modacitylife

@modacitylife@mastodon.world

Authors of ‘Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality’ and ‘Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in our Lives’. https://www.modacitylife.com

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modacitylife, to random

Bikes are a great tool for short journeys, but often overlooked as a way to boost transit for medium ones.

In the Netherlands, 82% of inter-urban trips between 25 and 40 km. are by public transport; enabled by a seamless bike-transit system that consistently outperforms the car.

modacitylife,

Source (slide 33): https://dutchcycling.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/DutchCyclingEmbassy265/EdJvm0qOLL5KqBg7oRR4HFMBA_-Z0p1bPVTeaZo62GZ4XQ

modacitylife, to random

Whenever you cycle in Amsterdam, you are riding on the shoulders of giants…

Tens of thousands of citizens who, decades ago, took to the streets to fight back against the rampant rise of the car in their community.

Without this defiant act, their city would look like any other.

modacitylife, to random

For over 50 years, Delft was carved in two by a monstrous and deafening elevated railway viaduct. In the early 2000s, the decision was made to bury these tracks in a 2.3-km long tunnel.

Engineers suddenly had a width of nearly 60-m in which to work, and could easily have filled it with six lanes of car traffic. Instead, the space was allocated in a far more humane manner, with a bus- and tramway, a canal, landscaping, street trees, and plenty of space for walking, cycling, seating, and dining.

modacitylife,

Delft’s Phoenixstraat just 20 years ago.

modacitylife, to random

“Where light traffic knits a community together, heavy traffic rips it apart.” - Donald Appleyard.

Curbing traffic leads to a more compact and attractive urban form; enabling active and sustainable travel, and supporting spontaneous social and economic activity at street level.

https://youtube.com/shorts/F3aPtKeytbU?si=GVahTQcYnk70Us1T

modacitylife, to random

In ‘Dark PR’, Grant Ennis outlines nine devious frames the automotive industry uses to obscure millions of injuries and deaths caused by its products; influencing how we process and discuss the issue and ultimately preventing meaningful political action.

They are as follows… 🧵

modacitylife,
  1. Denialism: “The road lobby’s most pervasive denialist framing is speed does not kill, or high speeds can be made safe under the right conditions. Nothing could be further from the truth… a change in average speed on a road network is directly related to the fatal crash rate.”
modacitylife,
  1. Post-Denialism: “Engineers know wider roads lead to higher speeds and longer crossing distances, both of which result in more deaths. Yet corporations lobby for wider roads, smoother surfaces, and other speed-inducing measures, under the smokescreen of ‘improvement projects.’”
modacitylife,
  1. Normalization: “The term ‘accident’ has normalized road deaths to the extent that it is difficult to create buy-in for action... When crashes are framed as accidents, people view road carnage as a fact of life, a cost society pays for the ‘luxury’ of travelling by automobile.”
modacitylife,
  1. Silver Boomerangs: “Using images of speeding cars kitted with the newest safety features, industry narrowly frames road deaths as a problem we can solve with technological innovation… Promoting technology as a panacea crowds out critique of deadly subsidized car dependency.”
modacitylife,
  1. Magic: “Year after year, industry’s promise is the same: life-saving self-driving cars are just a moment away. The magical autonomous-car is profit-driven, media-hyped, and attractive to our imagination. Critically, it undermines our will to do something about car dependency.”
modacitylife,
  1. The Treatment Trap: “Automotive corporations promote emergency-response services, or post-crash care, as a viable road safety strategy… Its overemphasis, especially at the expense of preventive planning, is defeatist and serves corporate interests by diluting political will.”
modacitylife,
  1. Victim Blaming: “Corporations have effectively transferred blame to walkers and drivers away from the highly-subsidized, car-dependent road environment from which they profit… Individual- and behavior-focused efforts shift the blame but do little else to improve road safety.”
modacitylife,
  1. Knotted Web: “The industry’s ‘road safety is complex’ framing is intentional and subversively insidious. Blaming a circular, complex, interconnected system rather than the underlying causal structures blames everything and nothing, and undermines support for political action.”
modacitylife,
  1. Multifactorial: “Car manufacturers shift attention from their role in society’s ails—leveraging an ‘all of the above’ combination of devious frames by promoting safety equipment, driver training and pedestrian awareness. Absent is any mention of changing car dependent policy.”
modacitylife,

In conclusion: “We have the problems before us today because our political structures and subsidies incentivize them to exist. If we want to be healthy and live on a healthy planet, we need to organize and demand political action. There’s no time to wait.” https://darajapress.com/publication/dark-pr-how-corporate-disinformation-harms-our-health-and-the-environment

modacitylife, to random

Some people think Teslas-in-tunnels are the future of urban mobility.

We think they misdirect attention and resources from simple solutions already proven to address congestion, safety and inequity—problems caused by cars that won’t be fixed by cars.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ShBfYvj5U9Y?si=aARUDTjvggxnz-gF

modacitylife, to random

Cycling infrastructure isn’t just an “urban thing” that requires high densities and short distances. It can also offer connectivity (and economic opportunity) to rural areas.

As an added bonus, it stimulates a cycle tourism industry—which in the Netherlands is worth €2.4 billion annually to the national economy.

modacitylife, to random

Whatever you happen to call it—dinking, doubling, side-saddle, or achterop zitten (“sitting on the back")—hitching a ride with a friend is the hallmark of any city where cycling feels safe, social, and totally normal.

And in the Netherlands, it can be seen absolutely everywhere.

modacitylife, to random

"Dutch cities embody liveability. They are incredibly pleasant places to spend time outside in the public realm. You feel humans still rule the streets here, rather than the automotive masters we've given way to elsewhere in the world."

LISTEN from the 35:08 mark: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-108/clip/16033826

modacitylife, to random

What inspires us most about Dutch planning? They design for the future they want; investing in infrastructure that is both functional and beautiful.

Statement projects like the Jan Waaijerbrug in Zoetermeer—which is more than just a walking and cycling bridge; it’s an elegant work of art.

https://youtube.com/shorts/aIUliEJYgxA?si=cHmRGLKVLwvJauQi

modacitylife, to random

In many contexts, the term “cyclist” serves as an easy way to minimize, stereotype, and disparage an entire mode of transport.

In the Dutch context, it is largely redundant because the bike is one of several widely-used tools within a multi-modal system.

WATCH: https://youtu.be/5px6L0X_hVg?si=FAFt_4-e0w0IyLF0&t=2262

modacitylife, to random

Slower cycling is a byproduct of better infrastructure; and moving at an average of 12.4 km/h, the Dutch might have the slowest cyclists in the world.

It characterizes a built environment that welcomes a wide variety of users who are simply “walking with wheels”—no special gear or clothing required.

modacitylife, to random

2024 marks a decade since the two of us resolved to combine our efforts and form Modacity—hoping to turn an unpaid passion into a profession.

This partnership has taken us places beyond our wildest dreams, with even bigger adventures on the horizon this year. Thanks for pedaling along!

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