How Bikes Will Take Their Revenge on Cars and Help Us Reclaim Our Streets.

Big cities are going car-free. London’s Mayor Saqid Khan’s newest “London Plan” envisions that 80% of all trips in London will be made by foot, bicycle or public transport by 2041.

Without this shift away from car use, London cannot continue to grow sustainably. […] The design and layout of development should reduce the dominance of cars, and provide permeability to support active travel (public transport, walking and cycling), community interaction and economic vitality.

London is one of a number of major cities committing to the future where getting from point A to point B doesn’t depend on personal cars.

Reflected in this decision is a move towards micromobility, a trend of adopting more compact, efficient, and often shared modes of transportation in the urban setting. It is a counterweight to macromobility— transportation that relies on large vehicles for long distances and generic applications. As industry analyst Horace Dediu put it, “it’s the personal computer of 1980s.”

Read the NewCo Shift story by Marija Gavrilov - “How Bikes Will Take Their Revenge on Cars and Help Us Reclaim Our Streets.”

A car-free bicycle highway marks attitudinal shift

Germany has opened the first three-mile stretch of a bicycle highway that will eventually span over 62 miles, connecting 10 western cities including Duisburg, Bochum, and Hamm, as well as four universities.

And this highway is an entirely separate roadway that will remain completely car-free.

Read the sunny skyz story - “Germany Opens 62-Mile Bicycle Highway That's Completely Car-Free.”

(Motor vehicles are major contributors to global carbon pollution and so this switch to human powered transport is significant and it marks a significant attitudinal shift, a small but important change – Robert McLean.)