Becoming a "Bike Capital": Concrete Examples
Building great cycling infrastructure requires more than just a plan. Cities like Bordeaux learned that political commitment, collaboration and citizen input are crucial.
Building great cycling infrastructure requires more than just a plan. Cities like Bordeaux learned that political commitment, collaboration and citizen input are crucial.
As part of the CIVITAS Handshake programme, ten European metropolises benefited from the expertise of three exemplary cycling cities (Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Munich) to support them for five years (2018-2022) in their own development (read also: Inspired by the major "bicycle capitals" in French).
Even before the project began in 2018, each city involved previously had a cycling concept, plan or strategy. However, they quickly recognised that this was not enough to overcome their development challenges and achieve their ambitions to increase the number of cyclists on their territory; the main obstacles are infrastructure and socio-cultural. Overcoming such challenges requires funding, expertise and a real willingness to commit, by setting clear objectives, taking into account the feedback of different stakeholders and making important changes. It is here that the CIVITAS Handshake programme was inserted, providing external help that can accelerate the transition to a better soft mobility network.
A cycling strategy is not enough to overcome development challenges and increase the number of cyclists in a territory.
Now that the programme is coming to an end, it's time to take stock. What are the main achievements of the participating cities? What lessons do they learn? What are their ambitions for the future? Here is what to remember from these five years of work propelled by cooperation.
Bordeaux (France)
"Political will is a determining factor in leading to change."
What Bordeaux retains from its experience:
Going to Copenhagen (mentor city) with officials from Bordeaux has helped to position the bike more in the political programme.
To find out what the other nine future "bicycle capitals" have achieved in the last five years, you can consult the document Facts and lessons from the transferred solutions.
Several cities have noted significant changes in citizens' behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Europeans have increased their cycling practice, bought equipment and integrated this mode of transport into their travel habits, a phenomenon also observable in North America (read also: The electric bike has the wind in its back / Le vélo électrique a le vent dans le dos in French). For municipalities, it was a period conducive to the integration of temporary developments which, in some cases, became permanent.
The crises we have been going through since 2020 (health, economic, environmental) could be synonymous with a catalyst for change (read also: Taking advantage of the crisis to reinvent the city and tourism / Profiter de la crise pour réinventer la ville et le tourisme in French). Municipalities have every advantage in remaining attentive to new trends and taking the opportunity to improve infrastructures advocating alternatives to the automobile on their territory. What if the momentum surrounding sustainable mobility was now? Will you be able to grab the ball on the jump?
As part of the CIVITAS Handshake programme, ten European metropolises benefited from the expertise of three exemplary cycling cities (Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Munich) to support them for five years (2018-2022) in their own development (read also: Inspired by the major "bicycle capitals" in French).
Even before the project began in 2018, each city involved previously had a cycling concept, plan or strategy. However, they quickly recognised that this was not enough to overcome their development challenges and achieve their ambitions to increase the number of cyclists on their territory; the main obstacles are infrastructure and socio-cultural. Overcoming such challenges requires funding, expertise and a real willingness to commit, by setting clear objectives, taking into account the feedback of different stakeholders and making important changes. It is here that the CIVITAS Handshake programme was inserted, providing external help that can accelerate the transition to a better soft mobility network.
A cycling strategy is not enough to overcome development challenges and increase the number of cyclists in a territory.
Now that the programme is coming to an end, it's time to take stock. What are the main achievements of the participating cities? What lessons do they learn? What are their ambitions for the future? Here is what to remember from these five years of work propelled by cooperation.
Bordeaux (France)
"Political will is a determining factor in leading to change."
What Bordeaux retains from its experience:
Going to Copenhagen (mentor city) with officials from Bordeaux has helped to position the bike more in the political programme.
To find out what the other nine future "bicycle capitals" have achieved in the last five years, you can consult the document Facts and lessons from the transferred solutions.
Several cities have noted significant changes in citizens' behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Europeans have increased their cycling practice, bought equipment and integrated this mode of transport into their travel habits, a phenomenon also observable in North America (read also: The electric bike has the wind in its back / Le vélo électrique a le vent dans le dos in French). For municipalities, it was a period conducive to the integration of temporary developments which, in some cases, became permanent.
The crises we have been going through since 2020 (health, economic, environmental) could be synonymous with a catalyst for change (read also: Taking advantage of the crisis to reinvent the city and tourism / Profiter de la crise pour réinventer la ville et le tourisme in French). Municipalities have every advantage in remaining attentive to new trends and taking the opportunity to improve infrastructures advocating alternatives to the automobile on their territory. What if the momentum surrounding sustainable mobility was now? Will you be able to grab the ball on the jump?
.webp)