Living on Earth: City of Cyclists

Description

City of Cyclists

CURWOOD: Where the rubber meets the road, it's usually cars that rule, but in Copenhagen, bicycles are king. More than one in three residents cycle to work or school, making this one of the top cycling cities in the world.

Living on Earth's Eileen Bolinsky went for a spin.

[SOUNDS OF THE STREET]

BOLINSKY: Bicycles are everywhere in Copenhagen. On the streets, on the subways, leaning against buildings, parked on sidewalks.

KASTRUP: Everyone bicycles in Copenhagen.

BOLINSKY: That's Marie Kastrup. Cycling's a huge part of her life; she's the project manager for the city's bicycle secretariat.

KASTRUP: So, I bicycle to work everyday, every time I go visit my grandmother I take my bicycle, when I go do my shopping, everything is done by bike.

BOLINSKY: Day or night, rain, wind, cold - Copenhageners pedal three-quarters of a million miles each year. But that's not the way it was before the oil embargo in 1973. Back then just about all of Denmark's oil came from the Middle East.

KASTRUP: It has to do with the epic public demand in the 70s because of the oil crisis back then, that the politicians in Denmark and Copenhagen started to prioritize cycling and without the massive political investments in cycling, we couldn't have gotten as far as we are now.

BOLINSKY: You won't find much spandex or fancy biking gear in this city. Most bikes are sturdy – you might say clunkers – with guards that protect business suits and dresses from a greasy chain. Cycling is simply a part of everyday life here in Denmark.

KASTRUP: It's just something that you do because it's the obvious mode of transport. It's not a part of your identity.

BOLINSKY: It's definitely not a part of mine, but I wanted to ...

Original URL

http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=09-P13-00051&segmentID=4

http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=09-P13-00051&segmentID=4