though, I’ve… Read More Dutch bicycles
The Urban Observer 