The Life-Sized City Blog

Here is an updated article about this topic over at Medium.com: Longing for a Return to the Danish 180% Tax on New Cars --- Much is said and reblogged/tweeted about the famous 180% on cars in Denmark. Back when rationality was fashionable, this series of taxes was put into place to try and discourage people from driving but also to try and win some money back for society for the destructive nature of automobiles. We know, for example, that for every kilometre ridden by bike, the Danish coffers recieve 23 cents. For every kilometre driven by car, the Danish state pays out 16 cents. Those numbers are from the "Socio-economic analyses of bicycle initiatives - methods and cases", produced by COWI in 2009. For a more local feel, if you ride in Copenhagen from Øster Allé to Nørreport during rush hour here's the societal benefit and loss: Bicycle: 63 cents net profit for society. (3.65 DKK) Car: $1.15 net loss to society. (6.59 DKK) Another way of calculating it ...

For one brilliant week in September 2011, the air pollution levels from car traffic in Copenhagen fell by a whopping 30%. The City of Copenhagen took a bold step in planning the Road Racing World Championships in cycling this year by deciding to close off most of the city centre to car traffic during the event. While most people have tried to calculate the massive boost the event had - and will have - on tourism, Copenhagen's brand and what not, it turns out the event improved the air quality for the citizens of the city. It didn't have anything directly to do with the professional cyclists racing around the city. The ban on cars in the city centre of Copenhagen meant that 60,000 cars and trucks were kept out and 75 streets were car-free. Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard during the World Championships. A few months before the event, I had an idea. I thought about the study done after 9/11 where temperatures were measured in the US for the five days that air traffic was...

Good news this morning. The street here in Copenhagen - Nørrebrogade - that has been closed off to cars for a trial period of three months will now enjoy a permanent status. "Our goal of transforming Nørrebrogade into a better place to be, making it easier to be a cyclist, pedestrian and bus passenger, has succeeded", said Klaus Bondam, the councillor in charge of Traffic and Environment. "Even among those who choose to drive there is a majority for making the initiative permanent", he added. We've covered this exciting development in previous posts. See the link list at the bottom. In summary, Nørrebrogade [North Bridge Street] is a main artery leading into the city. It slices through a neighbourhood where only 30-40% own cars so the traffic isn't local. The street has always had problems flourishing, despite the fact that 75,000 people travel down it each day. It is the busiest bike street in the nation with 35,000 bikes a day. In addition, 65,000...