Recently, I traveled to Amsterdam on a course designed by the Foresight Design Initiative to make a comparative analysis of sustainable innovation in Chicago and Amsterdam. Both cities are doing fascinating work in the environmental sector, but one of the most simple yet striking features of sustainability in Amsterdam is the bicycling. I probably don’t need to spend much time describing why bicycling is one of the most sustainable, healthy and freeing modes of transportation, but the cultural pervasiveness of bicycling in Amsterdam and the Netherlands can certainly teach us some lessons. The following is a short excerpt from my presentation at the Chicago Green Drinks about our bicycling tour Amsterdam:
There are several reasons why bicycling is so popular in Amsterdam: like Chicago, it’s a flat city. They have very little space (a reason which motivates many of their environmental initiatives), so they have to embrace alternative forms of transportation (perhaps even alternative forms of bikes). The city has a history and culture built around bicycling which leads to the development of policy and infrastructure around the bicycle. The combination of culture, policy and infrastructure make this a very practical and comfortable form of sustainable transportation.
On what must have been one of the coldest days of the year in Amsterdam, not so different from the weather we left in Chicago, our group went for a morning bicycle tour with Pascal van den Noort, director of the organization Vélo Mondial, an international non-profit that promotes cycling.
Some interesting features of the tour included dedicated and separated bike lanes with their own stop lights, features like the award winning Nesciobrug pedestrian and biking bridge and other newer developments incorporating features like bike lanes between buildings and traffic diversion to the periphery.
On the topic of making bicycling a practical, comfortable and safe experience, I was interested to see the lack of bicycle helmets – I don’t think I saw one the entire trip. While personally I’m a fastidious helmet wearer in Chicago, this contrast really exemplifies the ease of biking in Amsterdam and the stress and danger of biking in Chicago. The biking culture and environment in Amsterdam really does promote a safe and relaxed environment for riding that can be utilized by everyone from men and women to small children to the elderly.
One last plug has to be made for our excellent tour guide Pascal and his organization. Vélo Mondial promotes cycling as a positive mode of transportation and sustainable mobility through global conferences, projects and events. I hope there could be a potential to involve the organization in the promotion of biking here. In Amsterdam, a city where Pascal described one of the main problems as “not enough bicycle parking,” I have high hopes that Chicago can and will learn a great deal in terms of making sustainable mobility a practical, comfortable and typical activity in the city.
Bicycle Parking (from velomondial.blogspot.com)
Tags: Amsterdam, Bicycling, Chicago, Sustainable Mobility
