The Life-Sized City Blog

Jennie Fasth is a cyclist, bicycle advocate and freelance writer based in Malmö, Sweden. She is currently a student at the University of Lund, studying geographic information systems. She is working towards her Masters degree in urban planning. This article of hers was first published on the Swedish website HappyRide.se and is republished here on Copenhagenize.com with permission. OhBoy - The Swedish Bicycle House is Open by Jennie Fasth On 23 October 2015, the first sod was turned for what would become the first "cykelhus" - or "bicycle house" in Sweden. The development is named OhBoy and is located in the Western Harbour (Västerhamn)  of the City of Malmö. Tenants have now gradually started moving in. What does the Bicycle House look like? Who are the residents and what do they think about their new and unique building? I decided to find out. All 55 apartments are rented out and there is no doubt that bike-minded people were among the first to move in...

Copenhagenize Design Company Guest Author, Jason Henderson , is Professor of Geography & Environment at San Francisco State University, visiting Copenhagen this Fall on a research sabbatical examining how culture, politics, and economics shapes transportation in Copenhagen. Jason is author of Street Fight: The Politics of Mobility in San Francisco (2013) , and co-author of Low Car (bon) Communities: Inspiring Car-Free and Car Lite Urban Futures . He has published articles in International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Antipode, Urban Geography, the Journal of Transport Geography and several book chapters in academic books on sustainable transportation and the politics of the automobile. He is a Master Class by Copenhagenize alumni, as well. Electric Cars: Where Will the Energy Come From? by Jason Henderson Electric cars are often touted as a promising response to climate change, reducing air pollution, and bringing energy security. So it’s not surprising that th...

There is a constant flow of discussion at the moment about the proposed congestion charges in Copenhagen - one of the initiatives the current government had on their election platform. Like in Stockholm and in London prior to implementation of their congestion charges, the debate is heated and often rather one-sided. Copenhagenize is pleased to feature this guest article written by Natalie Mossin and Jane Sandberg. Jane is the CEO of The Danish Architects' Association and Natalie is the Chairman of the Board. The Danish Architects' Association was founded in 1879 and works to promote the quality of planning and design of our physical environment and to improve and develop the conditions for the architect's profession. We thought it appropriate to publish some rational thoughts about the congestion charges. Here it comes. The City of the Future Requires Space for Life Congestion charges are about what cities will be like in the future and which needs they wi...

A reader pointed us to a forum discussion at a website called CycleChat.net regarding infrastructure for bicycles. A poster on the forum named Tommi published a post about the positive aspects of implementing bicycle infrastructure. He did so, we gather, as a counter to the tiresome rants of members of cycling's secret sect who continue to oppose infrastructure for bicycles because it interferes with their testosterone thrill of 'running with the bulls'. We thought it highly appropriate to republish Tommi's search results here on Copenhagenize.com. They deserve a wider audience. This is on the same day that David Suzuki published this piece calling for infrastructure . Here's what the post at CycleChat.net looked like: Well, I did some digging and it seems Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Wales, as well as UK and US and OECD believe cycling infrastructure (cycle lanes and cycle tracks) incr...

Here's a poster promoting cycling in New York for www.bikemonthnyc.com . My friend Kelly sent it to me and I think I'll let him do all the talking: Thought you might like this poster - if only for the socio-political landmine it tiptoes through. We have: - bikes prominently featured (Ride a bike message: check) - the older gent, middle-age woman, younger woman (Target age groups: check) - race/gender diversity (Diversity advocates: check) - gent with his helmet (Helmet advocates: check) - ladies not wearing helmets (anti-helmet advocates: check) - all walking their bikes on sidewalks (ride safely advocates: check; bonus points for appeasing both helmet and anti-helmet camp at the same time) - speed of bike transport highlighted (urban transportation advocates: check) - outer borough (Brooklyn) featured (hipsters: check) The only thing missing is someone actually riding a bike. But I suppose that's to be inferred. It's for Bike Month NYC, but if you're planning on...

It's a pleasure for Copenhagenize to publish an article by one of Denmark's great thinkers regarding bicycle culture. Thomas Krag has a Masters degree in Chemistry but for many years he has been closely involved with Danish and international bicycle culture. He was the head of the Danish Cyclists' Federation [DCF] from 1986-2000 and he now runs his own consultancy Thomas Krag Mobility Advice . Thomas' Cycling, Safety and Health article discusses risk perception and how we (often wrongly) measure risk and goes on to highlight how safe cycling is as well as showing the health benefits of having high numbers of bicycle users/Citizen Cyclists in a city or country. Thomas' work has been a great inspiration to me over the past four years. He has been a bit off the bicycle radar for a time, but his rationality and academic approach is much needed in Denmark and internationally. Thomas Krag has tremendous knowledge and experience in all aspects of bicycle culture and stati...