Mya on a Bike - An Exploration of Sustainable Bike Transit

In my short time in Malmö, I have noticed significantly fewer playgrounds and spaces for children compared to Copenhagen. You’d think in a less dense city with more dedication to green space, there would be more playgrounds but alas. However, in my walking journey today for souvenirs, a raincoat, and chocolate, I wandered into an exhibit in a square called Dröm Torg (Dream Square). This empty square, half was taken up by a surface parking lot, featured art by children of what they imagined as their “Dream Square”. This exhibit showed squares filled with trees, flowers, bushes, playgrounds, and an occasional snake or clown. They’re was also a common theme of readily available ice cream near the square in the children's drawings. I really enjoyed this exhibit, and hope it is more than just an exhibit and actually comes to fruition. Not just engaging children with society through safe public spaces, but engaging them with the creation of the space, is a great way to incorporate them i...

This question came to me when Lene discussed the car share she and her husband are a part of, what does one do if they have an emergency that requires rapid transport somewhere (not ambulance level emergency) but would making biking impossible (ie sprained or broken ankle/leg, childbirth, broken arm, etc)? Is the car share available when not reserved ahead of time? At what age do children generally start biking by themselves, I know they need an adult with them until they are 6 (in Denmark) but is that a common time to start solo biking as well? What age do people generally stop biking? How do the elderly get around when they decide it’s no longer safe for them to bike? What is bike ridership rate to elementary, middle, and high schools comparatively. What are the benefits of two way bicycle lanes compared to one way lanes? What are the drawbacks? My own observations and thoughts on this: two way bicycle streets take up less space, left turns are less confusing (initially) and are more...

  A common theme in my reflections has been the mixing of ages in public spaces and the abundance of children on bikes. In addition to safe bicycle infrastructure, Copenhagen has facilitated a city for kids through access to playgrounds, courtyards, parks, and a general whimsy in the city. The parks and playgrounds in Copenhagen were abundant and I found the concept of a manned/staffed playground really interesting. Dedicating staffing and money to playgrounds is a very foreign concept to me since child development and joy are not invested in the United States outside of the school system (and even then…). The traffic garden showed a deep care and investment in child joy and safety I found refreshing and inspiring. In addition to the various playgrounds I found, I also documented micro-playgrounds or places for play and playgrounds in more mature locations (such as museums). This showed how integrated children and their activities are into all aspects of Danish life.  The Dani...

I was surprised by how different the biking infrastructure and experience was in Malmö. The vibe on the streets was significantly less busy then the Copenhagen streets but the infrastructure seemed comparatively underdeveloped in some parts. However, the pedestrian infrastructure was extremely developed and I noticed that, in the city center at least, people tended to park their bikes and traverse on foot even if bicycles were allowed in the area. One comparison I found interesting was the differing opinions between the intensity of drivers in Copenhagen vs Malmö. Cass found the Malmö drivers more intense and I found them tame compared to the Danish. I found people were generally more forgiving of small mistakes, such as stopping without putting your hand up, lingering in the crosswalk, or biking through a yellow. The bike lines are much more entangled than they are in Copenhagen, which is an aspect that I did not like. The intersection we stopped at before our last stop, with two...

  Saturday was my first free day on the trip and it was a new experience to decide where and what my adventures on my bike would be. I started the day with some newfound friends at a thrift store down the street from the hostel. We decided to walk since many of us were sore and tired from our first day and a half on the bike. The difference was striking. The pedestrian infrastructure in Copenhagen is significantly less impressive than their bicycle infrastructure and more in line with what I would expect from most urban areas. It was longer, hotter, louder, and overall less enjoyable. I was already acclimated to the ease of biking, and the distance and speed we were able to go on the bikes. In Eugene, my main mode of transit is walking. I use my bike for commuting to and from work but other than that I walk if my destination takes me off of the 13th or Alder bike path. In Portland, I usually drive, and stress about parking, other drivers, and my strong dislike for car travel (I h...

The ease with which I adjusted to biking in Copenhagen surprised me. Our initial assignment of following someone around felt intimidating in a place where I had never seen so many people biking at once. The person I chose to follow, who was wearing a long floral green dress that seems incredibly popular here, took me on a straight line up Øster Voldgade. My first impression of this route was the ease of travel, despite it being a major car route as well. The lights seem times so that I rarely had to stop as I biked by impressive museums, old churches, and brightly colored housing. The ease with which I traveled a significant amount of distance emphasized how different the bicycle infrastructure here is from the US. My other initial observations included the diversity in ages and professions I saw biking. In my first couple of days, I’ve seen young children, students, the elderly, and everything in between biking all over the city. I’ve also seen people biking in casual summer clothing,...

My pre-Assignment was the analysis and reflection of videos by a Canadian living in the Netherlands. He explores Dutch bicycle infrastructure through the eyes of someone new to the country. I think his perspective is very similar to mine and others on the trip because Canada has similar levels of infrastructure to the US. Key infrastructure he focused on, and that spoke to me, were parking, Ontvlechten, and overall seamless design. Parking infrastructure is rather complicated, I discovered. The main goal of parking infrastructure is to safely store the bike and be convenient. Some Dutch cities have run into issues with convenience due to the sheer number of riders. This has led to the construction of large biking garages, which can be inconvenient. I hope during this trip we can explore various parking methods. Ontvlechten is the Dutch word for unraveling and describes the process of decoupling bicycle routes and car routes. This is an important aspect of Dutch design and I am excit...