The Life-Sized City Blog

Just got this from a reader. Bicycle Map of Montreal from... 1897. From an insurance company (follow the money) but still brilliant to see the bicycle infrastructure back then. Reminds us of the maps we got from Helsinki from 1937 showing cyclist counts on certain streets . Up to 10,000 cyclists on some streets back then.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you'll know all too well about what we call " Ignoring the Bull ". How in this car-centric society, non-motorised victim blaming is the norm. The status quo. You may also know the media tendency - mostly in non-cycling countries - to report about cyclists killed or injured in collisions with motorised traffic. "Hit by a truck/fast moving vehicle.... wasn't wearing a helmet." Written by journalists who are hopelessly uninformed (and perhaps uninterested) about a helmet's limited industrial design capability in collisions with vehicles . They never seem to write "Man fell from 3rd floor. Wasn't wearing a helmet." You get the point. What we're seeing lately is how the everpresent Culture of Fear is encroaching on our lives in a new(ish) way. The safety nannies and their lackies are now desperately trying to dictate what you, the citizen, wears. They are trying to make fashion choices fo...

When you come from Copenhagen, cycling in Amsterdam is like coming home. To a different kind of home, sure, but still home. An eclectic home filled with books piled up in no particular order, funky art on the walls, maybe dirty dishes in the sink but cool music on the stereo. Different from your home with clean lines, white floors and carefully placed furniture and minimalistic art on the walls. I love cycling in Amsterdam. It's a wonderfully human experience. You meet the eyes of strangers all day long because of the layout of the city and the constantly changing infrastructure. I've often said that Amsterdam cyclists resemble swarming bees whereas in Copenhagen they are more like marching ants. This difference is largely due to the layout of the cities. In Amsterdam the streets are curvy and confusing and you perform many left and right turns in the course of a day. In Copenhagen, there are primarily long, straight stretches. Most of Copenhagen outside the medieval c...

I found this letter regarding the founding of a new cyclist organisation in the City of Copenhagen's archives. I love the name of the association. The Cycle Track Association. The association, it says on the letter, was founded on 18 May, 1897 . "At a public cyclist meeting on the 18th of this month it was agreed to form an association with the name The Cycle Track Association (Cykelstiforeningen). The goal of the association being lobbying for better conditions for road cycling in Copenhagen and surrounding area. The association will also work towards establishing cycle tracks, especially along Strandvejen (the coast road north of Copenhagen). It is also under consideration to establish, for use only by members, air pumps and repair equipment along the roads in the vicinity of Copenhagen." The fee was anything you like, as long as it was at least 2 kroner. So don't go thinking this quest for safe infrastructure for Citizen Cyclists in our cities is some n...

It's simple if you want it to be. Copenhagenize Design Co.

As the graphic above indicates, the potential for switching to bicycles and cargo bikes in European cities is impressive, according to a Cyclelogistics.eu baseline study. 51% of all motorised trips related to goods transport could realistically be done on bikes and cargo bikes. This is a good thing. Copenhagenize Design Company have been involved with the brilliant Cyclelogistics.eu project for two and a half years now. The project is aimed at promoting the use of cargo bikes in European cities. We've recently posted about our Shop by Bike campaign here in Copenhagen and for the past two and half years there have been great initiatives in all of our partner cities. Our partner in Graz, Austria - FGM Amor - have spearheaded a Cyclelogistics baseline study about how much of the the goods transport in a city could realistically be switched to cargo bikes and bicycles . In the above graphic you can see what the transport equation looks like in European cities. T...