This Is What a City Where Everyone Rides Bikes Would Look Like
Anyone who’s tried navigating urban spaces by foot or bike is painfully aware that the world we live in was built exclusively with cars in mind. But what if you had the opportunity to explore a city built solely for bikes?
A team of architects and urban designers called Cycle Space International has created multiple visions for our dream reality—a “velotopia” where bikes are the default mode of transportation and every last detail of construction reflects this.
“The city of the future should not have infrastructure for cycling,” Cycle Space’s maintains in its description of the Velotopia project. “It should be infrastructure for cycling.”
Related: The Most Bike-Friendly Cities in the US
So what does a city look like when it's designed around two-wheeled transport? Not like the oft-cited Copenhangen, which according to Cycle Space International doesn’t truly incorporate building structures in its bicycle planning. Its cycling vision is one that takes cues from BMX parks—where riders can move in and out of buildings seamlessly with minimal pedaling through the use of gradients, ramps, and channels.
In the Cycle Space vision, cyclists would pedal around at ground level while pedestrians move overhead along bridges between connected buildings. Canopies would protect cyclists from the sun and rain, and ramped corridors would allow them to ride directly into apartment buildings raised above shops. Bike highways would help cyclists quickly access other parts of the city.
Cycle Space says its work advises policy makers and developers who are ready to incorporate some of its ideas into modern urban design. Take a look at some of the project's images and enjoy this vision of the future.
Is this what your ideal city would look like?
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