Być jak Kopenhaga. Duński przepis na miasto szczęśliwe

by Mikael Colville-Andersen, Weronika Mincer (Translator)

Jak wygląda miasto skrojone na ludzką miarę? To takie, w którym wszyscy mieszkańcy – dzieci, dorośli i seniorzy, bogaci i biedni, niezależnie od ich stanu zdrowia, będą czuli się jak u siebie – przede wszystkim bezpiecznie. Jak sprawić by miasta zbliżyły się przynajmniej do tego ideału? Zdaniem autora „Być jak Kopenhaga”, Mikaela Colville-Andersena, to rower może znów uczynić nasze miasta przyjaznymi do życia: „Fakt, że dziewiętnastowieczny wynalazek może rozwiązać skomplikowane problemy XXI w. to czysta poezja”. I właśnie Kopenhaga, w której mieszka i której zmiany obserwuje i wspiera autor, wydaje się być wzorcem miasta przyjaznego – m.in. dzięki swej rowerowej infrastrukturze, która stała się marką duńskiej stolicy.

„Być jak Kopenhaga” to książka o rowerach, ale też pochwała życia miejskiego. Jak wskazuje autor, opowiada ona o tym, „jak w mieście przemieszczać dużo ludzi z miejsca na miejsce i jak skutecznie przywrócić rowerom status szanowanego, akceptowanego i dostępnego środka transportu, a do tego jeszcze na tej inwestycji zarobić”.

Colville-Andersen nie jest akademickim teoretykiem. Jak sam podkreśla, jeździł rowerem służbowo po 65 miastach, pedałując bez wysiłku i często zmagając się z dramatycznie złym asfaltem. Dziś swoim doświadczeniem dzieli się z włodarzami miast całego świata i z ich mieszkańcami. Przekonuje, że komfortowe dla wszystkich i zielone miasto to żadna utopia.


Mikael Colville-Andersen jest uznanym ekspertem urbanistycznym, a także szefem założonej w 2009 r. firmy Copenhagenize Design Co. oraz twórcą ruchu Cycle Chic. Współpracuje z miastami i rządami na całym świecie, projektuje dla nich infrastrukturę rowerową, rozwiązania komunikacyjne oraz prowadzi szkolenia z rozwiązań prorowerowych. Można go spotkać na światowych konferencjach i wydarzeniach poświęconych designowi i architekturze. Prowadzi też program telewizyjny „Life-Sized City” dotyczący urbanistyki oraz blog „Copenhagenize”. Dotąd wydał m.in. książki „Cycle Chic” (2012) i „Cargo Bike Nation” (2013).

Genres: Urbanism, Urban Planning, Urban, Nonfiction, Cycling, Urban Studies, Cities

292 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2018

Reviews

[Andriy Rushchak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ця книжка стала для мене сюрпризом.
Обкладинка обіцяє, що це посібник із глобального велоурбанізму — і, справедливості ради, вона повна прикладних порад, як перетворити місто на зручне для людей.
Натомість автор повернув мене в час, коли ровер був продовженням мене і ганяти Самбором було природнім, легким і невимушеним. Це гірко-солодке відчуття приємного часу, який уже в минулому.
Можливо, справа у мені. Цьогоріч я жодного разу не їздив містом на ровері. Навіть більше, я не бачу можливості найближчим часом всерйоз долучитися до промоції велосипеда як природного способу пересування містом — але мені дуже хочеться, щоб Сихів і решта Львова й України були зручними для роверистів від 4х до 84х, тому допомагаю де можу.
У цій книжці повно порад про те, як зробити місто таким, де пересування на велосипеді безпечне, приємне і навіть трохи буденне. Адже одна із цілей — побачити, як роверисти позіхають під час комьюту 😉

[Bart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copenhagenize is a superb manual on all the important details of bike infrastructure design and operation. It’s a great ‘how-to’ guide for making cities safe and convenient for active transportation. Indeed, it’s a great book on the factors that, in the millennia before the destructive onset of car culture, made cities very attractive places to live – and how we can redemocratize our streets in the 21st century.

Full review here:
https://anoutsidechance.com/2018/04/0...

[yellow_toaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pamiętajcie, samochody to pasożyty w miastach 😶‍🌫️

[Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The graphs, maps, and pictures used are great assisting documents to the overall message that cycling can and should be better prioritized in cities, for purposes of health, safety, environmental wellbeing, etc. But past that, there wasn’t a ton of substance that blew me away. It was well-written but I just feel like it lacked some discussions of other issues in advocating for cycling. I’ll never forget when a PhD candidate at UNC said “I went abroad to do my masters in Denmark and now am back in USA; I wish we could do the exact same cycling infrastructure work as Denmark has done, but we need to be location-sensitive so as to create systems that work for us.” It was a bitter truth for me to wrap my head around that we will have to tweak Denmark’s best practices to fit our setting, but it makes sense and encourages community level engagement. In the end, that challenging place-based work is just part of the journey and the foundation of a worthy struggle.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desperately trying to cement, tin the public consciousness of its citizens, the rather outdated philosophy that cars rule supreme and everyone else is a mere pawn to be swept aside without regret.

Let's face it - if a city had safe human streets, then they wouldn't need school crossing guards.

Removing the status associated with driving is something that is slowly evolving in this, the Age of Demotorization.

Car emissions cause cause emphysema. Driving causes cancer. Driving clogs your arteries. Don't transport your children by car. Driving - a leading cause of death. Quitting driving will improve your health. Driving harms unborn babies. Driving is addictive. Car emissions are toxic.

Climaphobia is a thing because we have spent obscene amounts of energy and money desperately trying to engineer the weather out of our lives.

[gbkMnkii · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book with huge enthusiasm since I really like the topic. After many years of daily biking in Budapest, couple of Critical masses I was also impressed about the infrastructure in CPH.

Unfortunately Mikael style is counterproductive even I was unimpressed about it. Super elitist and judging rather than funny or entertaining. He is one of the extremist but from the other side.

I strongly disagree also with his thoughts about the safety, guys please wear helmets. Especially in 2018, you have so many choices to find a stylish one.

On the other hand I recommend to read this book because what CPH achieved that is extremely admirable and Mikael has a huge part of this transformation.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mikael Colville-Andersen is taking a look at cycling from an urban planning perspective, which is quite refreshing. He puts bikes closer to pedestrians rather than with cars, arguing that cycling contributes to a lively and vital city. As a fan of Copenhagens cycling infrastructure I found most points made here very agreeable Copenhagenize is more an emotional manifest rather than a detailed design guide. The author's writing style is powerful and got me excited about the topics he adresses in the book.

Still, in my eyes there were a few little flaws: Even though Copenhagenize is not supposed to be a scientific work, I would have loved at least some references - Especially whenever Colville-Andersen cites statistics. Most charts in the book are missing sufficient labelling (At least in the German edition). As thrilling as I found the writing style to be, Colville-Andersen can sound a little bit condescending at times. If you can see over these points and do not expect technical Details, Copenhagenize will sure be a fun read and provide you with some fascinating thoughts and information.

[Jeremy Inducil · Rating 5 out of 5]

SURRENDER THE ROAD!

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

See also The Life-Sized City documentary series.


Take-aways: Enjoy (and, so, promote) a lifestyle rather than an object.

Reading/viewing recommendations:
1. Turner: Geography of Hope
2. Gordon Tullock from the joke of improving road safety placing a spike in the middle of the steering wheel; conceptually related to:
3. Furedi's Culture of Fear
4. Elif Shafak about urbanism (unspecified reference)
5. mockumentaries by Gary Burns set in Calgary, especially WayDownTown, and Radiant City
6. Eckerson's short documentary Cycling Copenhagen, Through North American Eyes

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

An exercise in hysterics. Emotion almost no reason. So the reader is sprayed with useless terms that feel good like "life-sized city".

What is a life-sized city? How do you measure life? Is it the life of a mosquito is this guy talking about? Anyway, even if it's something as unintelligent as "the size I would grade as a good size", would that help for the next person?

And what is the book about? It is an exercise in absolutism. Colville feels the government is spending for the wrong projects. Too big. Too expensive. Bla bla bla. Rehashing the media arguments with no filter. Okay. Yet the solution is magically more government. Only this time, a government that represents Colville's sect.

[Mad Hab · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I had anticipated a work similar to those of Jacobs, Shoup, or Gahl, but focused on cycling, I found that this book was more akin to a compilation of blog posts. Despite this, it's important to note that it not meeting my expectations does not necessarily render the book poor in quality. It remains an interesting read, nonetheless.

P.S. The choice to group Eisenhower and Hitler together was quite a stretch, to say the least.

[соля · Rating 1 out of 5]

В книзі є опис «чудового досвіду в Татарстані», з відкриттям на вулиці лєніна, валуєвим і нафтовими грошима, які не тільки йдуть на геноциди, а й на розвиток російської велоінфраструктури

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a detailed guide to designing cities for bicycles. This rebuts the common myth that "bicycles only work in Europe" by showing that Copehnagen was once far more like American cities than it is today. In 1970, there were almost four times as many cars as bicycles entering downtown Copenhagen; today, there are more bicycles than cars downtown. The author also rebuts common anti-cycle myths. For example, some believe that cycling is only possible in temperate weather- but the author cites numerous examples of cold- and hot-weather cities that increased cycling.

How did they do it? The author focuses on bike lanes, explaining that cycling lanes must be separated from auto traffic (except on the lowest-speed streets) and that they must form a comprehensive network, so that cyclists will rarely risk being hit by cars.

[melo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro che di fatto è una cassetta degli attrezzi, un manifesto, una passeggiata in un futuro possibile, e in tanti presenti che altrove sono già cambiati
Un libro che andrebbe tradotto, e che dovrebbero leggere gli amministratori, i tecnici, gli ingegneri, e anche i semplici cittadini. Per avere un'idea delle possibilità che già esistono senza necessità di reinventarsi niente, o di ripetere percorsi già battuti e abbandonato da decenni
Un libro che dovrò annotare, perché contiene buona parte delle risposte a tutti gli impedimenti e le obiezioni che ciclicamente tornano, sul percorso verso città a misura di persone.

[Vincent Breen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm about 2/3rds of the way through. It's a nice book but it's a bit ranty and emotional. Lots of anecdotes about meeting such and such an automotive guru and I got the better of him/her... Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed reading it but it's too polemical and personal.

[Marko Savić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copenhagenize is one of the most aspiring books I've read on cycling although I must admit I have read only a few. I am a vivid all-year cyclist for quite some time now. I don't own a car and travel exclusively by bike and train, which is quite unusual, I would say, in my home country Slovenia.

The author of the book, Mikael Colville-Andersen, has important experience in what he calls bicycle planning, strategy, infrastructure design, and communication. But, what initially made me a little bit suspicious, Colville-Andersen approached the subject matter with fresh eyes, "unencumbered by academic indoctrination", as he says.

The book is divided into three main parts—Introduction, The Learning Curve, and The Toolbox— with altogether 20 chapters, plus Introduction and Conclusion. If there's one thing that this book wants to turn around is one lesson. Namely, Colville-Andersen claims that the saddest irony of urban planning from more than a hundred years of traffic engineering is that "if you make more space for cars, more cars come." So, this is a book that shows that there there's more to a city than only its car-centric planning.

The introductory part of the book has five chapters. It's an entertaining reading with some arguments on the general pearls of wisdom in life. What was before or what is the fourth basic need in life, sex or storytelling? Colville-Andersen goes for the latter, with an argument that listening or telling will bring us anyway toward having sex with someone. Well, Colville-Andersen is a communication professional and there is no hiding that he wants to sell his services too, so we should be careful in buying his arguments. Where by no means I'm saying that his arguments aren't true, on the contrary.

In this first part, Colville-Andersen goes into the history of city and street design in particular, including the role traffic engineering has played in all. He found out that radical engineering—on a premise that the car is the glorious vehicle of the future—began in the 1930s and 1940s in the USA and has traveled around the world since. What is really surprising is that traffic engineering hasn't changed much since. Or at least this is what Colville-Andersen claims. Instead, he invites us to imagine a designed bicycle infrastructure, that is like a well-designed chair. We would need to be and feel safe with the bicycle infrastructure in our cities. Amen to that.

To me, it seems impossible and incredible that in recent history there were massive demonstrations in Copenhagen in 1979 demanding safer cycling conditions. And demonstrations in San Francisco in 1972 seeking a dedicated bike line. The bicycle is the ultimate democratic symbol. Also in Slovenia, where there were ongoing demonstrations, every Friday for two years or so, of "cyclists" against the former government. Yet, Colville-Andersen is more than right to notice that there is a car-crash 9/11 every single month around the globe, and yet there is "no war on this particular terror." Although the big auto industry is trying to reinvent itself as a "mobility companies". The number of killed and seriously injured (KSI) is stable. Electric vehicles are a welcome solution, but we all know, in themselves, they—together with self-autonomous vehicles, that bring with them additional problems—"still occupy an arrogant amount of urban space." Colville-Andersen is furious that responsible organizations are not taking any action in the direction of drastic reduction of cars that would be only measure to save lives in his opinion. Could not agree more. It is heretical to even think or say this thought out aloud, particularly in car-centric countries, as is Slovenija, for example.

Colville-Andersen has gathered health warnings from cigarette packaging and converted them into car-related health warnings. I'm quite curious what would that cause if some countries would implement them.

Car emissions cause emphysema. / Driving causes cancer. / Driving clogs your arteries. / Don't transport your children by car. / Driving—A leading cause of death. / Quitting driving will improve your health. / Driving harms unborn babies. / Driving is addictive. / Car emissions are toxic. /

Colville-Andersen ends the introductory part of the book with a proposal or present solution for the 30 km/h speed limit in cities and towns. What started as an experiment in the small German town Buxtenhude is today's baseline speed in more than 100 cities in European Union. Encouraging.

The second part of the book starts with the chapter on the city of Copenhagen case. The city had its cycling peak in 1949, only to start dismantling it to make space for cars. During the after second world war period, Copenhagen experienced a complete transition to a car-centric city, including the removal of the city's tram network to be replaced with buses. The process of more safety for cyclists in Copenhagen started a few years after the massive demonstration in 1979, in the 1980s, only to be accelerated in the 1990s. Today, in Copenhagen at least (and in other progressive cities), cyclists are not the autists of the current transportation system. Still, in 2016 Copenhagen allocates a "whopping 64 percent of its transport space to cars", including car lanes and parking spots, even though 91 percent of Copenhageners don't drive a car daily when heading for work or to school.

Out of his consultancy work, data gathered, and his experience as a cyclist, Colville-Andersen gives much-appreciated advice in his book. For example, the bidirectional lines pose a much higher risk to cyclists than two one-directional lines do.  Or that narrowing car lanes in cities improve safety because drivers have to concentrate more. Or that riding a bike to the local train station, and consequently combining travel modes also increases bicycle share. Or that if you want to construct a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge, your starting point should not be stairs and elevators.  Infrastructure is definitely the key to increasing the cycling levels and influences behaviour simultaneously. And there is no chicken or egg. There is only infrastructure. While claiming that Colville-Andersen arguably kills several myths on riding only when flat, not riding when it's hot or in winter, not used to cycle, cultural things, expensive cars, no space for bikes, too few cyclists, what all you supposedly can't do on a bike, it takes to long. As the counterargument for the latter myth that it takes too long to promote cycling, Colville-Andersen cites the case of a visit of Ljubljana planners at the peak of the cold war to Copengahen only to return to Ljubljana and implement 40 kilometers of "Copenhagen- quality cycle track". Cycling levels supposedly rose from two to ten percent in a year.

Colville-Andersen concludes the second part of the book with an explanation of how to make cycling desirable and how to gather data about it. It is most easily depicted in the two infographics, presented in the book. The first one presents the short history of traffic engineering from the 1800 to present, and the latter one presents the Copenhagenize (also the name of the authors' agency) Traffic Planning Guide. Worth incorporating into every city, in my opinion.

Regarding the data, Colville-Andersen is firmly convincing, due to the time and again proven fact that investing in urban cycling is absolutely feasible. The fact is that urban cycling is "the most cost-beneficial transport form we have ever invented." The statistics show that every time I ride a bicycle for a kilometer, I put 26 cents right back into society. In the words of Colville-Andersen, "Pure profit, man." On the other hand, "every time someone drives a car one kilometer, we pay out 89 cents." In Copenhagen, every kilometer of a cycle track pays off in five years. What an astonishing business model, says Colville-Andersen. In Denmark, there is even a tax break of 32 cents per kilometer if "my cycling commute to work is 24 kilometers or more", with a proposal to lower that distance to twelve kilometers. 

The third part of the book is titled The Toolbox. It has six chapters and a conclusion. Here Colville-Andersen presents some of the best practices for the cycling infrastructure. The unwritten standard for the cycle-track width is "that you and I can cycle together, having a conversation, and a cargo bike can pass us by." I have yet to witness such a width of cycling track in my home country, Slovenia. At the end of the book, Colville-Andersen goes into advocacy issues. Among others, argues heavily that cyclists are not a kind of subculture. And that someone who knows how much its bicycle weight is not supposed to be someone who should be advocating cycling. Fair enough, at least not exclusively, if you ask me. 

Colville-Andersen concludes the book with a quote from the Mayor of Paris from 2002 to 2014, Bertrand Delanoë, that cars no longer have a place in the big cities of our time. It's true, in the times of the greatest waves of urbanization, "if you don't see cycling as part of the solution, you are part of the problem:" We should all think about that at our next elections and vote only those that have a track record or at least the intention in remaking our cities not only cycling-friendly but cycling-oriented spaces.

This book is not only very well written but it also has a logical structure and design and most of all really lots of photos that tell a story of their own. You can tell that Colville-Andersen started his cycling story as a photo blog Cycle Chic. which is still available and occasionally updated. From my point of view, I could not find any book weaknesses. Colville-Andersen is very direct and he doesn't come from academia but runs a consultancy and in that terms, this book is also a promotion of his work, in my opinion, more than necessary work.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mikael Colville-Andersen has a strong set of views about urban cycling - I'm not sure I agree with all of them but it seems good to have a person able to voice a positive approach for urban cycling infrastructure and changes in attitudes so clearly.

http://www.copenhagenize.com/ the web site for Colville-Andersen's cycling infrastructure consulting company (in English) gives some flavor for what the book is like. Colville-Andersen is Danish but grew up in Canada, so he writes in English (as well as Danish . . .).

Here is the table of contents - the book is in three sections.

Introduction
1. The Life-Sized City
2. Bicycle Urbanism by Design
3. The Bicycle's Role in Urban Life
4. The Redemocratization of Cycling
5. Taming the Bull in Society's China Shop

The Learning Curve
6. Copenhagen's Journey
7. Climaphobia and Vacuum-Packed Cities
8. Arrogance of Space
9. Mythbusting
10. Architecture
11. Desire Lines & Understanding Behavior
12. A Secret Cycling Language
13. A2Bism
14. The Art of Gathering Data

The Toolbox
15. Best-Practice Design & Infrastructure
16. Prioritizing Cycling
17. Design & Innovation
18. Cargo Bike Logistics
19. Curating Transferable Ideas
20. Communication & Advocacy

Conclusion

Most of the positive examples are taken from Europe, with some mention of Japan. From north America, Montreal and Washington DC are mentioned the most - I don't think either Seattle or Portland OR are mentioned. (The book does not have an index.)

As an American who favors development of better infrastructure for cycling along the lines of what is described here, the distance we have to go to get there is distressing. Also, according to Colville-Andersen, as a bicycle nut I am not the ideal advocate - that advocacy for cycling does better when it comes from "regular" people. Hmm.

Much of the current DC area bike cycling measures do not meet Colville-Andersen's approval - in fact, the center-0f-the-road bidirectional cycle track on Pennsylvania Avenue is specifically taken as an example of what not to do - of what is done by people who think they know what to do but who have really really bad ideas. DC provides several other such examples, alas - I agree with his analysis completely.

It was fairly late in the book, but there is some discussion of "vehicular bicycling" which was a theory from the 1960s onward that advocated strongly for cyclists to use the same infrastructure as motorists - which he dismisses easily enough. He also has a brief discussion of e-bikes - he is generally not thrilled with their typical use at relatively high speeds, creating a new hazard for other cyclists and even more so for themselves.

There is a brief discussion of bikeshare as a good "last mile" measure but dockless bikeshare is so new (outside of China) that it isn't mentioned - suggesting to me at least that even though bicycles have been around for more than a hundred years, we are having a period of change or evolution. Interesting.

The books is readable. The author as noted has strong views, but doesn't (in my view) hit the reader too hard over the head with them.

An odd complaint - the typeface used in the text for the book has very fine lines and I discovered my lighting setup for reading in bed wasn't enough to let me read this book comfortably, which was a surprise. I felt it was a kind of ironic statement that a book that advocates simple intuitive designs in one area (urban cycling infrastructure design) failed the test of simple access this way, making the book more difficult to read because of some font-fashion decision. (I read a lot - this is an unusual problem for me to have.)

There is a lot here to try to get one's head around - I should likely read this again in a few months.

[Paul Gowans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living in the UK as a kid, my fondest memories were when I was cycling around the city with my friends. But then I grew up, got a driver's license and a car, and the bicycle was left in the shed, gathering dust and rust.

This is just what happens in the UK, the bikes are forgotten once you own a car. However, Covid-19 lockdown affected the world massively and hectic city streets, typically full of petrol guzzling engines were left deserted. I decided to take my bike out for the first time in years as a way to get fit and fell in love with cycling again. Since then I have cycled thousands of kilometres and have used my bike to commute here, there and everywhere.

Unfortunately, the UK has some terrible infrastructure for cycling. Painted bicycle lanes which provide no safety, cycle paths that just end abruptly whenever a junction appears at a road, and a lack of belief in the benefits that cycling can bring to a city.

Reading through Copenhagenize showed me the wonders of cycling infrastructure in Copenhagen, admiring what it could look like in the UK if some effort was put into increasing active travel. Mikael discusses the history of cycling in Copenhagen and how the changes have been implemented over time. He covers the mistakes that Copenhagen have made in the past with their cycling infrastructure and how these mistakes were rectified. Mikael is straight to the point when talking about his frustration in other cities that continue to create the same problems that Copenhagen solved decades ago. The toolbox section of the book provides recommendations on best practice infrastructure that makes cycling a safe, comfortable, and quick way to get around.

The book is also aesthetically pleasing with brilliant pictures showing different types of cycling infrastructure throughout the world (good and bad), graphs from reports showing the benefits of cycling and the busting of myths, and also pictures on advertising that show the bias towards the motor vehicle.

I would recommend anyone with any interest in active travel and cycling in cities to give this book a read and see how your city could improve by accommodating cycling.

[Andrakuf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ta książka jako reportaż ma niesamowicie piękne i wzruszające otwarcie, które odwołuje się do młodości. "Czy to nie piękne, że prawie każdy pamięta moment w którym po raz pierwszy pojechał sam rowerem?". Otóż ja również pamiętam, pamiętam że był to BMX i pamiętam też że jazda skończyła się przy zakręcie na stosie stojących tam, układanych właśnie płyt chodnikowych, ale faktycznie pamiętam to jakby było to wczoraj a minęło od tego czasu co najmniej lat 30.
Chłop pisze o podróży rowerem przez miasto do pracy w taki sposób, że samemu jadąc zaczynasz zupełnie inaczej rozumieć otoczenie i postrzegać ludzi wokół.
Bardzo w tej książce podoba mi się też fakt, że autor oddziela jazdę na rowerze w sensie kolarstwa, jazdę rekreacyjną a skupia się na rowerze jako środku do poruszania się po mieście. Środka który nie wymaga ubrania ze spandexu, kolarek z pieluchą czy fancy kasku a służy po prostu szybszemu dostaniu się z punktu A do punktu B niż jesteś to w stanie zrobić jakimkolwiek innym środkiem lokomocji, którym nie pogrążysz się w korkach a do tego zrobisz to o wiele szybciej niż na piechotę.

[Ілля Смоленко · Rating 4 out of 5]

На початку книги я вважав, що велоурбанізм - це наука, досягненням якої є просто звернути на неї увагу. Прочитавши дану книгу, я можу додати, що велоурбанізм не потребує технологій, а тільки досвіду та уваги. Автор переконує важливість використання велосипеда саме як найзручнішого транспорту, а не як екологічного рішення чи панацеї від хвороб. Тобто, окрім цих важливих переваг, велосипед має ряд інших і взагалі стає універсальним рішенням. У книзі, як не дивно з назви, велику увагу надається велоінфраструктурі Копенгагена. Тому, щоб перевірити правильність тверджень книги треба самому побувати у Копенгагені і перевірити чи все дійсно так солодко, як описує автор. Окрім цього, в книзі є багато практичних рішень та найголовніше - багато стимулів для обдумування поточної ситуації в наших містах (не тільки велоурбаністичних). Мені книга щиро сподобалася тим, як автор натхненно транслює велосипедну повістку. Видно, що він закоханий у свою справу.

[Börkur Sigurbjörnsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Copenhagenize is indeed a great guide to global bicycle urbanism. It is full of inspiring anecdotes and useful best-practice advice. I particularly like the focus on the bicycle as an every-day means of efficient transport. The reading left me energized and better equipped to advocate for better bicycle infrastructure.

On only drawback of the book is that the tone is a bit arrogant at times, especially when talking about traffic engineering. It's an unfortunate irony since the author makes a good point about the importance of not repeating the mistake of the environmentalism movement in this respect. I'm not convinced I had been as impressed with this book if I had read it outside my sustainable urbanism echo-chamber.

[Colin McGovern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever read a book where you agreed with every conclusion but nevertheless felt a little underwhelmed? Given the book is written by an urban designer, I was expecting something a little more practical. He has a habit of cherrypicking data and a lot of the arguments read like special pleading. Could have done with an editor too.

In spite of all of that, I agree with the vision. This is what cities ought to look like. It can be done with some imagination. I don't think this book is enough to give advocates for human cities all the tools they need but it has some value on that road. Hence three stars.

[Monika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chociaż w ogólnej dyskusji zgadzam się z autorem książki, sposób w jaki przedstawia swoje argumenty wydał mi się dosyć słaby i wątpię, żeby był w stanie przekonać tych nieprzekonanych. Poza tym czuję się ofiarą marketingu polskiego tłumaczenia - to wcale nie duński przepis na miasto szczęśliwe, a raczej pean na cześć rowerów i o ile widzę dużo korzyści dla miast, jeśli projektuje się je z punktu widzenia roweru, to liczyłam, że z książki, którą tytułem sugeruje, że jest o urbanistyce Kopenhagi dowiem się czegoś więcej niż w dużym skrócie „rower jest najlepszy”.

No i w oczy rzucił mi się chyba jeden błąd tłumaczeniowy- autor w pewnym momencie narzeka na „skutery elektryczne” na ścieżkach dla rowerowych. Jakie skutery? Chodziło chyba o angielskie „scooters” czyli hulajnogi?

[Jill Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book for someone like me. Took a while to read as I made many notes and also provided my own very detailed index so I can find sections/quotes within the book when I want to use them. I work in this area, so enjoyed the book and gained additional insights to help build human scale streets. Love the insights from his children. I was lucky to grow up in a bike friendly environment and am working on making areas more bike friendly so I can continue to ride and so can others - independently from ages 8-80 - as well as with help from others for all ages.

[Kostiantyn Shcherbachenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Посібник з покращення життя в містах по всьому світу.
Якщо ви хочете покращити велосипедну інфраструктуру в своєму місті і не знаєте з чого почати - почніть з книги Мікаеля Колвілла-Андерсена "Копенганізуймо!". На відміну від свого відомого співвітчизника казкаря та однофамільця, Мікаель розповідає реальні речі.
В книзі багато фото з різними прикладами, тому достатньо легко уявити як це виглядатиме на вулиці поруч з вашим будинком і здивуватися, чому це досі не застосовано.
ну а далі вже все залежить від вашої активності.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers an interesting and new (to US residents) look at bicycle infrastructure. The author suggest a build it and they will come philosophy to bicycle infrastructure. I whole-heartedly agree with this and 90% of what he offers in the book. My one major complaint is his stance on bikes. I feel they have a place and get more people on bikes. Anything that does that is a plus in my book.

[Gus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked what Copenhagen has done and I learned that the author and his consultancy had a big role in promoting better urban design all around the world - according to the author. But the first impression that I got from his YouTube videos was confirmed by tone in the book, it’s good to be opinionated but it often comes across as smugness.

[Bogdan Skaskiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ставлю цій книзі четвірку лише через те, що її можна було зробити лаконічнішою (ну і через згадку росії,ок). Тема велоурбанізму надзвичайно цікава, розкрита з усіх можливих сторін з чіткими аргументами та ретроспективою ХХ та початку ХХІ століття. Раджу всім, хто любить велосипед або лише думає про те, щоб стати до лав велолюбителів.

[mobot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straight forward and packed with practical information anyone can take forth and implement in their own cities. Must read for those looking to change the conversation around mobility and urban space

[aj.svn1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and refreshing.