Amsterdam
If bicycling were the only factor, what would be the 10 best cities in the world in which to live?
The website AskMen.com set out to name the Top 10 Bicycle-Friendly Cities in its quest for naming the Top 10 in dozens of categories — prescription drugs, to motorbikes, to hottest women.
The list has undergone some modifications since I first stumbled across it in 2007 (“Top 10 list of Top 10 bicycling lists”). Amsterdam is still No. 1, but Portland, Oregon, fell from No. 2 to No. 6.
The website doesn't explain this sudden loss of prestige for Portland, but I doubt if it has anything to do with the 5% to 6% decrease in bike traffic in the past year, as reported in a recent study by the city.
BikePortland says that the city attributed that first bike traffic decrease since 1995 to the poor economy (car traffic was down, too) and to people returning to cars as the price of gasoline dropped a bit.
Here's the Top 10, as reported by AskMen (warning: clicking a link may lead to pop-up ad).
1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands — Cars are almost secondary, as 40% of trips to work are made by bicycle. Other bike programs and facilities are touted, such as the world's largest bike parking garage (see video above).
2. Copenhagen, Denmark — Bicycling is so ingrained in the city's green culture that one-third of workers commute by bike to their jobs. Read more at Copenhagenize.com.
3. Bogota, Columbia — Only 13% of residents in the city own cars, which means many use bicycles to get around. There's also the weekly Ciclovia, when streets are closed to motor vehicles.
4. Curitiba, Brazil — Urban planning of the modern city included bicycling as a major source of transportation from the beginning. Check the Curitiba Critical Mass website.
5. Montreal, Canada — The city is spending $134 million plan to revamp the city's bike trails and is home of the Bixi bike-sharing program. Also AskMen says 2,400 miles of bike routes.
6. Portland, Oregon — Finally, a city in the US. AskMen cites the bike paths that connect urban neighborhoods and the high rate — 9% — of bicycle commuting. See BikePortland.org.
7. Basel, Switzerland — Traffic lanes there are designed for bicycles, including left-turn lanes for bicyclists. Also bike sharing.
8. Barcelona, Spain — A park-like bike corridor called the Diagonal runs into the downtown and the city has more than 100 kilometers of bike lanes. There also are 100-some bike-sharing stations.
9. Beijing, China — Biking is still the best way to get around the city, although I've read that cars are taking over the streets.
10. Trondheim, Norway — That's easy. The world's only bicycle lift up a steep hill is located in this city.
Update: If 10 isn't enough, Tree Hugger points us to Virgin Airways' list of 11 best cities for bicycling. This one leads with Amsterdam, making it the undisputed leader I suppose. But the US is more well-represented here.
The Virgin list is at least 3 years old, however, as I remember writing about it back in 2007.
Top 11:
1. Amsterdam
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Copenhagen, Denmark
4. Boulder, Colorado
5. Davis, California
6. Sadnes, Norway
7. Trondheim, Norway
8. San Francisco, California
9. Berlin, Germany
10. Barcelona, Spain
11. Basel, Switzerland
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