Groupe Chronos

Until last Sunday, Copenhagen was busy with the Copenhagen Design Week : design for a changing world. Needless to say, with such a title, that the main focus was on sustainability and how design can help building a "Greener, Bigger, Better" future.

Different exhibits were spread out all over the city and gathered innovative Scandinavian and international ideas - there even was a French stand ! - and, when it comes to urban cycling, the event has unveiled some avenues worth exploring.

On the bike side, the Biomega Bamboo Bicyle, designed by Flavio Deslandes, was in the spotlight.

Though, from a sole design point of view, I have to admit I have preference for the old-fashioned one... Take a look at the website to observe Velorbis marketing strategy and keep in mind Mikael Coleville-Andersen's words on hero branding (Copenhague : le vélo massif n'est pas un hasard).

On the infrastructure side, the showroom Copenhagen Showhow notably tried to raise awareness about a necessary shift from "car-centric" to more "bike-centric" strategies (read also Tom Vanderbilt comments on the pedestrian). Why not having highways for bikes? Why not building tunnels for bikes and implementing bike stations? The point is not to discuss the relevance of these very suggestions but to observe that the bike starts encroaching on both the car and the public transports' territory. And, obviously, when the City of Copenhagen is planning to spend about 33 millions euros on extending bike lanes further out into the suburbs, comparing these paths with "bicycle superhighways" seems appropriate. Check here to see what it takes to be a bicycle super highway : they are building super highways in Copenhagen. And, when it comes to investing in infrastructures, London has entered into the competition to become a true cycling city (Dreams on wheels goes to London).

Finally, Link Up Showcase 2009 shows the significance of the attitude of the population. Indeed, the success of Copenhagen Harbour Bike depends on boat-pooling. Docking stations will be built, but for now, only temporary stopping points have been established. Instead of biking across the noisy and heavily trafficked Knipelsbro bridge, people are encouraged to stop at these stations and ask for a boat to make them cross the river!

We'll keep you updated and anyways, the Copenhagen Design Week was kind of an introduction before the UN Climate Conference that the city will host in December.