Tensions Escalating in New York City 7
Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country The City of New York has had tremendous success in the last 4 years of building a network of bicycle infrastructure to improve safety and comfort for New Yorkers to use bicycles as transportation. These policies, spearheaded by NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and ...
NYC Snowstorm Aftermath, Deliveryman Hit-and-Run 4
All Photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country This past weekend I took a trip down to New York City with a few friends. More than a foot of snow was dumped down on the city the day before our arrival. Given that we are now in the middle of a similar snowstorm ...
Amsterdamizing The World 8
Photo by Marc van Woudenberg / Amsterdamize You have probably visited his website, and you’ve likely seen many of his photos. You may even subscribe to his RSS feed. He photographs ordinary people on ordinary bicycles, riding along anything but ordinary infrastructure in a country with an extraordinary bicycle culture. In his neck of the ...
Media’s Over-Glamorization of Automobiles 4
Photo courtesy of Doug on Flickr The mainstream media in North America has a tendency to over-glamorize automobiles. It’s no wonder, since a significant portion of their advertising revenue comes from automobile companies. As we pointed out last November, the mainstream media also has a tendency to under-glamorize bicycling, leading you to believe that you ...
Anatomy of a Dutch Bicycle 42
Photo by Marc van Woudenberg / Amsterdamize North Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the bicycle culture that comes out of the best bicycling country in the world – the Netherlands – thanks largely to the photography and advocacy from our friends Amsterdamize and A View From the Cycle Path in the Netherlands, and Copenhagenize ...
Ghettoize Me, Please 11
All Photos by Marc van Woudenberg / Amsterdamize In an article in yesterday’s Ottawa Citizen entitled “We’re not all hard-core cyclists”, writer Kate Jaimet explains that a proposal to invest in physically separated bicycle infrastructure in Ottawa is at risk of being quashed by a group of vehicular “hard-core” cyclists. Vehicular cyclists are against bicycle ...
25% Of Motorists Hate Their Commute 6
Malaysian traffic jam. Photo by Malaysia Airlines A Statistics Canada study found that 25% of drivers hate their daily commute to work. With increasing populations in many cities in North America, it’s no wonder motorists are frustrated. But motorists are seemingly better off than transit users. According to the study, 34% of transit users hate ...
You’re Welcome Mr. Motorist 42
Photo “Going Strong” by Marc van Woudenberg / Amsterdamize You’re welcome Mr. Motorist. I’m happy that my mode of transportation has allowed more space on the road for you to get to your destination more efficiently. One less car on the road to get in your way and increase congestion, right? It’s my pleasure. It ...
2011: Year of the Rabbit 3
Photo “Who (Bicycle) Framed Roger Rabbit?” courtesy of John Henderson Welcome to 2011 – the year of the rabbit (officially beginning on Chinese New Year – February 3rd). Rabbits are born in the years 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 and 2011, and possess the following personality: People born in the year of the ...
2010: Year In Review 6
Photo “Heels and Wind Chill –16” courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen To close out 2010, I carried on the annual tradition of compiling a video from the various footage I took on my camera throughout the year. To stay on topic for The Urban Country, this year’s video is less personal/sentimental and more related to bicycling ...