The Life-Sized City Blog

Our bike culture has come a long way over the past century and a bit. Back in the day, in the late 1800's, riding bikes was not considered cool. Cyclists were spit on and heckled [kind of like riding in American cities in 2007...] because cycling was viewed as a disturbance. Indeed, cycling in some Danish cities was illegal. The town of Slagelse, for example, first legalised cycling in 1885. Since then, however, we've gone from strength to strength, creating one of the world's leading bike nations and the world's foremost bike city - Copenhagen. Above: The train station in Odense, Denmark in the 1940's. Note the bike racks on the right. The same as these ones in a Copenhagen backyard. Above: Manned bike parking in Odense, Denmark during WW2. An association that battled unemployment set up safe bike parking facilities so you could leave you bike behind for a cheap price - 25 øre - and not worry about your tyres getting stolen. Rubber was rationed. Another manned bik

Above: You always meet people you know when commuting by bike. One distinct advantage over automotive pursuits. The country's second largest party - The Social Democrats - have announced a plan for improving Denmark's status as a leading cycle nation. "The bike is a multi-dimensional problem solver", says Rasmus Prehn, the Social Democrats bicycle spokesman. [Yes, our political parties actually have an MP who is desginated as bike spokesman/woman] The party aims to invest 1 billion Danish kroner - [135 million euros / 200 million dollars] - over ten years in our already well-established bike culture. The party points to several studies, including a Norwegian one that shows that national investment in cycling infrastructure and culture will earn the state three times as much as their intial investment. This profit comes from less money spent on roads and less money spent on health issues - the more the people ride, the less they suffer from "The American Illness&q

Okay, okay, maybe all these stats are a bit boring... but I find them interesting. But remember you can always pop over to the Cycle Chic for a little respite from the stats. The map of Greater Copenhagen is from the Bicycle Audit 2006 [Cykelregnskab 2006] from Copenhagen City Council. It shows how many bikes are on the bike lanes and streets each day between 06:00 and 18:00. The thickest red lines show that over 20,000 bikes are using the infrastructure on those routes. Indeed, rush hour on bikes is something you see on weekdays. 100+ bikes lined up at traffic lights on the bike lanes, waiting to move towards or away from work or school. For reference, there are over 500,000 cyclists on the streets every day. 36% of 1.7 million citizens. Not for nothing are city councils around the world talking (dreaming) of "copenhagenizing" their cities by planning (hopefully) bike lanes and bike infrastructure. For more info, stats and inspiration, see the Blog Categories links on the

Sunrise Movement in Concerto , originally uploaded by [Zakkaliciousness] . The Copenhagen City Council produces a Bike Audit every couple of years in order to track bicycle usage in the city and plan more bike lanes and other infrastructure. When they compare the 2006 Audit [ Cykelregnskab 2006 ] with the one from 2004 it shows that the average amount of kilometres the average Copenhagener rides is unchanged. 1.2 million km each day. Around 50% of cyclists ride up to 50 km each week. Then there is a group of 15% who ride more than 100 km each week. The numbers for cyclists who ride up to 30 km each week show some interesting results: 34% ride up to 30 km a week to work. 68% ride up to 30 km a week on non-work related errands. 17% ride up to 30 km a week for recreation. The latter means that 73% use their bikes for non-recreative usage. It is a means of transport, first and foremost, and not a conscious fitness-related vechicle. That cycling is a good form of exercise, however,

I love these groovy little street sweepers. They are designed to fit perfectly on the bike lanes of the city. In the winter they also have snowplough versions in the same size that keep the bike lanes clear. Another example of how an established bicycle culture breeds the necessity of developing relevant gadgets to maintain them.

Copenhagenize Your City Originally uploaded by [Zakkaliciousness] I find a sight like this somehow pleasing to the eye. In city councils around the world they speak of "Copenhagenizing" their cities by building better infrastructure for bikes, including the all-important bike lanes. Just read something interesting. How many kilometres do the citizens of various country ride on average each year? Denmark: 958 km Holland: 1019 UK: 81 USA/Canada: 70 Belgirum: 327 Germany: 300 Greece: 91 Spain: 24 France: 87 Ireland: 228 Italy: 168 Austria: 154 Portugal: 35 Finland: 282 Sweden: 300