The Life-Sized City Blog

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...

We've often wondered where the religious types were on intelligent transport. You'd think there would be enough inspiration in their books - Bible/Torah/Koran to support healthy, modern living. Yet it's not often you see churches and religious organistations coming out in support of liveable cities. So then our friend Paul in Vienna sent us a link to an intiative by the Catholic and Protestant churches of Austria. Car Fasting - or Autofasten , in German . A brilliant intiative to encourage people to go on a car fast and seek alternatives. Here's what I lamely translated from their website: Car Fasting is ... - An initiative to encourage a change of independent mobility between Ash Wednesday (13 Feb) to Holy Saturday (30 March). - Suggesting choosing available alternatives like rail, bus, bicycle, foot, car-pooling) in order to discover something new and to experiment. - Contributing to new experiences and to public health. - An opportunity to shape a bet...

If this isn't the most beautiful magazine cover in the world, I don't know what is. The Most Dangerous Invention in the World. The Car. It's the cover of Profil magazine, out of Austria . I picked it up in Vienna earlier this year. As I understand it, Profil is a business magazine. Leafing through it, it's filled with men in suits saying stuff in German. This article, however, is beautiful for its stunning rationality. It's a bold cover and the accompanying article spells out why the car is, indeed, the most dangerous invention in the world and so destructive to our societies. Unfortunately, my German is rather dodgy but that's what infographics are for! The article features an interview with Vienna's wunderkind Vice-Mayor, Maria Vassilakou . According to this website, her splendidly complicated German titles are: Vice-Mayor and Vice-Governor, Executive City Councillor for Urban Planning, Traffic & Transport, Climate Protection, Energy and ...

No, it wasn't my Bullitt , unfortunately. But two weeks before the Bullitt got stolen, my other bike - pictured above - was nicked. It's a 1955 Swedish Crescent. Bloody irritating. Vintage bicycles are in high demand at the moment, fetching a high price. Bicycles that only three years ago wouldn't even garner a second glance by bicycle thieves are now targeted. I was sad to see it go but didn't bother blogging about it. However. A month or so ago, Hans from Larry vs Harry was standing with Claus, who works at Larry vs Harry. Hans spotted a bicycle rolling past and noticed that it was the Crescent. It's an incredibly unique bicycle and it's hard to miss. Hans mentioned it to Claus. Claus - the reigning Danish cargo bike champion by the way, we call him Copenhagenthighs - took matters into his own hands. He hopped onto his Bullitt and set off after the Man on the Crescent. He gave him a bit of a shock braking hard next to him and shouting "Where the...

A little spot of winterliciousness from Austria, as photographed by ' Anuwintschalek ' on Flickr. Perhaps her Triobike is parked nearby. With the record cold snap chilling most of Europe , it's nice to see how cyclists across the Continent either just get on with it or find unique ways to adapt. Nice to see he is riding a normal bike and I love the mirrors. You never know who's skating up behind you.