9 May 2018
In the 1960s, Copenhagen’s streets were clogged with cars, road projects were being proposed to run through some of the city’s most beautiful districts, and traffic fatalities and pollution were becoming a concern.
Now, 45 per cent of commuters coming into the Danish capital on any given day ride a bicycle. And over 60 per cent of people in the city proper travel to work or school by bike.
How Copenhagen quit its car-dependent ways to become an urban-mobility utopia is a fascinating story – one that James Thoem, a keynote speaker at the Planning Institute of Australia’s 2018 Planning Congress, is keen to relate to an Australian audience.
Mr Thoem grew up in Burlington, Ontario, and studied urban planning at the University of Toronto, later working for a city councillor. After studying in Stockholm where he completed a masters in urban planning, James moved to his Copenhagen for an internship at Copenhagenize.
Now a full-time urban planner at Copenhagenize – company motto: “We're the multi-disciplinary ‘go-to’ team for cities in all matters relating to bicycle culture, planning, traffic and communications” – Mr Thoem collaborates with urban planners and community leaders to create more bicycle-friendly streets – not just in the Danish capital, but in cities around the world.
He has recently worked with the City of Detroit (still synonymous with car-making in the United States) on a project to create its entire downtown bicycle strategy.
Of Copenhagen’s approach to bicycle urbanism, Mr Thoem says the city “isn’t pursuing cycling just for cycling’s sake, or to be the most bicycle-friendly city. They’re doing it because they see it as a serious piece of the puzzle in making a more liveable city.”
The benefits for cities that embrace bikes are considerable: cycling infrastructure costs less to build and maintain, and studies have calculated that for every kilometre cycled, society actually profits to the tune of about 20c. By comparison, each kilometre driven costs society about 15c.
As Australian cities and drivers struggle with congested streets and parking shortages, can we learn anything from the Copenhagen model?
Mr Thoem is certain we can – though he says the starting point for change is to redefine what streets are for. They’re not for moving cars but people.
He says it’s important to note, however, that what works in one city to get people moving efficiently as possible may need adapting or refinement to work in another.
Mr Thoem will be exploring this and other facets of city cycling strategies in his keynote session on 10 May with Copenhagenize colleague Michael Wexler.
The 2018 PIA Planning Congress is being held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre 9-11 May 2018.
ENDS