amsterdam is a city of 900,000 people 1,200 bridges and 1.5 million bikes But the Dutch weren’t born with wheels for feet
If my grandmother had wheels she would have been a bike
The Netherlands had to struggle long and hard to become the cycling country that it is today In the 1960s and the 1970s protests emerged which demanded the cars take a backseat in city life These protests were not always popular but they involved a broad coalition of actors working together to drive change and apply pressure at different levels Academics artists agitators anarchists they use disruption and performance and an intimate knowledge of local systems to apply pressure to drive change and to develop cycling first cities These days cycling is almost always the fastest way to get around Amsterdam We transport everything by bike groceries furniture and up to eight children But pro tip when parking in Amsterdam be sure to tie something distinctive to your handlebars or you may forget where you have parked your bike To find out more about how Amsterdam became the cycling capital of the world check out this week’s episode of Revolutions of Our Time wherever you get your podcasts [Music]
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