5 of the Coolest Bike-Friendly Infrastructure Projects in the World
by Giovanna Fabiano
For the first time ever, more than half the world’s population—3.7 billion people—lives in cities, and that number is expected to double by 2050. Rising urbanization will have a profound impact on our built environment, and it’s no secret that cities will need to come up with better, more effective transportation solutions to help commuters navigate already-crowded corridors.
Helping people bike to work is a start, and several cities around the world are investing in infrastructure that makes cycling safer and more accessible to commuters.
There’s plenty of research that shows biking makes us generally happier and healthier. There’s even a recent U.S. Census Bureau report that found that not only are more young, urban adults biking to work, but that cycling is steadily on the rise among wealthier employees.
But a study released last year out of New Zealand found that cities that spend the most on bike lanes reap the biggest financial rewards. Plain and simple—encouraging (and enabling) residents to bike more makes good financial sense.
Researchers in Auckland, New Zealand, found that if the city were to build a network of separate bike lanes and slow down traffic speeds, it could increase cycling by 40 percent by 2040. Adding only a few lanes sporadically would only increase bike traffic by 5 percent.
Here are some of the coolest, bike-friendly infrastructure innovations popping up around the globe.
