What I remember about that day was the sense of calm, how quiet it was, and how generous the streets actually felt. For a brief moment the public realm was uniquely different.
A great experience for not only the author but also for everyone in the Square Mile. People living in a crowded busy city needs calmness. This is very likely to prove that Square Mile is able to improve the public's health. Imagine the sense of freedom and relief.
Square Mile was closed to vehicular traffic; the streets were preserved for the pedestrian and the cyclist.
Vehicular traffic simply means traffic with vehicles. It is important to make sure pedestrians and cyclists can transport safely. This not only let them be safe, this also attracts more people to walk or bike.
Cycling offers us, for the first time in more than a century and a half, the chance to build an infrastructure that will bring with it significant public health improvements.
Infrastructure that focus on public health. Interesting point, this shows how health may not always be the aim or may be the least important. Perhaps economy including industries and transportation have always been to focused. It is time to focus more on the human and not what the human can do.
Active transportation routes and linear parks, on the other hand, regenerate their surroundings, bringing activity and value to blighted sections of the city.
Blight means to destroy. This sentence shows the author's opinion based on his observations that cycle cities may destroy the activities and values of the city. However, the world keep on changing every now and then. This may be a good change that also inspire other cities.
Combining new transportation methods that encourage the principles of a healthy life style with traditional roads can raise land values, attract investment and activate the urban environment.
This new transportation method is a good start to create more events in the city. It promotes a healthy lifestyle that could be difficult to achieve in a fast-paced urban city. I agree that this method can attract investments as new fields normally do. This method will also raise health awareness in the society which will also impact on the society's productivity, social and mental health. This could solve problems occuring such as minor health issues, social problems and mental illnesses.
Active transportation routes and linear parks, on the other hand, regenerate their surroundings, bringing activity and value to blighted sections of the city.
Transportation has a significant role in the society and area. For instance, inclining number of transportations may cause traffic and delay activities. It may also cause pollution such as air and sound pollution. Good transportation should be prioritised by the government.
Thus the Cycle City would bring with it a new building type – the multistory cycle park.
An interesting link below demonstrates a cycle park in Cambridge. The design of the building is focused on the bikers' convenience in parking and moving the bicycles. This innovation of building a "car park" with bicycles is very creative. Moreover, it will decrease the number of bicycle theft which could be an issue.
http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2016-02-15/on-the-rack-cycle-commuters-grapple-with-new-multi-storey/
Imagine that the Boris Bike docking stations outside railway stations and in key public spaces might incorporate general cycle parking. Thus the Cycle City would bring with it a new building type – the multistory cycle park.
Activities that take place in a city will change its architecture. For instance, residential areas means more houses. Educational cities will have more schools. Busy urban areas may have more skyscrapers. In this case, "Boris Bike" may change the city's architecture as well. A new building type will be build which is the multistory cycle park.
An Act of Parliament was passed that introduced building inspectors to ensure that buildings be built from brick and not timber (a law which predated the fire, but that hadn’t been enforced). Of course, the fire and resulting devastation meant that much of London had to be rebuilt, and that these buildings would be brick.
As stated, many buildings were destroyed and has to be rebuilt and a different material was used. This has a large impact on London's architecture. A disaster that has changed the city's architecture. There are many different aspects tat could impact architecture.
Take London in 1667, a year after the Great Fire of 1666.
The Great Fire of London is reported to have destroyed 13,200 houses and other buildings. There was no organised fire brigade in that time. As a result, the fire was not handled in the best way. The Great Fire was reported to have spent around 10 million euros. A fire that has changed one of the world's most important cities.
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/museum/history-and-stories/the-great-fire-of-london/
Towards the end of my trip, it occurred to me that this explosion in cycling, ought to be put into an historic context, in order to enable the politicians and the public to recognize the scale of the opportunity, the change it might bring to our cities and our lives.
In my personal experiences, the more knowledge we have on something, the more curiosity and love we have. I personally think that this is a great way to allow citizens to understand and experience their city more. This may also allow citizens to be more socially active on other events in the city which will also bring more harmony. This project is a good start to more!
Towards the end of my trip, it occurred to me that this explosion in cycling, ought to be put into an historic context, in order to enable the politicians and the public to recognize the scale of the opportunity, the change it might bring to our cities and our lives.
The contrast between the first thoughts of the writer and how he end up feeling is interesting. This proofs how people with similar thoughts as him should give it a try. This also shows that the large amount of money the government has invested did not go to waste. Free trials or discounts could be done to attract more clients as well.
Indianapolis had recently completed their “Cultural Trail,” an active transportation loop linking the five central city districts.
Attached is the official website of Indianapolis' Cultural Trail. Many different pathways are found and the website is very clear and aesthetically pleasing. Websites are important platforms for users to know more information and Indianapolis Cultural Trail has done an excellent work.
The objective was to report back to the UK and London in particular on American city-cycling culture and the political initiatives that are emerging in the US.
This is an interesting report, to travel to different countries to experience the event. This is a great approach on research as results are more original as it is by experience and not only doing a research online. However, I am sure that permission has to be asked and may take some time.
I believe that cycling might just be the catalyst for a 21st Century urban renaissance.
According to Urban Dictionary, urban renaissance means the change of old urban neighbourhoods to an expensive urban neighbourhood concept.
The writer states that he believes that cycling might be the "stimulant" of changing the urban neighbourhood into urban renaissance.
From the Urban Dictionary definition, I would have to disagree. In my opinion, cycling is focused in health and this is the part that should be focused on. Not the possibility of urban renaissance.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Urban%20Renaissance
And the trend’s not anomalous to London: Wikipedia reports that there are 535 cycle-share schemes in 49 countries, employing more than half a million bikes worldwide.
Even if Wikipedia is not a reliable sources, this gives the picture of how cycles cities are getting more well-known. This also questions ArchDaily for citing Wikipedia. It is either there are no other source or ArchDaily may be working with Wikipedia.
There are now more than 8,000 Boris Bikes and 550+ docking stations in Central London.
Another point is that bicycles are a slower transportation compared to underground trains, car and more. However, the government has invest large amount of money. This shows how health is prioritised and the citizen's tax money does not come to waste. This high number of bikes and docking stations encourages "Londoners" to bike.
here are now more than 8,000 Boris Bikes and 550+ docking stations in Central London.
Source below explains how crowded and unpleasant London is. However, even though it is well-known to be busy and crowded, the government still manages to have enough space for building docking stations.
The 2010 launch of the “Boris Bike” - London’s cycle hire scheme, named after mayor Boris Johnson – was the clearest indication to date that cycling was no longer just for a minority of fanatics but a healthy, efficient and sustainable mode of transport that city planners wanted in their armoury.
The launch of "Boris Bike" is the starting to point to which the understanding or concept on biking is no longer only for bike enthusiasts. Hence, a 'healthy, efficient and sustainable mode of transport'. This links to when bicycles used to be the main transport and after all the inventions and innovations, bicycle is getting popular again.
mayor Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson is an American-born British journalist and politician. Johnson became the second elected mayor of London in 2008.