Urbanized Page #5

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to the richest area of the city.

I think it's a revolution

in the way urban life works.

This kind of high quality

infrastructure for bicycles

increases the social status

of cyclists.

Before we had bicycle ways,

low-income people

were ashamed of using bicycles.

Now a high-quality protected bicycle

way shows that

a citizen on a $30 bicycle

is equally important to one

in a $30,000 dollar car.

And here is something interesting,

you can see how the pedestrians

and bicycles have pavement,

and the cars are in the mud.

So it's a priority for the pedestrians

and the bicycles

and then later sometime

we will pay for the cars.

But first the pedestrians.

So this completely shows respect

for human dignity, for everybody,

not just those who have cars

who normally think to be the important

ones in developing country cities.

Again, this democracy at work.

In Copenhagen we have,

for 30 or 40 years,

had this very distinctive policy

to invite people to bicycle

as much as possible.

There is a complete network

of bicycle lanes citywide.

In what we call Copenhagen-style

bicycle lane.

We always have the bicycle lanes

next to the sidewalk.

The sidewalks are the slow traffic,

the bike lanes are a little bit faster,

and then there would be parked cars,

and then there would be the traffic.

In this way you have the parked cars

to protect the bicyclists,

instead of the bicyclists

to protect the parked cars.

It helps invite a lot of people

who would be too afraid to bicycle

to get the idea, "I can actually do it,

because now it is much safer."

In ten years we have seen

the bicycling doubling.

We have seen that now we have 37%

of everyone commuting to work

arriving on his bicycle.

It keeps people fit, it doesn't pollute

and it doesn't take up much space.

It's a really smart way

of getting around the city.

I think a good city

is like a good party.

If you ask a guy that was

at a good party on Friday,

he says "Oh my dear, I was only home

by 5;30 in the morning."

If people get involved in social

activities

they will forget place and time

and just enjoy.

That is why I would say, do not look at

how many people

are walking in the city,

but look at how many people

have stopped walking

to stay and enjoy what is there.

The challenge is how

do we make sure

that public open spaces

are inviting and well used.

And in these spaces, design detail

makes all the difference.

There should be multiple kinds

of seating,

many different reasons for people

to come into a space.

For instance, movable chairs.

People, when they sit in a chair

that's moveable,

they just move it so much.

So it's kind of their chair

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