The Life-Sized City Blog

Last time I was in Helsinki I took this photo of this century old railway corridor that was used for freight trains. I can heard that it was being converted to a pedestrian and bicycle path and it turns out that it has opened recently. Photo via HBL.fi by Tor Wennström . Martti Tulenheimo from the European Cyclist’s Federation and designer and bicycle user, Arto Sivonen   Helsinki's new "Low Line" (as opposed to NYC's High Line ) opened on June 12, 2012, providing pedestrians and cyclists with a 1.3 km long connector between the Western Harbour area to Kamppi and Töölö Bay. It's called the Baana. It runs through the city centre, providing a safe bicycle route to many points in the city. There four ramps along the way to get back to surface level, as well as entry points at each end. On average, the Baana is 15 m wide, with 34 m the widest point. There are also facilities along the way like basketball, table tennis and petanque and lights and benches hav...

This post is by one of Copenhagenize's finest, Rachel.  She's been involved in quite a few of our projects, including the next Copenhagenize Index for bicycle-friendly cities. By now we all know (or have at least heard) that cycling is beneficial for cities, and the benefits range from improving health to decreasing congestion. For those who aren’t on board yet, some of the findings we developed here at Copenhagenize should help change your mind. We can talk on and on about the various benefits that come with bikes, but when it comes to municipalities actually implementing policies and infrastructure, the conversation will inevitably turn to numbers. How do the real costs of driving a car compare with the costs of riding a bike? We believe we have developed a comprehensive cost analysis to properly compare these modes of transport. With Christine Grant spearheading this effort, we were able to come up with a cost analysis that incorporated typical factors such a...

They're at it again, those New Yorkers. The city's DoT has chucked another bunch 'o money at a fancy ad campaign aimed at maintaining the status quo of the automobile's role in society. Seriously... I can't think of any other city on the planet in recent times that has spent so much advertising money on finger-pointing and "behavioural" campaigns aimed at the vulnerable traffic users of their city. Desperately trying to cement, in the public consciousness of it's citizens, the rather outdated philosophy that cars rule supreme and everyone else are mere pawns to be swept aside without regret. Stand in the way of a Queen, you're stupid. You'll get taken. And you know what? We can afford to lose you. This New York Postian attitude from the DoT towards a city that otherwise has great potential for being much more pedestrian, public transport and cyclist friendly is the primary reason why New York is so far off reaching any sensible level of ...

If you're wondering about the sporadic publishing here on the blog over the past while, it's simply because we have so many exciting projects on the go around the world at Copenhagenize Consulting . One of the projects has been preparing our offering for the upcoming exhbition The Good City - Visions for a City on the Move , which the Bicycle Innovation Lab is curating. The exhibition opens on June 8th in Copenhagen, the first stop on a world tour. It's an exciting exhibition. We're presenting our own vision from here at the company but we are also curating the vision from a third-grade class at LaCour Vej School. Nine and ten year old urbanists. They have been working hard on the redesign of the roundabout next to their school. Here's the spiel about the exhibition from Bicycle Innovation Lab: THE GOOD CITY MINI-CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION Friday the 8th of June at 12 o'clock, Bicycle Innovation Lab will inaugurate the international traveling exhibiti...

We are in the midst of an interesting little project here at Copenhagenize Consulting . Something we've been planning for a while but only recently got started with. Like everywhere else, the ever-growing urban cycling boom is causing a backlash in Copenhagen. There's a lot of negative press about bicycle users and little happening to reverse that. When the police go out on their Viking raids for a week at a time, ticketing cyclists for trivialities, the press regurgitate all manner of hype about the 'lawlessness' that will surely cause imminent societal decay. Always forgetting to highlight the fact that The 99% ride by the book and have done for 125 years. So. We thought we'd look at an intersection - an average one - to observe behaviour and chart patterns and numbers. The Choreography of an Urban Intersection. We chose the intersection outside of our office window. Not only convenient, but also a unique intersection in that it is primarily a transport hub t...

Googleised Facebook bike in Dublin - courtesy of billyvandenende on Instagram The Social Media Wars are now using bicycles as a battlefield. Bear Bicycles is a small company in Dublin selling Dutch bikes to the Irish market. My friend Philip sent me the above photo of one of their bicycles. He explains: " For a cycling campaign, we have created a 'Facebook' bike - together with local cycling advocacy groups. The goal: to get people out of their cars and on their bikes, by showing how cycling is a social thing and how it positively impacts people's lives. " You can see the Facebook bike on Bear Bicycles... uh... Facebook page , as above. Dublin is home to both Google's and Facebook's European headquarters. Battlefield Internet, if you will. Yesterday, one of Philip's colleagues inadvertently parked the Facebook bike near a metro station close to the Google office. When he got back, the Facebook bike had been Googlised. The metaphor of the ...

Been busy lately. Running behind with articles but doing lots of great projects with Copenhagenize Consulting. I figured I'd post some of the photos I've taken recently. Citizen Cyclists carrying stuff around is the theme. Shoes and a suitcase. Suitcase and a group of friends on a stag night by bicycle. Two cargo bikes filled with beer. New frame heading home. Kids' bicycles in transit. That's me and Lulu-Sophia on the right, taking her new (used) bike home. Transporting a guitar by trailier in Copenhagen and a trailer by trailer in Strasbourg. The City of Zagreb has a respectable fleet of cargo bikes for cleaning the streets. As well as for bakery deliveries. Cool wooden crate in Copenhagen. Cool Danish Ambassador to Croatia, and his wife, on a Christiania Bike in Zagreb. Muffins on the move.

This is a recycled campaign that returns regularly but we approve of it simply because it places the responsibility on the motorists. No ignoring the bull in society's china shop here. "Catch the cyclist with your eyes - not your door" is what it says. These car doors are on posts in various locations. This one was captured by Sandra from the brilliant Classic Copenhagen blog . Sure, people get doored anywhere there are cars and that includes Copenhagen. I know a few people who have experienced it by I personally have been lucky to never have been even close to it in 17 years in Copenhagen. Motorists know to watch for cyclists, to expect them. I know that in the few times I've been in a car with my kids (my kids spend about five hours in a car each year), you always find yourself saying "watch for bikes" when they're getting out. It's a mantra that every kid hears. When getting out of cars, crossing the street, at bus stops, you name it. Iro...

When I first saw this campaign from Italian carmaker FIAT I was convinced that we had a contender for our Car Industry Strikes Back series . Then I realised it was a campaign for drinking and driving. The text, in Portugese, reads. "Now you see it. Now you don't". Simple and effective marketing. Here's the film version of it. And more info about the campaign is available here, in Portugese . Thanks to Eduardo for the link.

The Hungarians do it again. New advert for Bike to Workk campaign. As we've said before, the Hungarians are world champions in promoting cycling positively - check out this previous article about it . The message on this new one is, quite simply: "You can cure your lack of exercise. Bike to Work!" Cool style. Go, Hungary! Thanks to Aron at Hungarian Cycle Chic for the link.