Politics & Urban planning

Take any list of cycling-friendly countries and the Netherlands will be on top. The Dutch cycling infrastructure is rightfully praised for its effectiveness and extent, making every point of the country accessible by bicycle. Now wonder that the Dutch are the most cycling nation on the planet. The bicycle ownership rates in the Netherlands are beyond belief - the average is 1.1 bicycles per person! For example, in my household, we have 7 bicycles between the four of us, and that's including two children, one of whom can't even walk yet. Cycling is obviously very popular in the Netherlands, thanks to the magnificent Dutch cycling infrastructure. However, what few people realize is that it takes a massive effort to make and keep it successful.

Ralf Risser, university lecturer in research for traffic planning and managing director of Factum Traffic and Social Analysis, discusses potential conflict situations in road traffic and gives some helpful tips about traffic communication.

PARIS – Nantes has been in the spotlight as home of this year’s Velo-city conference, but 400 kilometres away, another French city is working to shift gears and become a model for urban cycling. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has rolled out a plan velo to transform cycling infrastructure by 2020, in a bid to make the vibrant capital “more sustainable, more equitable and more just.”

Doris and Peter live in Vienna. They enjoy living here and like the city. The only thing that the two all-weather cycling enthusiasts are not so keen on is the traffic. Accordingly, they are regular participants in the Critical Mass, a monthly “cycle demonstration”. In Vienna alone, up to 1,000 people take part in this group ride on the third Friday of every month. The route of this ride is different each time, but one thing always remains the same – the desire to raise awareness for environmentally friendly mobility and to make a political statement. Doris also cares about this.

Copenhagen and Amsterdam are the bike capitals of the world and virtually synonymous with cycling. In the Netherlands cycling share dropped from 85% to 20% in the 1970s, already starting to decrease shortly after the Second World War. The efforts of many cities are impressive and are recognised in the Copenhagenize Index – Bicycle Friendly Cities.

The Cycle City conference is the meeting point for planning cycling in the UK. The yearly conference takes place in different cities and was born in 2013 in Birmingham, where the Cycle City Ambition Grant programme and the 'Get Britain Cycling' report was launched. Both set ambitious targets for cycling in the UK and help cities to unlock economic potential via promoting cycling.

Bremen is a bicycle town. But what exactly is a bicycle town? According to Uebermann, a town can be called that if cycling is perceived as natural by all parties there. The town of Bremen is well on the way there. With a bike traffic share of 25 percent on average, Bremen lies in first place amongst towns with more than 300,000 inhabitants in Germany. Compared to the rest of Europe, the city on the Weser is behind Amsterdam and Copenhagen in 3rd place. Jens Joost-Krüger, head of the project Bremen and Bremerhaven Bike it!, talks about the bike traffic communication project.

Martin Kroissenbrunner, head of the department of transport planning of the city of Graz, on the current activities and projects concerning cycle traffic in Graz from a traffic planning perspective.

Build it, and they will come. That's not always true, but well-thought and needed bike infrastructure is something cities can be proud of. We've made here a selection of 10 bike architecture projects which are not just visually very appealing, but also contribute to enjoy our rides.