Travel and Leisure magazine recently released a top ten list of bike friendly cities (in no particular order). Several American cities, including Minneapolis, Minnesota, made the list. Both Portland (discussed here in a recent series) and Seattle were also recognized. Only two cities in the Southern hemisphere, Bogotá, Columbia and Perth, Australia were among the ten. A significant number of European cities were highlighted. Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris, and Munich all received mention. The Canadian city of Montreal rounded out the group.

According to the Danish government, “an estimated 36 percent of the population [choose] the bicycle [as] the preferred mode of transport to work or to school” in Copenhagen. There are more than 180 miles (roughly 300 kilometers) of bike trails and lanes throughout the Danish capital. Tourists can take part by picking up free bicycles “at any of the more than 100 bike-share stations peppered throughout the city’s core.”

Portland, Oregon was included on the list because of it’s distinction as “the only large U.S. city to receive the League of American Bicyclists’ top rating.” Fellow North American city Montreal made the list in part due to the May launch of the continent’s “largest public bike-share program, rolling out 3,000 bikes available for rent at $5 a day”.

With a relatively flat topography, the entire country of the Netherlands is easily navigable by bike. Amsterdam stands at the epicenter of bike culture with an estimated 600,000 bikes (and a population of approximately 750,000). Regardless of climate (Minneapolis and Copenhagen) or elevation (Bogotá at 2,640 meters or 8660 feet), the bicycle can represent a viable mode of transportation. City and urban planners must make bike lanes and paths a priority. Aside from the benefit of removing cars from the streets, the improved health of citizens is a major consideration, helping municipalities save on health care costs down the road. Reducing obesity, increasing exercise, and connecting people with the outdoors (a central tenet in developing sustainable behaviors) are all possible with the advent of bike friendly locales.

- Eric Wilson

[image source: University of Houston]