Despite saving hundreds of dollars and even making new friends, none of the people who agreed to ditch their car for this Brisbane experiment wanted to go car-free permanently. This is why.
Article about an experiment from Brisbane, Australia.
After World War 2, the Netherlands was bombed to shit, and they rebuilt their cities For The Car! Then in the 90s they realised cars suck, and they started rebuilding their cities for people. Now it’s the best country in the world to drive a car, because there are so few cars on the road.
The moral is, Europe isn’t winning at urbanism because their cities are old, they’re winning because they’re trying hard. Brisbane isn’t trying hard.
Also, the Netherlands wasn’t bombed to shit. There was some bombing here and there with low to moderate damage. Only Rotterdam was pretty much levelled just to make the point during the invasion (and because of a number of other stupid reasons)
The point though is that, yes, the Netherlands decided that levelling Amsterdam to make it a giant car parking lot was a bad idea and they went full bicycle. And yes, its been the best decision ever.
Having said that, i live in Vancouver now and they’ve made some great strides in improving the city for bicycles. If Vancouver can do so, a y other city can do so too…it’s just a matter of wanting
In the Netherlands, this change caused a huge change in architecture as well, because when you restrict cars and push bicycles, you start also making local communities better, making sure that there are smaller local stores, bars, restaurants, within each community, at walking on cycling distances. It has transformed the country over these decades.
Here in American continent countries this can work too, even though the architecture has been messed up so badly because of so many decades of car brain designs. It will take decades to undo the damage, but it can be done
The best country to drive in? Hmm. It’s just as busy as the surrounding countries and traffic speeds off the major roads are painfully low. The standards of driving are surprisingly poor, at least compared to neighbouring Germany. It is very well set up for car alternatives and I really enjoy going car free on my visits there, but there are many countries that are more enjoyable for driving.
After World War 2, the Netherlands was bombed to shit, and they rebuilt their cities For The Car! Then in the 90s they realised cars suck, and they started rebuilding their cities for people. Now it’s the best country in the world to drive a car, because there are so few cars on the road.
The moral is, Europe isn’t winning at urbanism because their cities are old, they’re winning because they’re trying hard. Brisbane isn’t trying hard.
This didnt start in the 90’s, but in the 60’s
Also, the Netherlands wasn’t bombed to shit. There was some bombing here and there with low to moderate damage. Only Rotterdam was pretty much levelled just to make the point during the invasion (and because of a number of other stupid reasons)
The point though is that, yes, the Netherlands decided that levelling Amsterdam to make it a giant car parking lot was a bad idea and they went full bicycle. And yes, its been the best decision ever.
Having said that, i live in Vancouver now and they’ve made some great strides in improving the city for bicycles. If Vancouver can do so, a y other city can do so too…it’s just a matter of wanting
In the Netherlands, this change caused a huge change in architecture as well, because when you restrict cars and push bicycles, you start also making local communities better, making sure that there are smaller local stores, bars, restaurants, within each community, at walking on cycling distances. It has transformed the country over these decades.
Here in American continent countries this can work too, even though the architecture has been messed up so badly because of so many decades of car brain designs. It will take decades to undo the damage, but it can be done
The only necessary ingredient is the will
The best country to drive in? Hmm. It’s just as busy as the surrounding countries and traffic speeds off the major roads are painfully low. The standards of driving are surprisingly poor, at least compared to neighbouring Germany. It is very well set up for car alternatives and I really enjoy going car free on my visits there, but there are many countries that are more enjoyable for driving.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/best-place-in-the-world-to-be-a-driver-netherlands