The city of Utrecht beat Copenhagen on the Copenhagenization Index– a competition to be the best at biking and urban mobility. We visit the city to steal the cheat codes to the top (so other cities can get back in the race).
#PlanetA #Cycling #Utrecht
Credits:
Reporter: Aditi Rajagopal
Video Editor: Andreas Hyronimus
Camera: Henning Goll
Supervising Editors: Kiyo Dörrer, Adam Baheej Adada, Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Fact-Check: Kirsten Funck
Thumbnail: Em Chabridon
Read more:
The city’s vision for 2040: https://healthyurbanliving.utrecht.nl/our-vision-for-utrecht-in-2040
Original video of Utrecht from 1993: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndp4-HLYrig
Dutch Cycling: Quantifying the Health and Related Economic Benefits: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4504332/
The Dutch Approach to Bicycle Mobility: Retrofitting Street Design for Cycling: https://international.fhwa.dot.gov/pubs/pl18004/chap04.cfm
The Economic Case for Cycling/cost-benefit analysis: https://itdp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CC_MAKING-THE-ECONOMIC-CASE-FOR-CYCLING-2022_JUNE11.pdf and https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/watch-six-times-more-expensive-travel-car-bicycle#:~:text=If%20the%20costs,every%20kilometre%20cycled.
Persistent pedestrianism: urban walking in motor age America, 1920s–1960s: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/urban-history/article/abs/persistent-pedestrianism-urban-walking-in-motor-age-america-1920s1960s/8241AC5118CD01C7B1F2AF9D8E8965F9
Dutch cycling blog: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2017/09/12/future-fast-cycle-route-utrecht-amersfoort/
We’re destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. We’ll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
Follow Planet A on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dw_planet
00:00 Intro
00:35 The transformation of Utrecht
03:31 The biking city
05:32 Looking back to look forward
07:40 Can this work elsewhere? / The cheat codes
10:12 Conclusion / Another crisis and opportunity
27 Comments
wish we could follow netherland. but the reason we are not is because we in europe rely heavily on car industry, hopefully we can improve in the future
Going through Utrecht still is strange to me , used to pass through nearly weekly in the 80's and early 90's , but seldom nowadays , get lost every time , as old memories are 100% useless ..
What happened at 4:38 is unfortunately very relatable 😄
Small town? 4th biggest city in the Netherlands. Busiest train station in the country. Ranked top 20 busiest train station in Europe. Big old city centre, lots of tourists and a huge university… How can we take makers of documentary's serious when they call this a small town?
Utrecht became terrible when liberals took over, glad I don't live there anymore.
Safety really is a major concern, here in São Paulo, Brazil, that's the main reason for me not considering using a bike to work. Having to ride along buses and fast cars on a daily basis is not very attractive.
Ireland should pay more attention to Utrecht!
i didnt know Utrecht was a small town🤣
I am born in Utrecht, the building of Hoog Catherine was the biggest mistake ever. I am glad the car focus has been repaired and Hoof Catherijne is more human friendly. We life in Berlin, dear Berlin city council go and have a look this is the example how to adjust the city.
I love The Netherlands – it really opened my eyes to how much better places can feel if they are not so dominated by cars. I've been back many times since I first visited in the early 2010s, and each time I don't want to come back to the UK!
I'm glad you showed the cycle parking – that is a glaring omission in many places that discourages people from using bikes even when cycle lanes have been installed. As a perfect example of this, I went to an Ai Weiwei show in Manchester last night but had to take an Uber because there are only around 10 insecure stands to store bikes in the area around the venue and they are notorious for bike thefts. I rarely cycle into the city centre because of this, even though it would be highly convenient for me. The one place in the entire city centre with secure bike parking requires membership and is expensive – the Dutch model is so much better.
Wow fantastic to see.
Did not know that Utrech is even beating Copenhagen 🙂
With fewer cars there are so many benefits – my favorite benefit is NO noise pollution!
In America, we're often forced to lock our bikes using "utility" poles due to lack of or insufficient bike racks, but that's not even the worst, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED to ride a "nice" bikes because it is 100% GUARANTEED to be stolen in broad daylight (don't even THINK about leaving it in overnight). They just CUT the chain right in front of everybody. It's a "property" crime so it gets ZERO attentions from the police. What are you gonna do? File a report? GET REAL.
Whenever I see these kind of videos about how horrible and traffic-filled anywhere was in the 1970s, and how lovely it is now they've eradicated cars, my first thought is to look at the pictures of then and think "wow, a Renault Dauphine! A Mk 1 Capri! A big old Mercedes saloon!" 😊
Sorry.
I doubt anyone would say the same about a traffic-jammed street today crammed with electric SUVs and "compact" shopping cars that are the size of a family saloon back then, though
Oxford in England at one time looked just like this: all bicycles, no cars.
As a Copenhagener, I used to think we had it all figured out, but I completely envy Utrecht and the broader Dutch approach to progressive bike infrastructure now. You guys definitely win this round! 🇩🇰🤝🇳🇱
I live in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, and it is nicknamed "Autowa" for a reason. Our city council hates anything that isn't car infrastructure and our provincial leaders have been actively ripping out bike infrastructure. It's really sad when we see what could be possible.
We are regressing while other countries progress.
If only we could have a centre left national government, the whole country would be peaceful and economical viable like Utrecht and Amsterdam 🙏🏻 Unfortunately too many right wing Wappies………😔
Plus doing so while being the best country to drive according to waze and other rankings
I detest the "cycling infrastructure" the UK has been building – it looks foreign to me, a leftover from our membership of the EU. Our Highway Code says cyclists and pedestrians are road users too, and this is superior to silly cycle lanes nobody wants. All we've ever needed to do is to move private motors away from places where people want to travel short distances among other people. We don't much make cars or fuel any more – feckless motoring around causes horrific capital outflow among other problems.
4:37 LOL
the word's
mkay
😞 Oh, wow. I'm saddened at the lack of handicapped accessibility. Buses have been cut.
No care about persons who are visually impared, have lung disease, or are wheelchair bound who might want to commute to a job, doctors appointment, or shopping.
Frustrating.
I live near Utrecht and cycle to and from the city centre a couple of times a week. It is indeed a city that gives cycling priority.
However, not all is positive. Utrecht suffers from ‘First-mover disadvantage’ in that most of the cycling infrastructure was built before the explosion in the use of e-bikes. Most bike lines were not designed for cyclist at higher speeds using the same path as lower speed cyclists.
For an e-bike the bike garage under the station is not an option; I never use it. The stands are too low for a full man-size e-bike and the bike is too heavy to lift up in an upper stand (which can also be too low). It is also not secure. You can basically go in with any old bike and leave with an expensive new one. Locks will not stop a determined thief.
The municipal bike garages (not mentioned in the video) are smaller but have an attendant checking that you leave with the same bike as you entered with (by scanning 2 barcodes). This is what the NS (railway corporation) should do as locals will now avoid using their bike garage.
World
All cities in the world have to make this example of how people should live, a bike zone where everyone must have a bike. I need a city like this where I can live.
Utrecht is not small or a town
Cool!