Street Fights in Copenhagen: Bicycle and Car Politics in a Green Mobility City (Advances in Urban Sustainability)

215 Pages·2019·7.72 MB·English

by  Jason Henderson, Natalie Marie Gulsrud

“This book is an incredibly important addition to the global narrative
about improving cities. With this thorough academic treatment of data
and analysis the conclusion is clear. A shining vision of future transport in
cities everywhere is revealed. Not only is it attainable, but it is a thing of
beauty.”
— Mikael Colville-Andersen, author of Copenhagenize:
The Definitive Guide to Bicycle Urbanism
“In this highly interesting and necessary book the authors illustrate the
streetfightinthepresumablyperfectcyclingcityofCopenhagen.Through
thorough empirical investigation they argue that Copenhagen can be used
as a model for expanding urban cycling not least because of the ideologi-
cally political street fights between cars and cycles, identical to other cities
aroundtheworld.Thisbook,veryconvincingly,showsthenecessarycon-
flictualpathwaytothinkingaboutbetterurbanfutures.”
— Malene Freudendal-Pedersen, Professor in Urban Planning,
Aalborg University, Denmark
“In this book Jason Henderson and Natalie Marie Gulsrud have done the
world’s cities a big favor. They analyze how Copenhagen has made itself
bikeableandwalkable,notjustdriveable,andhastempteddriversoutoftheir
cars onto bicycles, public transport, ortheir own two feet. They alsoexplain
the politics that produced this result, and show how other cities can follow
Copenhagen’swiselead.”
— DonaldShoup,DistinguishedResearchProfessorintheDepartmentofUrbanPlanning,
UCLA,USA

STREET FIGHTS IN COPENHAGEN
With29percent ofalltripsmade bybicycle,Copenhagen isconsideredamodel of
green transport. This book considers the underlying political conditions that
enabled cycling to appeal to such a wide range of citizens in Copenhagen and asks
how this can be replicated elsewhere.
Despite Copenhagen’s global reputation, its success has been a result of a long
political struggle and is far from completely secure. Car use in Denmark is
increasing, including in Copenhagen’s suburbs, and new developments in Copen-
hagen include more parking for cars. There is a political tension in Copenhagen
over the spaces for cycling, the car, and public transit. In considering examples of
backlashes and conflicts over street space in Copenhagen, this book argues that the
kinds of debates happening in Copenhagenare very similarto thedebatesregularly
occurring in cities throughout the world. This makes Copenhagen more, not less,
comparable to many cities around the world, including cities in the United States.
This book will appeal to upper-level undergraduates and graduates in urban
geography, city planning, transportation, environmental studies, as well as trans-
portation advocates, urban policy-makers, and anyone concerned about climate
change and looking to identify paths forward in their own cities and localities.
Jason Henderson is Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment
at San Francisco State University, USA.
NatalieMarieGulsrudisanAssistantProfessorintheDepartmentofGeosciences
and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
ADVANCES IN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
Urban Sustainability in Theory and Practice
Circles of Sustainability
Paul James
Sustainability Citizenship in Cities
Theory and Practice
Edited by Ralph Horne, John Fien, Beau B. Beza and Anitra Nelson
Street Fights in Copenhagen
Bicycle and Car Politics in a Green Mobility City
Jason Henderson and Natalie Marie Gulsrud
STREET FIGHTS IN
COPENHAGEN
Bicycle and Car Politics in a Green
Mobility City
Jason Henderson and Natalie Marie Gulsrud
Firstpublished2019
byRoutledge
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©2019JasonHendersonandNatalieMarieGulsrud
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BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Henderson,Jason,1972-author.|Gulsrud,NatalieMarie.
Title:StreetfightsinCopenhagen:bicycleandcarpoliticsinagreen
mobilitycity/JasonHendersonandNatalieMarieGulsrud.
Description:Abingdon,Oxon;NewYork,NY:Routledge,2019.|
Series:Advancesinurbansustainability|Includesbibliographicalreferencesand
index.
Identifiers:LCCN2019002766(print)|LCCN2019015809(ebook)|ISBN
9780429444135(eBook)|ISBN9781138317536(hbk)|ISBN9781138334892
(pbk)|ISBN9780429444135(ebk)
Subjects:LCSH:Transportationandstate--Denmark--Copenhagen.|
Transportation--Environmentalaspects--Denmark--Copenhagen.|
Transportation--Denmark--Copenhagen--Planning.|
Citytraffic--Denmark--Copenhagen.|Cycling--Government
policy--Denmark--Copenhagen.|Transportation,Automotive--Government
policy--Denmark--Copenhagen.|Trafficengineering--Denmark--Copehagen.|
Cityplanning--Environmentalaspects--Denmark--Copenhagen.
Classification:LCCHE311.D42(ebook)|LCCHE311.D42C66362019(print)|
DDC388.3/470948913--dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2019002766
ISBN:978-1-138-31753-6(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-138-33489-2(pbk)
ISBN:978-0-429-44413-5(ebk)
TypesetinBembo
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
CONTENTS
List of illustrations viii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction: Why Copenhagen? 1
1 Copenhagen: Bicycle city 13
2 A short history of cycling and car politics in Copenhagen 47
3 “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”: The plateauing
of cycling and the rise in car ownership in Copenhagen 69
4 The politics of mobility in Copenhagen 87
5 How many cars in the city?: The Copenhagen toll ring debate 106
6 Cycling policy is parking policy: The politics of car parking in
Copenhagen 130
7 From the harbor tunnel to the Metro City Ring: What kind of
city? 159
Conclusion: Towards a politics of hope and the green mobility city 186
Interviews in Copenhagen 195
Index 196
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
0.1 Overview map of Copenhagen showing cycle track system. 8
1.1 Image of the morning commute in Copenhagen. Queen Louise
Bridge, 2015. 14
1.2 Map of Copenhagen’s cycle track system and bicycle bridges
over Copenhagen harbor. 15
1.3 Image of Copenhagen’s “bicycle snake,” showing that
elevations can be overcome. 27
1.4 Image of Copenhagen’s “bicycle snake,” showing its long,
gentle gradient. 27
1.5 Image of wide cycle track with excellent passability. 34
1.6 Image of cyclists bunching while making a Copenhagen left. 37
3.1 Graph showing Copenhagen’s cycling rates for work and
education, 2005–2025 (with car mode share for comparison). 72
3.2 View from the handlebars during morning rush hour in
Copenhagen. 74
3.3 Cycle track and bus stop conflict. 76
6.1 Narrow cycle track and parked cars on Gammel Kongevej in
Frederiksberg. 131
7.1 Map showing the harbor tunnel proposal, the new Metro City
Ring and the proposed toll ring described in Chapter 5. 161
Listofillustrations ix
Tables
1.1 Copenhagen bicycle and car mode share by trip purpose 20
1.2 Copenhagen bicycle mode share compared to peer European
cities 21
1.3 Copenhagen bicycle mode share compared to peer cities in
North America and Latin America 22
1.4 Copenhagen bicycle mode share compared to peer cities in
Africa, Asia, and Oceania 23
1.5 Copenhagen goals and aspirations for cycling 24
1.6 Copenhagen’s population density compared to European peers 30
1.7 Copenhagen’s population density compared to Latin American
and Asian cities 31
1.8 Copenhagen’s population density compared to California’s
metropolitan areas 32
4.1 Copenhagen’s politics of mobility matrix (2018) 88