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Related Channels
Bicycle Dutch
https://www.youtube.com/@BicycleDutch
Strong Towns
https://www.strongtowns.org/
https://www.youtube.com/@strongtowns
City Beautiful
https://www.youtube.com/@CityBeautiful
https://nebula.tv/citybeautiful
Ray Delahanty | CityNerd
https://www.youtube.com/@CityNerd
https://nebula.tv/citynerd
RMTransit
https://www.youtube.com/@RMTransit
https://nebula.tv/rmtransit
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References & Further Reading
Mobility protests in the Netherlands of the 1970s: Activism, innovation, and transitions
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210422421000769
The Hidden History of American Anti-Car Protests
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-08/the-hidden-history-of-american-anti-car-protests
The Baby Carriage Blockades
https://medium.com/vision-zero-cities-journal/the-baby-carriage-blockades-9b33c64db34d
Dymph Verdiesen – Omdat ik daar woonde
1972 Namens de kinderen van de Pijp
Oliecrises en de veranderende samenleving
https://www.autosnelwegen.nl/index.php/geschiedenis/8-1973-1991-oliecrises-en-de-veranderende-samenleving
How you can get involved in cycling advocacy
The Past, Present, and Future: Effective Advocacy with Mike Layton
47 Comments
Excuses about Winter incoming … https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU
Europ is going green, Americas is still going cars 🙂
protesting in Europ, works and give results ! America u shall not protest 🙂
The DnD shop at 5:39, i'm on to you now :p
"Luigi Mangione took the Dutch Approach."
Not Just Bikes
… Possibly
Cars kill cities… pity those that scream “Freedom” ask the time don’t understand that
I grew up in Utrecht. Great livable city nowadays. Protests do not always work. Look at the example of Amelisweerd. The 'Kindermoord' protests were strong because they were about a topic people cared about: children. Protesting for the environment would not have worked. I have kids now and I am so glad they can play outside and ride their bikes safely. Which makes me wonder why so few people in USA protest against school shootings, killing their children? If they do not care about that, what do they care about? Not improved urban planning probably.
Your best yet Jason. I remember when you contacted me at the beginning as an early patreon asking why. Your channel has changed my outlook and behaviour. I used to be a petrol head, pick-up truck and huge motorbike. Now, I have an e-bike. I have discovered a joy I never had when I was stuck in traffic. I live between real London and this island and love cycling both. Thanks for videos that engage me despite it being Christmas Day with family beckoning!
6:38 "Maybe, I didn't ask him" LMAOO
Utrecht is a great city, but it’s not perfect.
The area around the train station and pedestrian zones gets incredibly crowded. Some might see that as a positive, but for me, it’s just too many people crammed into too small a space, so I avoided it as much as I could when I lived there. In my opinion, there’s not enough space for the number of people using the city and its amenities. It’s hard to understand the scale of this from a video or map, but the charming, walkable part of Utrecht is actually just a small section of the old city near the train station. The rest of the city isn’t as walkable or appealing.
Housing is another big issue. There isn’t enough of it, and the cost per square meter is way out of reach for the average Dutch person, even if they’re okay with living in a tiny apartment.
Using a car in Utrecht is also a hassle. If you’re coming from out of town with kids or an elderly person, getting around and parking is intentionally made difficult, which can be really frustrating.
I'd still take it over a North American sprawling car dependent city any day of the week, just sharing another perspective.
Really making an effort to pronounce Utrecht the Dutch way. 🙂 So close to nailing the 'g', almost there. Love your channel!
Would you do a video about hitchhiking? How somehow people don't even think about it as an option anymore eventhough with modern technology it's easier than ever before. There is a Dutch stichting "NederlandLift" that's bringing back official hitchhiking spots.
something about this video sounds so much more aggressive than other videos but idk why
Let the solutions of these urbanisation problems over the last decades be a metaphor for the gun, drug and health problems and you know in which direction to look for the solutions.
It is so nice to see for once a video that actually… has a description that's a description where I can go and find all the links! THANK YOU!
10 departures per day would be extremely embarrassing for a tiny village in the mountains where I live
London, Ontario, Canada looks so uninspired. God forbid being born there.
Watching your videos provides me some pathways for application of critical thinking. You discuss about topics from a perspective that counters the current North American narrative.
UTEREG!!!!! MIJN STADSIE!
Severe car dependency and way, way too lax laws regarding driving under influence/ high alcohol levels that regarded as ok in the U.S.compared with most of the other countries on the globe – can only spell disaster.
Hi Jason. While I know you are an urbanist channel, would you please consider a video on Dutch healthcare vs American? I would love to hear your experiences on it, thank you.
Can you do a video about the infrastructure differeces between belgium and the Netherlands
Just wanted to let you know how I appreciate your Dutch pronunciation of my hometown of Utrecht! It sounds so much better than: "You-trekt". Regards!
Good video! But…ehm, please warn your viewers about the housing crisis in Utrecht before they are thinking of emigrating.
And IF they find a house…, buyers must have a big wallet! Housing in Utrecht and Amsterdam is the most expensive in The Netherlands.
But on the other hand…, it saves you the cost of a car ! 😉
I'm Dutch and love your videos, because they're spot-on and highly informative. For someone who has been living here only a few years, you grasped all the essential details impressively quickly, and it's great fun to also see them from your prespective. And you mention a lot of things that even a lot of natives like me didn't know.
I also love watches and visit watch channels and came across this one, made by somebody who has a voice sounding remarkably like yours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPmyAJkt3JY .
I feel this so much. I live in Amsterdam, and am also home in Ontario for the holidays, and it's disappointing how limited life is without a car, and how annoying it is with one. The fact that I can't do anything fun without travelling at least 100kms in total for the day is insane
It's just astonishing how desolate, empty car-centric cities look
This car centric cities looks like some dystopian nightmare. And I live in relatively poor country in east Europe.
My wife and I visited Amsterdam this past summer and enjoyed it immensely. This is how everyone should be able to live!
Sim City etc. are great intros to urban planning.
They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.
18:04 "Is the Wagner group trying to topple Putin?" Oh no.
Two years ago I moved with my family from a very car centric South American city to a much walkable / cycleable city in Italy. For me, it was as if there was always something wrong with where I lived but I never understood what it really was and discovering your channel made me open my eyes and managed to demonstrate me many things was off in my old life and ways to change my lifestyle. Today, I often use my bike to get around the city and I travel much more by train than by car, largely influenced by the arguments seen in your videos. Congratulations on your work. You are chenging lives.
The longer you live in a calm environment, the calmer you become. For a relaxed European driver, giving way, prioritizing safety, and focusing on smooth traffic flow is more satisfying than driving fast. That doesn’t mean my car is slow – I just don’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone. Sure, sometimes I unleash my swedish sleeper stage I 304HP and enjoy it, but I can’t imagine using my car as a way to express myself. I’d much rather let someone merge from a side road, signal to pedestrians or cyclists that they’re safe by slowing down. Driving through the city like this and seeing road culture improve is way more rewarding than some silly show-off moves
North Americans are just too heavy to flip over.
I mean North American CARS are too heavy to flip. Don't know what you were thinking just then.
The video may be a bit meta, but IMHO your best video to date!
Maybe the only cities in north america that escape this destruction by car infrastructure would be New York city and to some points San Fransisco, In Canada mostly all the historical cities have been tear down to get space for roads. Sadly Quebec city is a car city.
I moved here from America and, in my small town in Gelderland there are so many disabled people: blind, wheelchair bound, etc; being fully independent. Going to the store themselves, doctors appointments, going to fun things like zoos, museums, amusement parks. In car centric environments even those that COULD be more independent have to rely on someone else for SO much because they either can't drive, or can't afford an adapted vehicle. Here in the Netherlands I find people with disabilities are a part
ofthe community and society instead of apartfromit. It's wonderful to see.AWESOME video! I find it ironic that you call out people who've criticized you for being too negative, while at the same time this video is actually WAY more chill than your other recent videos. The tone of this video feels like a return to form for you, more similar to the tone of your earlier videos that converted me to urbanism.
Finding this channel gave me the words to describe the feeling of frustration I have with my city (Edmonton) and it's horrible urban sprawl. My family has been sporadically stuck without a car throughout the years, and doing ANYTHING without a vehicle in this city is a nightmare unless you live downtown.
I've finally been able to explain in detail to my relatives why I hate trucks and SUVs, too
Now I know that these changes are not irreversible, too
As a transplanted Londoner, my feeling watching this video is longing… I really like it here. I think there is a lot of potential, but I would love to see it become more pedestrian and cycling friendly. I love the line "Cities aren't loud. Cars are."
well as we are living in the Netherlands it's not as great as you have described. Bikes are everywhere, and pedestrians are actually very limited. As a driver, you are guilty even if car accident is cause by any biker, drunk or whatever else and or just oblivion to any danger. Is that right? Absolutely not. The drama each working day from 8 am till 9 am and the same in plys minutes 8 hours is just beyond. Bikes dropped anywhere, literally where it fits to the owner. Most of the time, ignoring surroundings and anyone else, including shop owners or fellow citizens. So is the Dutch way better than American, a bit yes. But is it really the solution for cities? NO.
I live in Utrecht and we have no dedicated video game stores anymore, so let's keep things real. 😢
I watch because you are glorifiyng the country that I sought to leave as much as you wanted to leave fake london….
I switched majors because your videos and so many other city planners showed me where my passion lays and what I want to do!
Just one more parking lot bro. That'll fix it bro. Come on!
But in all seriousness, US public transit sucks. Always dirty, and almost always late (or excessively early). Also, I had the misfortune of sharing a route with a wheelchair bound man who would visibly soil himself every time he rode.
I think we need to focus on bikes and walkability first.
I'm from Brussels and I live in Toronto. I kind of did the opposite move to you. I now own my first car (never had to drive before). I still cycle a lot and I cried when I heard about Bill 212.
PS: I actually started liking driving in Canada. I think there is no way back now. I am a driver. Please help me.
I was born in the Netherlands and live in Switzerland since i got 5 years old. We still visit the Netherlands every year and i really love it. Just like Utrecht, the city we always go is also very walkable with a car-free city center. I dont know in how many other cities they exist, but they also have something called "fietsstraat" which is probably also why cyclists and cars can drive next to each other without problems and making it more attractive for cyclists in general.
Ive also been to Zurich many times and even though its more hilly than the Netherlands, the city is still very walkable and public transport is also very reliable (Swiss standards ;P ). I also heard there is a project to make the area around Zürich HB (Hauptbahnhof/central train station) car-free which will make it even more walkable.