Commuting - "Urbanized" film and biking parts :D

I watched this the other day.

It's a great film (the first two are worth seeing as well ... Helvitica and Objectified) ... I watched Urbanized first though (so I want 3 ... 1 ... 2, but it was OK).

Anyways,

You have to see the Copenhagen parts of the movie (so you get my perspectives about commuting a little more) ... start are around 24 minutes (lasts about 5 mins). Although, there is a fair amount of cycling in the whole film!

Enjoy :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RHT1J3KXUw

acid: What I find really interesting about this (and I am only 25 minutes in) is that he said that the buses that can hold up to 100 people should have 100 times in how quick they can get around hence the special bus lane. I like that logic.

I also like how pedestrians and cyclists are, in many occasions, more important then the cars. We have it so backwards here in the US (and of course this is only my opinion). I know some places are better then others yes but I would think the US as a whole would like to promote cycling, walking, etc versus say driving especially with our epidemic of obesity.

Let me ask you, do you know the numbers of obese in Denmark versus America? I was just curious.

Many people wonder why, for example, the French stay thin but eat a lot. Well, there is not as many cars as what we have in the US for starters.

back to the movie! :)

Love the idea of the pedestrian walk way, then bike riding area (on the street) and then the parked cars and then the moving cars. The parked cars protect the cyclists versus the cyclists protecting the parked cars.

I also like how pedestrians and cyclists are, in many occasions, more important then the cars.

To be fair, it's much cheaper to help a greater number of voters with the same sum of money, if you help cyclists rather than motorists (as in South America.)


We have it so backwards here in the US (and of course this is only my opinion). I know some places are better then others yes but I would think the US as a whole would like to promote cycling, walking, etc versus say driving especially with our epidemic of obesity.

I agree and that's one of the reasons I left (not just bike vs. auto, but politics, lack of socialized healthcare and a decent pension plan). I had several opportunities to work abroad, so I left as soon as possible and don't really have any interest in returning, although it's theoretically possible as I haven't renounced citizenship yet ... but that's a discussion for a different day.

But again, to be fair, the urban areas in the US were built extremely late. American became wealthy relatively late ... you really see this in the Texas (e.g. DFW/Houston/SA ... less so with Austin) and certain parts of the West coast. Therefore, most urban areas were built around the auto. Stockholm/Copenhagen are almost 900 years old, so they're more much compact (which can cause different cycling-related issues.)


Let me ask you, do you know the numbers of obese in Denmark versus America? I was just curious.

Many people wonder why, for example, the French stay thin but eat a lot. Well, there is not as many cars as what we have in the US for starters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Obesity_country_comparison_-_path.svg (probably not up to date)

Two things that seem to be lost within most of these analyses are portion size and social dining. Portion size is much more obvious. I wouldn't say that Europeans "eat healthier", but I would say they eat much less (or are less prone to overeating ... more than 2000 kcal/day). Also, dining is much more of a social experience here than in the US. I can't think of a single restaurant that I've been to in the last 5 years that would "flip" a table in one evening. Once you're there, it's your table for the evening and that promotes meal times being important/special so rushed/fast is less prevalent. I actually think that the Brits/Germans are getting quite close in average BMI to the Americans, FWIW.

Also, the French (and other southern Europeans) smoke more than average American, which can help with weight loss. Actually, I read that average life span of "the French people" is such that the increase due to reduced obesity is totally offset by the increased prevalence of smoking.


back to the movie! :)

You should watch the other two as well.

Love the idea of the pedestrian walk way, then bike riding area (on the street) and then the parked cars and then the moving cars. The parked cars protect the cyclists versus the cyclists protecting the parked cars.

the "Copenhagen-style" bike lane is extremely nice as it get's people out there on bikes because it's much safer. from the movie, "37%" of people commute to work by bike. if you add public transport into the equation, it must be pushing 70%.

one thing that is NOT mentioned, and it should be, is that one pays almost 200% tax on a new car purchase in Denmark (unless it's Danish or electric or a few other things) ... a 15k€ (18k USD) Ford Fiesta is now a 45k€ (55k USD) car.

... a 15k€ (18k USD) Ford Fiesta is now a 45k€ (55k USD) car.

...sweet god...that's horrible (I'm a gearhead)