Which are the most ‘bike-friendly’ cities in the world? This is a question posed by the team of Copenhagenize Consulting, an international consulting firm based in Copenhagen. Which, for about six months, collected information and statistics to assess the spread of bicycles in large cities.
The result is the Copenhagenize Index, a ranking of the world’s 20 bicycle-friendly cities.
Copenhagenize Index is a company that annually monitors around 80 major cities around the globe, awarding each of them from 0 to 4 points in 13 different categories and a special bonus related to particularly impressive achievements or efforts of the public administration.
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What is considered by the ranking
In order to draw up an annual ranking, the items taken into account, in a nutshell, are: cycle paths, dedicated parking spaces, reserved space on trains and buses, ramps on stairways, bike-sharing programmes, incentive policies, dissemination of wheel culture, etc.
Started in 2006, this movement has spread everywhere, giving rise to other nuclei of Cycle Chic (cycling in style) followers in many other cities, united by the objective of making the public realise that you can be fashionable by cycling too.
The most bike-friendly cities in the world
The ranking of the most ‘bike-friendly’ cities in the world can only be variable and in the top five positions, for better or worse, we always find the same cities.
1. Copenhagen – Denmark
In Copenhagen, more than 64% of the inhabitants use bicycles to get to work, covering 1.44 million kilometres every day, and cannot but be at the top of the list of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world.
This extraordinary city has achieved a 90.2 per cent approval rating for its services and the use of bicycles by its population.
2. Amsterdam – The Netherlands
The City of Amsterdam comes in at 89.3%. Which is slightly lower than Copenhagen and deserves second place in the ranking with flying colours.
Just to give you an idea, bike-plans are the order of the day here.
3. Utrecht – The Netherlands
We remain in the Netherlands and the third step of the podium is occupied, deservedly so, by the city of Utrecht with its 88.4% rating.
Just think that in this city priority is not given to cars but to bicycles. And it is here that the world’s largest bicycle car park has been built.
4. Antwerp – Belgium
Antwerp is a medieval Belgian city with a 73.2 per cent approval rating.
This very high percentage is due to the fact that the bicycle network is never finished being built or perfected here.
5. Strasbourg – France
Strasbourg, with a 70.5 per cent approval rating, deserves fifth place in the ranking with flying colours. It is no coincidence that it is the most cycle-friendly city in France.
Here, 20 percent of the inhabitants practise ‘bike to work’ and the cycle networks are constantly evolving.
In 6th place is Bordeaux (68.8%), in 7th place Oslo (62.5%) which is a ‘rising star’. In 8th place there is Paris (61.6%), in 9th place Vienna (60.7%) and in 10th place Helsinki with a rating of 59.8%.
Read also: What is “micro-mobility”, the future of transportation in cities
