This Big City

Ever wondered what goes on in the sky above one of the...

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:41:00 +0100

Ever wondered what goes on in the sky above one of the world’s largest cities? Check out this timelapse video of London’s skies created by the guys at Digital Urban. Made up of thousands of photographs taken over 12 hours at 5 second intervals, this video reveals cloud movement, aeroplane activity, and even a few birds flying into shot!

"The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be..."

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:42:54 +0100

“The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destinations.”

- John Scharr, Futurist

This Big City in Conversation with Bonnie Wong

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:12:05 +0100

Bonnie Wong - an independent consultant who makes enterprises investment ready, with an equal interest in sustainable development - recently met with This Big City for a coffee in east London. Sustainable developments and the role of communities in planning were just a few of the topics that emerged in conversation:

Bonnie Wong: I work for private sector clients, and they have access to a lot of assets, they do stuff quickly and they’ve got their processes down. I’m trying to take a bit of that into the social enterprise, not-for-profit sector, trying to get them to move a bit more…

This Big City: Efficiently? There is a lot to be said for that, because these private sectors do that so well. They’ve refined their working methods almost to perfection, and that level of organisation between divisions could be utilised well in start-up social enterprises.

BW: I do have a bit of a split personality at the moment though, because it’s the private sector work that generates the most money, but it doesn’t do as much social good. But these organisations are very well connected and very good at building their networks. But on the other side, I speak to a lot of social entrepreneurs who have good ideas with real meaning, but they’re not very well organised. They are very good at reaching out to people, but not so good at putting a plan together. Obviously, there are lots of successful social enterprises, but what is the difference? What is it that makes things happen?

TBC: Do you think that people aren’t motivated in the same way by social good as they are personal good? Is it a different reaction when the goal is social benefit compared to personal benefit?

BW: Here’s the thing actually, and I haven’t written this down so it might be useful for me to hear. The fact of the matter is that social enterprises still have an element of self-interest in it, we all have personal needs, and we all need to do work we enjoy, but there is also a natural interdependency between people. You have to bear in mind what other people need. But people need to be independent. People need to do things for themselves in order to do things for other people. When I can do something and I’m confident in my ability to do it, I’m better equipped to help others.

TBC: Oh definitely, and this is something that features highly in sustainable communities. And actually, there are planning methods that utilise this way of thought, bringing people of varied skills in early on in building developments, creating a built environment that was designed and built by members of the community who end up living there.

BW: It makes perfect sense actually. If you get users involved in the development at the start, it is more likely to be a success.

TBC: And you’re creating a stronger community too, people who know there neighbours and people who have shared past experiences. The worst thing you can do in development is go all the way, designing and building these places before you’ve had any community involvement.

BW: And that happens a lot! I’d like to find a solution to this! Actually, there’s a behavioural element to how things should function in a city, or a community… which happens first, is it doing something that changes behaviour therefore infrastructure works better, or do you put infrastructure in in order to change how things work? This applies equally to organisations as it does to cities.

TBC: I think if you’re trying to force people to do something they don’t want to do through design, then it’s not going to end well. They’ll do it, but they won’t embrace it. It’s like with the new cycle hire scheme in London. Cycling in London has been increasing for years, and it has already increased again since launching the cycle hire. But the social signs were already there showing which infrastructure changes to introduce.

BW: In that case, I’d like to see more of an awareness or an appreciation for people’s behaviour, which I don’t see enough in the work that I do with sustainable communities. And I think people’s behaviour at the moment is actually lending itself to a more sustainable way of doing things. One thing I’ve heard of that has happened in community development services which I like is an affordable pricing system. Everyone gets the same service, but if you want to pay more, you can pay more.

TBC: So it’s like with free software. You can get it for nothing, but if you want to donate something for the product you’re using, they make it easy for you to do that!

BW: Yeah, and I support that model, but it does need to have a strong behavioural foundation to it for it to work.

TBC: But the Western world has been conditioned by capitalism, hasn’t it? People are behaving in a way subconsciously modeled by capitalism’s ideals, and I think for these sorts of goodwill schemes to become mainstream, it would need a huge change in global psyche.

BW: It may just happen.

TBC: Oh yeah, it’s very possible, but it would involve a big change.

BW: My ideas are not that unique. I feel reassured that I feel this way about things and then I read articles and watch talks where other academics and professionals think the same things. I saw something recently about large corporations that donate some of their huge profits to charity. What they were saying is that if they paid people more fairly in the first place, then it may eventually do away with the need for charity.

TBC: That’s interesting, and as much as it’s partly true, it is taking the truth to an extreme. For one reason or another, there’s no such thing as a world that doesn’t need charity. There’s always going to be people in need, and I think it’s impossible to avoid.

BW: It’s about getting the balance back though… the academics put it far more succinctly than I seem to be able to though!

TBC: They always do don’t they!

BW: I consider myself very fortunate to be in the position I’m in, and I’m trying very hard to use what I’ve learned in the private sector to do some good. I’m trying to take these things that happen in the private sector, and apply them in social enterprises. But this brings a whole new set of challenges. People aren’t used to being presented with rules, or contracts, but they are actually very important because they set out what is expected of people. You know, what the agreement is, actually. Without that, things are a bit vague and you get miscommunications and expectations aren’t met. I don’t mean to overproceduralise things, but an element of it helps.

TBC: I think a structured environment is very beneficial, but again, it’s about balance. People don’t respond well when there’s rules about everything, but they do respond to a strong general structure.

BW: There’s a time and a place for it, definitely. In what I do, I give people room for a bit of randomness and chaos, which is great for the creative person, but the actual act of getting things done needs a bit more process, especially if it’s within a group of people. But in some ways, things are more complicated now. Communities used to be really small, your neighbours or your village. You knew who they were, where they were, what they did. But now, people travel to work so your workplace is a community. People move to different countries…

TBC: And then there’s online communities…

BW: Yeah! And people have started to forget the basics about community.

TBC: Well, I’m from the country, and it’s exactly that form of community that you mention that I was raised in. But what is it about those form of environments that you think are lost when these community boundaries are stretched, geographically speaking?

BW: Well… much of it comes down to communication, but it really is very complicated!

TBC: Actually you are right. I was reading about language and communication recently, and how it sets examples for people to behave. Like when you go to the doctors surgery and they have signs up complaining about 10% non-attendance. But what they are actually doing here is telling you that non-attendance is a social norm. If they instead put signs up congratulating people on achieving 90% attendance, would that then remove the normalisation of poor behaviour?

BW: Yes, you see these demonstrations and you think ‘I could do that to!’

TBC: Yes! But the approach that I try to take in my work is to acknowledge flaws, but offer suggestions on how things could be done. If you tell people they are wrong, then I suppose that’s ok, but I much prefer saying ‘this is where you’re wrong, but here’s how it could be done!’

BW: Yeah, but you need a real understanding of how things work now in order to create those suggestions of progression. You’ve got to go from where things are now to create change. Here’s the curious thing, though. Is globalisation the cause of the world’s ailments? Because there are arguments for making things more global…

TBC: Well, globalisation brings you an awareness of the world, which in turn reminds you of the importance of locality.

BW: And globalisation supposedly gave people access to more resources, but at the same time there’s less security. It’s complicated.

TBC: We’ve made it complicated. It’s foolish to think that globalisation is going to improve the world. It’s just going to bring a new set of complications, an evolution of culture. It’s probably better in some ways and worse in others.

BW: Here’s another thought. It will kind of depend on what the majority will end up being. There’s at least three or four bands. There’s the ultimate sustainable living, eco-villages, allotments, whatever, the whole thing. There’s spend spend spend over there, and then there’s the whole greenwash thing. But community interactions tend to be shaped by the majority. I had this really interesting conversation with a squatter who had just been kicked out of a squatted building. I was walking past that night and got talking to this man, who made a point that most squatters tend to really look after the buildings they are living in out of a need for shelter. Everyone pitches in, complete co-operative community ethos to it. He made a very good point that if the majority is well-meaning, and subscribing to the same values, then that’s what they community will hold.

TBC: Well, that’s what society is, essentially, as long as most of us follow the rules then society functions. If we go against that en-masse…

BW: If people develop a greater consciousness about doing things in moderation… but it’s hard! I live away from my family, and I hop on a plane twice a year. Sustainable communities are about being close to the people you care about.

TBC: But for society to become more sustainable, environmentally at least, we need to be doing less flying. It is a dilemma. Do you tell people they can’t have holidays? Do you price them out through taxes, which is essentially telling them they can’t have holidays? It’s a tough call. Or is it actually that tough?

Bonnie blogs at Look Up, Look Around and runs the business consultancy Composition Advisory Limited. You can follow @BonnieOWong on twitter .

Looking for a cycle hire docking point in central London?...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:21:37 +0100

Looking for a cycle hire docking point in central London? Shouldn’t be much of an issue, as the above map shows.

The Truth About London's Cycle Superhighways - Part 2

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:21:00 +0100

Earlier this month I cycled the entire length of the CS3 - one of London’s new ‘Cycle Superhighways’ - and presented a photo essay of the route here on TBC. Now, in order to further explore London’s new cycle infrastructure, I am doing the same for the CS7 - the second of the routes. These superhighways are supposed to provide safe, fast and more direct journeys into the city centre, and London will see two more open every summer through to 2015.

The above image shows the start of the CS7 in Colliers Wood, around 9 miles south west of the city centre. It starts quite subtly, with two blue lanes emerging either side of the road outside the tube station.

The route progresses alongside the main road, often sharing space within bus lanes. In fact, one major difference between the CS7 and the CS3 is a lack of raised space. As shown during my last post on this subject, much of the CS3 is raised from road level, fully separating cyclists from automobiles. This doesn’t happen frequently on the CS7.

If the solid blue lanes become broken for any reason - in this case, a bus stop - blue squares move to the side of the obstruction, illustrating to other road users that the CS7 is continuing in their space.

At traffic lights, the CS7 widens to ensure cyclists priority whichever direction their journey continues in.

Whilst a Cycle Superhighway at the same level as the road isn’t necessarily a bad thing - cars and bikes should be able to peacefully co-exist, after all - it does lead to complications. Disregard from other road users parking in the lanes renders them useless, but at many points along the CS7, there are designated parking bays located directly on top of the cycle lane. In the photo above, the CS7 is totally obstructed by a van parked within an official parking bay. Shared space on the road is acceptable, provided all vehicles within it are moving.

Route maps are dotted throughout the route, showing you your progress and providing time estimates for your trip.

As the route gets close to the city centre, it leaves the road and begins sharing space with pedestrians…

… running alongside a park on a car-free road. At this point, the route begins to be illustrated by these big blue squares instead of a solid path.

As the blue squares can be more complicated to follow than a solid cycle lane, road signage begins to be introduced.

Now very close to central London, solid lanes sporadically emerge, fully separated from the main road.

Points where the route has to cut across major road sections are clearly illustrated to all road users, with traffic flow governed by traffic lights. Notice the London Cycle Hire station in the distance - what a well integrated section of the route!

As the CS7 reaches its final destination - Southwark Bridge over the river Thames - it becomes physically divided from the road for one of the few points during the route.

As with the CS3, the CS7 is a vast improvement on what existed before, but has frustrating moments of inadequate functionality. The fact that other road users are actually encouraged to park on the cycle lane is a massive error, significantly reducing the experience for those using the CS7, which, other than this oversight, is an excellent piece of infrastructure for cyclists.

Read the first part of this post here.

Mario Kart becomes a reality in Portland after bicycle lanes are...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0100

Mario Kart becomes a reality in Portland after bicycle lanes are decorated with symbols found in the computer game. Not government funded, I should add.

Tackling London's Gang Culture

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:08:00 +0100

London has a long history of gang culture, once being considered the gang capital of the world. Yet despite handing that title over to American cities in the mid-twentieth century, gangs have remained a consistent problem - a problem which in recent years appears to be on the increase.

Whilst a gang is essentially a group of people, it can be a difficult thing to define. Gangs evolve rapidly, with offshoots quickly forming from established groups, introducing a new set of loyalties and rules. As a result of its ever-changing nature, reports on gang culture in London vary wildly. Involvement figures vary too, with some studies suggesting as few as 1,500 people involved in gangs in the whole of London, and others quoting 2,500 gang members in just one of London’s 32 boroughs.

However, certain elements of gang culture are consistent throughout London. With an increasing amount of young people becoming involved in gangs, more youths are being murdered as a result of gang violence. In 2009, London saw 13 teenagers murdered, with this figure reached in less than seven months in 2010. Whilst not all of these murders were gang-related, many were, with the Dying to Belong report by The Centre for Social Justice suggesting that at least half of murders of young people in London are gang-related.

Another widely-noted feature of London’s gangs is that they are taking inspiration from the gang culture of American cities. Some wear colours denoting their allegiances, and the ‘tagging’ of buildings with graffiti is also increasing - behavioural patterns common in many American gangs.

Therefore, if London’s gangs are evolving to become more like those in America, it would be logical to suggest that London could look to the efforts of American cities in order to pre-empt its own gang problems. However, many of these cities appear to be struggling to control their gangs as much as London is. In Los Angeles - a city which has spent billions on gang prevention - there are six times as many gangs and twice as many gang members as there were 25 years ago.

Chicago has also struggled with gang culture. A major crackdown after a summer of extreme violence in 2008 resulted in 400 officers dispatched to reduce violence in the cities poorest areas. Initially, this was deemed a success, with many older gang leaders ending up behind bars, but unfortunately, the long-term framework required to maintain good behaviour was not in place. The resulting lack of leadership in gangs caused fragmentation, generating an increase in violence between splintering gangs. The city was also too specifically focused on poorer areas, pushing gangs out of these localities and into the suburbs rather than dissolving them entirely.

But despite mixed results in Los Angeles and Chicago, successful strategies employed in Boston could act as a template for London. In an attempt to tackle high levels of gang-related violence in the poorest neighbourhoods, Boston implemented a violence prevention strategy, Operation Ceasefire, in 1996 to much success.

Operation Ceasefire attempted to bring about a broader understanding of gang culture in Boston by applying quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess the dynamics of youth violence in the city. This included mapping all gang behaviour, such as localities, rivalries, gang-related murders and the location of crime suspects. This was supported by a multi-agency team, including members of the police force, probation officers, the Department of Youth Services, and school police.

Attempting to better understand their gangs through research, and providing a broad supportive network to enforce their efforts enabled the city to reduce their youth homicides from a high of 73 victims in 1990 to 10 victims two years after Operation Ceasefire was implemented.

Boston’s success in managing negative gang behaviour has shaped gang prevention strategies across the world. The Stockholm Gang Intervention & Prevention Project places an emphasis on gang research and a ‘multidimensional approach’ across different Swedish authorities to support their efforts. Chicago’s focus on areas where gang activity was highest was also taken from Operation Ceasefire, but their lack of long-term success demonstrates the importance of a fully comprehensive gang-prevention strategy.

Therefore London’s approach to gang prevention needs to closely follow that taken in Boston with Operation Ceasefire. The removal of weapons would also need to be a kay aim. The focus in Boston was firearms, but due to stricter gun laws in Britain, knife crime is a bigger problem in London and would need to be the priority of gang prevention efforts.

However, this approach would just be the beginning of London’s efforts to tackle gang violence. The city needs to tackle the more consistent, longer term problems of which it already knows, whilst simultaneously attempting to better understand the gang culture present on its streets.

Tackling London’s gang culture is far from simple. Positively engaging those in London’s most poverty stricken areas at a time when job opportunities are rare and government spending is being cut is an enormous challenge. However, gang related violence is on an increase, and this is something the city should not accept, whatever its economic situation.

Whilst an in-depth knowledge of London’s gangs is lacking, there is enough understanding to begin proactively addressing the problem - with the steps taken by Boston’s Operation Ceasefire a good place to begin. But the spin-off results from this approach would be unique to London and might not be resolvable using approaches taken overseas. Despite its complexity and ever changing nature, London desperately needs to better understand its gang culture before it can competently tackle gang violence.

Image courtesy of mamanat (Alison) on flickr.

"Pattern books receded in use after World War II, when the building industry ramped up for the mass..."

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:39:40 +0100

“Pattern books receded in use after World War II, when the building industry ramped up for the mass production of homes, increasing its efficiency by standardizing production, erecting swirling whirls of identical houses winding along side roads off major roadways. Developers - not homeowners or communities - decided how homes would look.”

- Kirstin Downey explores the history of the architectural pattern book.

What if we could have changed the path of Hurricane Katrina?...

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:59:00 +0100

What if we could have changed the path of Hurricane Katrina? Would you be worried if the companies you do your shopping with controlled the climate? Are you prepared to pay to have rain? If you haven’t watched Owning the Weather yet, it comes highly recommended.

PHOTO ESSAY: Uppsala and the Bicycle - Where Cyclists Have Colonised the Roads

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:11:00 +0100

By Camilo Calderon.

In the first three parts of this photo essay series it has been shown how some cities in Europe have integrated bycicles within their transport networks. The essays have illustrated how well marked bicycle lanes, accessible parking spaces, signals indicating directions and distances, and connection with public transportation and maps encourage people to cycle more and make cycling part of their every day commute.

Instead of showing more of the same, this fourth part explores Uppsala - a small city of around 200,000 inhabitants that has managed to make bicycles its main mode of transportation. A city where cyclists have colonised the road.

The high use of bicycles is visible from the moment you arrive in Uppsala. Next to the newly built train station there are two bicycle parks with capacity for over two thousand bikes.

Many people work or live in the nearby towns or in Stockholm – which is 40 minutes away - and combine the train and bike in their daily commute. Some have bikes in both cities.

The bicycle park has been integrated with shrubs and trees, so that the high number of bikes does not have a negative visual impact on the area.

A few blocks away from the station, one can find several streets of Uppsala’s city center being used as shared space streets.

What is interesting about Uppsala is that in most cases there has been no need to create new designs or rebuild the streets. Just a few bicycle parking racks together with signs clearly indicating the place to park, and some plants and flowers to give a little aesthetic touch.

As shown in the Photo Essay about Stockholm, the main reason why these kind of streets work without depending on the existence of well designed physical infrastructures is that people are highly aware and respect the norms for using bikes in the city. It’s success has more to do with civic behavior and education of pedestrians, cyclists and drivers than with well designed bicycle lanes.

Of course, when design and physical structures are combined with civic awareness, education and behavior, the results are much more significant. This is one of the messages explored on my own blog, UrbanDifference.

In some streets, car park places have been transformed into places for bike parking.

What was before a street with 15 car parking spaces is now an area where more than 150 bicycles can park.

The sum of all the factors that have been mentioned before have made Uppsala’s city center a calm, car free area, where pedestrians and cyclists are the majority. Something not even the cold Swedish weather can stop.

Some images via Wikipedia Commons.

Camilo Calderon is a PhD student at the Research School for Architecture and Planning of the Urban Landscape in Uppsala, Sweden. He studies the involvement of communities in developing and managing neighborhoods, with a focus on open spaces. He also writes the UrbanDifference blog.

Is London's Cycle Hire Enough to Create a Cycle-friendly City?

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:49:00 +0100

London is on a mission to transform itself into a bicycle-friendly city. Last month saw the launch of two ‘cycle superhighways’ linking outer boroughs to the city centre, and on July the 30th London finally implemented a cycle hire scheme - years after numerous other cities introduced similar schemes.

This late launch could have put London in an ideal position. With a variety of bicycle hire schemes operating across the globe and many complications encountered in that time, London had the opportunity to learn from the experiences of these cities. By taking the best features from other schemes, London’s cycle hire could have been a highly-functional service that bypassed the challenges encountered by many of the world’s cities. Instead, it is an almost carbon copy of Montreal’s Bixi, being developed by the same team who implemented the Canadian city’s cycle hire.

Many common problems facing cycle hire schemes have been well addressed in London. If you reach a docking point to find it full, the terminal will tell you where to find the nearest vacant docking point, and grant you 15 minutes free of charge to get there. The bikes are strong, well-engineered and vandal resistant. There is a trade-off of course, with London’s cycle hire bikes weighing twice as much as traditional bikes.

As with Bixi, those wishing to use London’s cycle hire must pay a flagfall for access - priced at £1 for 24 hours, £5 for 7 days or £45 for a year - and also pay for usage. Trips of half an hour or less are free, with anything above that rapidly escalating from £1 for the first hour to £50 for 24 hours’ access. However, this payment must be processed using a debit or credit card as the scheme is not integrated with the Oyster card - London’s wildly popular electronic ticketing system for public transport. This is because additional fees can be charged to riders if the bike is returned late, damaged, or not at all, with debit and credit cards offering an easy way to retrieve funds. However, Londoners are familiar with the simple functionality of the Oyster card, and had the city implemented a system which required riders to link a debit or credit card to their Oyster before using the scheme, the barrier to entry created by a different payment system would have been removed.

The escalating pricing structure of the scheme clearly indicates that these bikes are intended for short trips, with their functionality confirming this. Unlike Vélib’, Paris’ cycle hire scheme, London’s bikes are provided without a lock, meaning the only way to leave them securely is by returning the bike to a docking point.

Unfortunately, the service’s functionality is somewhat diminished by this omission. Planning a short trip into the city to pick up a newspaper? Unless your destination happens to be right next to a docking point, there may be some extra walking involved. Want to risk leaving the bicycle outside a shop for two minutes? Then be prepared to pay £300 if you lose the bike, deducted from the debit or credit card used to hire the bike in the first place. If docking stations were located frequently enough throughout the city, choosing not to include a lock would be less of an issue, but with a distance of around 270 metres between stations - currently located only in London’s city centre - these bikes are not as useful as they could have been.

In Montreal, cold winters mean their bicycle hire scheme only operates between April and November. Because of this, docking points are removable, allowing the city to be more flexible with their infrastructure. The solar-powered docks each hold six bikes, and if an area is experiencing particularly high demand, extra docks can be temporarily added. London needs to follow Montreal’s modularity and introduce back-up docking points to cater for areas experiencing unusually high demand, creating a similar level of flexibility to bus and train services.

London’s busy streets and the risks associated with them also pose a challenge to the cycle hire scheme - one which has yet to be addressed adequately. When Lyon, a city with a municipal population of less than half a million, launched Vélo’V, they saw a 6 per cent increase in bicycle related accidents. London is a bigger city with more intense traffic, and if its cycle hire scheme achieved its aim of 40,000 journeys per day - many of which will be taken by inexperienced cyclists not used to London’s roads - accidents could increase considerably. Including a helmet with each bicycle would minimise risk, but due to the logistical complications of including an item which can’t be permanently fixed to the bicycle, this has not been done in London.

Despite safety concerns, some functional inadequacies and a less than perfect launch (316 of planned 400 docking stations were available on the launch day), London’s cycle hire scheme is off to a strong start. 43,000 trips were taken in the first week, during which time 29,000 new members signed up to the scheme.

London now needs to build on the initial success of its cycle hire scheme by expanding its footprint. Currently only available in the city centre, expanding to outer London needs to be a priority, allowing those in the suburbs the opportunity to travel as sustainably as those in central London. And the frequency of docking points in central London also needs to be increased, making the scheme more convenient, practical and attractive for short journeys in the city.

Image courtesy of Welsh Bloke on flickr.

Architecture – Created in China

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:36:02 +0100

Architecture – Created in China:

My new post for Zouk Architects has been published. The piece discusses the role of the local architect, highlighting two examples of contemporary Chinese architecture:

A recent article in the Asia Times expressed concern that ‘Western architects are still clearly held in higher esteem than their local counterparts’, criticising some architectural developments in China’s cities for a ‘reckless embrace of all things Western’. Yet whilst the reality of these statements is subjective, the rise of the Chinese architect is clear, with modern, ambitious and locally designed buildings emerging across the country.

You can read the whole post by clicking here.

As a 610 metre tall twisted metal lattice, China’s...

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:00:20 +0100

As a 610 metre tall twisted metal lattice, China’s Guangzhou TV Tower is a frighteningly - and unsurprisingly - complex building. Each of its 1,104 metal joints are different, and its foundation contains 600 electronic sensors embedded into it to monitor movement. Despite this, the restaurant on the upper level does not serve soup as the liquid’s movement alerts diners to the gentle sway of the building.

Image courtesy of shanghaisound on flickr.

PHOTO ESSAY: Stockholm and the Bicycle - More Than Just Infrastructure

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:20:00 +0100

By Camilo Calderon.

As shown by the first two parts of this photo essay series – covering Amsterdam and Rotterdam - several cities in Europe are making big efforts to integrate bicycles into their transport networks. This third part will show how Stockholm has managed to create a highly reliable bicycle system and especially how this has become part of the everyday life of the city.

One of the most important factors of the success of Stockholm’s bicycle network is that it is conceived and perceived as a system. This means that one can find different categories of bicycle lanes, starting from those that cross the city and connect it to nearby towns, to the neighborhood lanes which take you to the local store, school or the nearby metro station.

This image shows Stockholm’s Bicycle Map where the different lane categories are shown. The full map can be downloaded here.

A key point in the success of the system is that it starts right outside one’s door step. In almost all neighborhoods places for bike parking can be found. A great amount of buildings will also provide common storage rooms for bikes.

As with the other cities, bicycle lanes are well differentiated from roads and sidewalks. If there is enough space the lane will be integrated in the side walk…

… however this does not always happen, especially in neighborhoods. Nevertheless, it is common that people follow and respect the same rules as it is in areas where the space for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers is clearly marked.

If space does not allow (mainly in the city center), cyclists and drivers share the road. Markings clearly show where there is space for cyclists in the road. As with pedestrians, cyclists will always be given priority over cars. Drivers are socially and legally reprimanded if they don’t follow this.

In cases where the lane needs to cross highways or the terrain is steep pedestrian/bicycle bridges allow an easy crossing.

Signs are also an important part of the system. The bike network is very well marked with signs that indicate when a lane is shared with pedestrians, with distances and directions towards different parts of the city, traffic lights, even indicating detours if there is something interrupting the lane.

Parking spaces near offices and commerce areas are also common. These are well differentiated from the space for pedestrians. ‘Informal’ parking is also allowed, however if the bicycle is in the middle of the sidewalk or is abandoned it will be removed by the police or municipal staff.

One of the most important factors in the high use of Stockholm’s bicycle network is its connection with other transport systems. It is very common to find metro and train stations providing a great amount of space for parking bikes.

As these images show, there is more to Stockholm’s Bike system than well marked bicycle lanes. Its high use can also be attributed to an awareness and interest in health and environmental issues in Sweden. Most importantly, people wholeheartedly trust the system - its rules of use, maintenance, safety, reliability, connection with other systems, accessibility, convenience, etc – encouraging them to cycle more. The system is so reliable and convenient that it invites people to use it.

As I once heard, it is a question of structures for sustainable development rather than sustainable structures or infrastructures. The change towards sustainable development demands change and creation of social, physical and economic structures supporting sustainable decisions and actions.

"A new wilderness is developing. Cities are rapidly growing, becoming more complex, and rather than..."

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:54:43 +0100

“A new wilderness is developing. Cities are rapidly growing, becoming more complex, and rather than locking ourselves up in our protective boxes, what if we found a new way to to test ourselves in the throws of the urban wilderness? Rather than becoming intimately involved with nature, listening and understanding the landscape, we rediscover urbanity in a completely new way. Smells, sounds, people, paths, roads, parks, architecture all become things of exploration rather than simply parts of the sum.”

- Adam Anderson considers the role of the tent in today’s cities.

Are London's Cycle Superhighways Really 'Super'?

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:12:00 +0100

If Boris Johnson’s PR office are to be believed, the Mayor of London has some big ambitions. Stating a desire to ‘change the urban landscape of the city’, Johnson has recently launched ‘cycle superhighways’ in an attempt to back up his headline-grabbing goal. Johnson - an avid cyclist himself - knows that London is lagging behind other global cities in integrating the bicycle into its transport network and views these changes as an opportunity to create a ‘cycling revolution’.

And if there’s any city that needs such a revolution, it’s London, where a dismal 2% of all journeys are made on a bike. Compared to European cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam - who respectively see 32% and 40% of all trips by bike - London clearly has some catching up to do.

Integral to Johnson’s proposed ‘cycling revolution’ are the cycle superhighways - bright blue cycle lanes connecting outer London areas with the city centre. Promoted as safer, faster and more direct routes, the first two of the proposed twelve superhighways have already opened, linking Barking in the East and Merton in the South-West to London’s city centre. Two additional superhighways are expected to be launched every year until 2015.

Both superhighways come in at around 9 miles in length, and are always a minimum of 1.5 metres wide. But whilst widths vary across the route, they are rarely more than three metres wide, meaning space for overtaking is rare and separate lanes for varying speeds are non-existent. If this was a road for cars there would be nothing super about it.

Essentially, the ‘super’ prefix refers to the fact that they are a vast improvement on what came before. London’s current bicycle lanes are narrow and positioned on the road’s edge - roads which are frequently in poor condition. To resolve this issue, the surfaces of the superhighways have been refurbished, creating a smooth, cycle-friendly terrain, and the majority of the route is raised, introducing a separate bicycle-only road in between the pavement and main road.

However, certain sections of the superhighway are not divided from the main road, meaning cyclists still have to risk pedaling alongside automobiles and share space with the vehicles who choose to ignore the blue lanes. This inconsistency further challenges the ‘super’ status of these lanes, confirming that ‘superhighway’ is merely an elaborate brand name, not a description of functionality.

But despite the slightly misplaced confidence in the lanes’ branding, they are still a step in the right direction for London. The predominantly-raised lanes reduce the risk of riding alongside automobiles, and both safety and timeliness are expected to improve.

By introducing these changes, Johnson believes that London will soon see 5% of all journeys being made on a bike, with a more ambitious aim of a 400% increase in ridership by 2025 being quoted by Transport for London (TfL) - the government body responsible for London’s transport system.

But it is the proposed timeline for the launch of the remaining superhighways and TfL’s distant target that demonstrate the major flaw in London’s plans - a real lack of urgency.

One excellent example of successful bicycle integration is Amsterdam. Often cited as the most bicycle-friendly city, Amsterdam has worked hard for over thirty years to achieve mass-ridership. After an increase in car-ownership between 1950 and 1970 threatened their bike-friendly status, the city began taking measures to ensure continued bicycle use, measures which bear a striking resemblance to those now being taken in London with the cycle superhighways.

By introducing an extensive ‘Main Bicycle Network’ between residential districts, employment hubs and the city centre, alongside other improvements such as bicycle-only traffic lights and removal of street clutter near bicycle lanes, Amsterdam was able to grow bicycle ridership to its current levels of 40% from a low of around 20% thirty years earlier.

Of course, other factors come into play in Amsterdam that London could never replicate. The bicycle has a rich history in the Netherlands, and Amsterdam’s small size and level terrain further contribute to its high bicycle use. But if the sheer amount of time required to increase bicycle use in Amsterdam from its 1970s levels is at all reflective of the time required to increase ridership in London, waiting until 2015 to complete the cycle superhighways should not be an option.

However, there is some logic behind London’s decision to soft-launch these superhighways. Unforseen issues will likely arise on the two routes currently in action, and future developments will be able to take this into account. But this should not justify the timeline proposed for the developments.

If Johnson and TfL are serious about their aims to increase ridership, London needs a safe, efficient and comprehensive network of roads for its cyclists - as soon as possible. If integrating the bicycle into London’s transport network is the priority Johnson and TfL are suggesting it to be, we would not be waiting until 2015 to see it begin.

Image courtesy of smallritual on flickr.

The Truth About London's Cycle Superhighways

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:47:00 +0100

Launched to much fanfare last month, London’s two new cycle superhighways are being touted as safe, fast and more direct journeys into the city centre. However, my recent trip down the CS3 - which links Barking in the east to London’s famous Tower Bridge - raised some questions over the ‘super’ status of these lanes. As the above image shows, the CS3 begins in an understated manner, with its 9 mile route offering moments of perfection and incredible frustration in equal doses.

Dotted along the route are these guides telling you your location and the time required to get to key points along the superhighway. The timescales provided are realistic - I was able to cycle the entire route in 45 minutes, compared to their projected time of 55 minutes.

At its most eastern point, the CS3 runs alongside a motorway, raised at a similar level to the pavement and about 1.5 metres wide. Not the best views or source of fresh air, but much better than sharing the road with cars and lorries.

At points, the CS3 veers away from the motorway, running alongside fields and passing underneath junctions.

The route is intermittently dotted with promotional banners highlighting its corporate sponsor.

Unfortunately, not all junctions can be passed underneath, increasing journey times by leaving cyclists to cross at pedestrian crossings.

And at points, the bright blue lanes stop completely, meaning pedestrians and cyclists have to share the same space for portions of the route, with little visual clues for cyclists as to which direction the route is following.

Whilst the minimum width of 1.5 metres is adequate for most of the route, on corners such as this it is not enough, with the risk of collision between turning cyclists being high.

As the route gets closer to London’s city centre, it becomes sporadic. This pavement, for example, is also the CS3, despite there being no signage illustrating this to either pedestrians or cyclists.

As the pavement comes to an end, white lines appear guiding cyclists back onto the road, where blue squares illustrate that the CS3 is now being shared with a road instead of a pavement.

This shared road then takes a turn into a gated area, where cyclists have to wait for an attendant to raise a barrier before they can continue with their journey.

Once passed the barrier, the CS3 travels through a public courtyard with tiny blue squares painted on it to illustrate to cyclists which route they need to follow.

The CS3 then continues to be shared with a road, albeit a very quiet one in this case.

As the route gets closer to central London, defined cycle lanes at road level begin to emerge.

At this point, road-sharing re-emerges, as do sections of the CS3 raised from road level.

With around 1.5 miles left until the CS3 reaches London’s centre, separate cycle lanes appear consistently.

Road crossing points clearly demonstrate their purpose to cyclists and road-users, although a consistent cycle lane would be ideal.

Over the final mile, the CS3 is raised from the road and wide enough for overtaking. In this form, it is cyclist perfection and a frustrating example of the standard that could have been achieved across the entire route.

The second of London’s Cycle Superhighways tells a very different story. Read about the CS7 in Part2 of this post.

"The combination of an effective little map and my unlimited monthly pass allowed me to use the..."

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:25:55 +0100

“The combination of an effective little map and my unlimited monthly pass allowed me to use the Underground daily to explore London. I went anywhere and everywhere with ease and got the most that I could out of that great city. The Tube map imparted information so quickly and clearly that it became an indispensable tool and an integral part of my experience. It made me feel that London was “mine” after only a couple of weeks of living there. What a fantastic and empowering feeling!”

- Eddie Jabbour remembers his positive experience of using London’s Underground map, and how it acted as a catalyst in his redesign of New York’s subway map.

PHOTO ESSAY: Rotterdam and the Bicycle

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:08:00 +0100

The Dutch have a good track record integrating bicycles into transport networks, with Part 1 of this series - which explored Amsterdam - beginning to demonstrate that. Thankfully, this trend is not unique to their capital city, as the photos in this post show:

In Rotterdam, wide bicycle lanes are physically divided from main roads to offer improved safety.

Roads are shared equally between pedestrians, cyclists, trams and cars.

Traffic lights for bicycles and strong road markings exist to improve cyclist safety at intersections.

The bicycle network is comprehensive, spreading out from the city as far as the eye can see.

Certain spaces, such as pedestrianised areas or some bridges, are bicycle-free zones.

Clear markings tell drivers that cyclists will be sharing the road with them…

… but wherever possible, cycle lanes are fully removed from the main road to improve safety.

And even when off the road, bicycles are looked after well with bike garages dotted around the city’s streets.

The convergence of consumerism, technology and architecture is...

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:53:00 +0100

The convergence of consumerism, technology and architecture is explored in this incredible video by Keiichi Matsuda. Keiichi is a multidisciplinary designer and film-maker with a background in architecture, and you can read more about his work exploring the role of augmented reality in future cities here.