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Street Cars Named Desire 
We're all familiar, I'm sure, with the famous poster showing how much space these different transport modes take up. As well as the many modern versions of the same theme.Here's another one, albeit one from Kansas City in 1925. The original, perhaps. As it says on the poster:"At the left is an everyday scene of traffic conditions in our downtown district. And yet, by actual count, there are more p
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Jaywalking and the Motor Age
First reference to "jaywalking" - Kansas City Star, 30 April 1911.I've posted about the brilliant book "Fighting Traffic - The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City" by Peter D. Norton before but I just can't get enough of it. Previous posts are The Anti-Automobile Age and what we can learn from it and Fighting Traffic.The Canadian writer, Chris Turner, wrote today about how there are no jayw
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Montreal Cargo Bikes
I was in Montreal last week, after visiting Halifax for the Kickstand Sessions. I was pleased to see a number of cargo bikes on the streets. This chap, above, was delivering goods for this supermarket, below:These two cargo bikes were parked outside a shop in Mile End, on Bernard Street.And this gentleman was riding around with his son on his Nihola cargo bike.Which he was also doing last summer,
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Critical Mass Version 2.0
Right now the Danish minister of transport is finalizing the law proposal for the Copenhagen Congestion Ring.Visualization of the congestion ring control/payment system, from the report by the Danish Road Authority (Vejdirektoratet), TRÆNGSELSAFGIFT I HOVEDSTADEN, MiljøundersøgelseAt the moment the discussion between the coalition government parties is centered on how much should be
af Lars Barfred
Cool and Lost in Translation
Like many Japanese commercials, I have no idea what's going on. The title is even mystical: "about 1988 ?????????".But hey. It's 1988. It's Japan. It's cool old men with pipes on bikes. Something those tweed ride people might like, too. Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
A Kickstand for Halifax
Off to Halifax in the morning. The purpose of the visit is to kick off The Kickstand Sessions - Bicycle Policy Training Sessions. Copenhagenize Consulting has teamed up with Mobycon from the Netherlands to host comprehensive bicycle policy training sessions for professional planners, traffic engineers, architects, marketing people and NGOs. Both Mobycon and Copenhagenize Consulting see more value
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Feeding Time
Sometimes you just have to stop and feed the swans and ducks on your way home. With a half a bread roll in the fading light of a Nordic winter day.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Vintage Enlightenment and Despair
What a lovely shot. Copenhagen. 1907. Vestre Boulevard. Dug up by our very own Lars Barfred.The sign on the right reads "Bicycle Lane". Sweet. At first glance it's a nice vintage photograph - coloured for effect - of a street in Copenhagen. And then, as a Copenhagener, you realise... hey... I KNOW that street. That's City Hall on the left and Tivoli Gardens on the right. Vestre Boulevard is now na
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
New Campaign - Ignoring the Danish Bull
This campaign from the car-centric Danish Road Safety Council is a prime example of how they are maintaining the status quo and Ignoring the Bull in society's china shop. According to their warped ideology, cars rule the streets and anyone who dares to challenge this indisputable fact will be eliminated. They use cars - portrayed as anonymous machines (no focus on the invisible driver and no focus
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
A new story of our lives?.
...Thats what we need.The new government is admirably determined to build a congestion-ring, around Copenhagen City. For the first time in since the oil-crisis in the early seventies, and the car-free Sundays, Danish motorists are under fire. Was the state of our tasteless self-indulgence and waste of natural resources not so catastrophic, it would be quite amusing to observe how closely ali
af Lars Barfred
Copenhagen Cargo Bike Culture
A little film about cargo bike culture in Copenhagen, featuring Andreas Røhl, the head of the Bicycle Office in Copenhagen, Christiania Bikes and Larry vs Harry.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.
af Mikael
Congestion Charges Bring Life to Cities
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 an
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Subversive Bicycle Photos - Los Angeles
Los Angeles. 1900. Spring St. near 8th.The latest installment in our Subversive Bicycle Photos series is from a city that enjoyed a modal share for bicycles of 20% at the turn of the last century and built impressive protected bicycle infrastructure like this 10 km, elevated cycle track back in 1900.Alas, the bicycle disappeared from this area that was described like this in an 1897 newspaper arti
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Womens bike design
Girl on fixedgear/track bike. Photo: Joel Lingat I ran today, its one of my goals for 2012 to run much more, ultimately I would like running to be as natural a choice of mode of transportation as cycling is today. Also I am on a bike, a spinning bike or real bike about twenty hours a week, some variation in my exercise regime is probably advisable.And running is very much like cycling, you us
af Lars Barfred
Copenhagen City of Bikes
Before I begin, if you don´t live in Denmark or the Netherlands, you may feel that if only your city was as welcoming to bikes. On the other hand, if you live en many Southern European cities, where the municipality has had enough reason to conclude, that cars ruin the old city center, and have virtually banned cars inside the old city walls, you may not be so envious. Copenhagen advertises it sel
af Lars Barfred
Overcomplicating Winter Cycling - Why It's Bad
One of the main focuses of this blog has always been on how Copenhagen and other cities have succeeded in increasing cycling levels by approaching the subject using mainstream marketing techniques. Tried and tested marketing that has existed since homo sapiens first started selling or trading stuff to each other. Modern bicycle advocacy, by and large, is flawed. It is firmly inspired by envi
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
The Future Isn't Here
The future didn't end up like this...If you thought the future according to Forum for the Future, Embarq and The FIA Foundation - in the previous post - was spooky and unsettling, it may be good to know that when Big Business attempts to predict the future, they are usually quite wrong.Above is a whopper of a film - 21 minutes long - that shows General Motors' futurevision from 1940. This was prod
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Fear This Future - Bikes Don't Exist
I've been puzzling over this most of the day today. A series of animated films from some group called Forum for the Future and their 'Megacities On The Move' project.Four scenarios of how we'll live our lives in 2040. I've had to watch each film twice - which is rather painful because they're not that good - in order to figure out what the hell these people are on about. I've decided to slap this
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Experience the Volkswagon Beast
Sandra from the always brilliant Classic Copenhagen blog spotted this today here in Copenhagen and posted it on Twitpic. An installation commercial for the new Volkswagon Beetle. It translates as:"Experience the wild animal - or beast, perhaps - on TheBeetle.dk".As street ads go, I've seen better. And while this doesn't exactly fit into our Car Industry Strikes Back category, the 20-something crea
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
Plastic Fantastic Bike Racks
You'd be excused for not having a clue what you're looking at right now. Innovation sometimes goes wrong, but at least the thought was a good, noble one. Bicycle racks outside Hedehusene Station, west of Copenhagen. I know about them and have seen them from the train to Roskilde countless times. There aren't many places that still have these bicycle racks anymore so when I rode to Roskilde for chr
af Mikael Colville-Andersen
The One Minute Idling Rule
These posters are up all over the city of Frederiksberg at the moment, where I live. They read, quite simply: "Idling your motor - Maximum 1 minute - When you idle your motor your car emits chemicals dangerous to health. Show consideration and turn off your motor."Hmm. Your car does it. Like it's alive and has a mind of it's own. Why, oh why, can it not just state that YOU emits dangerous chemcial
af Mikael
Ed van den Elsken Fietsen
Brilliant film from Ed van den Elsken. As our friend Angela called it, "A short movie about cycling in the pre cycle chic era". Fantastic footage from Amsterdam.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.
af Mikael
60 km to Christmas and Back
This year I decided to ride my bicycle to christmas. The kids were already with their mum down at grandma's house in Roskilde, west of Copenhagen, so I just needed to show up on the 24th, which is christmas in Denmark. Lovely sunshine that day, so I hopped on my Velorbis, wearing my respectable christmas clothes of course, and carrying a bag of presents on the front rack.I had just downloaded the
af Mikael
Innovative Elevated Cycle Track in Copenhagen
Bryggerampen - the new elevated cycle track in Copenhagen.Unique locations require unique solutions, whatever the city. Construction starts in February on a fantastic and innovative solution to fix an important missing link in the Copenhagen bicycle infrastructure network - Bryggerampen. Bryggebroen - bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Copenhagen Harbour.In 2006, a bicycle and pedestrian bridge -
af Mikael
Massive Fall in Air Pollution During World Championships
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 ha
af Mikael
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