amsterdam

Dutch City Biking

On the 4th March 2013, Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor of London's Cycling Commissioner, stated that "it took 40 years to turn Amsterdam in to Amsterdam". But it will take even longer to turn London in to a cycling nirvana.[read more]

Van der Pek, Amsterdam

The rise of automobiles, franchises and Internet shopping has forced many out of business or into niches that don’t correspond with the needs of their local communities.[read more]

Even in cold weather, Amsterdam has a successful biking culture, proving that climate does not always deter cyclists. Photo by Bauke Karel. Biking and walking infrastructure is often evaluated from the point of view of the planners. To get more public input on these topics, the Mineta Transportation Institute recently...[read more]

Here at This Big City, we believe that encouraging bicycle use is a key ingredient in developing more sustainable cities. We’ve featured hundreds of articles on that topic in 2011, and here’s 5 of the best: Making Cycling Safer – What Does the Research Tell us? As cycling becomes more popular in cities all over the globe, shouldn’t we...[read more]

In today’s world, going green is almost a necessity, and a kind gesture to Mother Earth that only takes small steps to make a big difference.  Using a bicycle, instead of driving a car, is one way to help reduce the carbon footprint that you have on the Earth and reduce emissions in the atmosphere.  When looking at...[read more]

Mass protests against the domination of cars were one factor that led to the superb cycling infrastructure of today's Netherlands.Given the reputation of the Netherlands as a cyclist’s paradise, you might think that its extensive cycling infrastructure came down from heaven itself, or was perhaps created by the wave of a magic wand. Not...[read more]

As the Urban Bicycle Networks and Sustainable Communities series draws to a close, it would be great to say that I’ve established a definitive connection between the two. Sadly, that’s not happened. That is not to say the connection does not exist, or has not been hinted at within this series, more that establishing comprehensive proof...[read more]

Amsterdam and San Francisco, despite being thousands of miles apart, have got a few things in common. The development of both cities has been heavily influenced by the dominance of water, Amsterdam with its northern harbour and canals, and San Francisco with the funneling effect of being a peninsula. However, San Francisco’s urban...[read more]

While centuries of urban development in Amsterdam prior to the bicycle’s invention resulted in a city ideal for both bicycle use and a bicycle network, the same cannot be said for London. As a busier centre of trade bound less by geographical restrictions than Amsterdam, sprawl has been a continuous part of London’s urban form. However,...[read more]

Congestion problems are different in every city, as are the solutions. Here are five cities with five different congestion innovations, each of which has been featured on This Big City in the last two years: Amsterdam – Congestion in Amsterdam is not only caused by cars. With the average Amsterdammer owning 1.5 bicycles, it’s...[read more]

Amsterdam’s all about bicycles.  We see it from a tourist perspective and think it’s picturesque and maybe a little quirky.  We’re the new world, surely we know how to get around better than those old Europeans.  Our cars give us freedom and consumer choice.  But there is an argument for another reality:  that...[read more]

I have always loved Amsterdam, and not solely because I am from California. I credit a common (for foreigners) near-death experience there a decade ago — almost getting run over by a stream of bikes in dedicated lanes — with my transformation from old-school housing guy to full-fledged urbanist. Amsterdam can be an epiphany: a subtle,...[read more]