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People's passive experience constitutes a major part of their public life in urban public open spaces. While many public life studies examine the influence of the physical environment, others show people influence other people'spublic life. How children influence others' public life is rarely studied.This article studies sensory experience – examining whether adults' passive experience of children playing is pleasant or unpleasant, and sensory attention – descriptively studying various factors influencing adults' attention to children playing.The study was conducted through an on-site questionnaire-based survey (N = 1810) at five study sites in Copenhagen, Denmark. The sites were selected through a systematic analysis of the spatial characteristics of the physical environment, which describes different spatial and visual relationships between playgrounds and their adjacent public open spaces providing for the varying spatial potential for adults' passive experience of children playing.The study reveals that children playing overwhelmingly creates pleasant experiences for adults at the study sites. Besides the different spatial characteristics from the spatial analysis, the sites' shape, the playground's spatial proportion within the sites, and adults' site familiarity may also influence sensory attention to children playing. While the article does not present precise design guidelines, it provides valuable insights into urban design practices.

Compact urban development is considered a paradigm for sustainable development. However, compact cities are also characterised by high densities that implicate trade-offs such as limited access to green spaces or nature areas, or reduced air quality. People living in compact urban areas might respond to these trade-offs by ‘compensatory activities’ such as higher amounts of leisure travel. In this study, we compare the leisure travel patterns of people living in a central urban district in Copenhagen, Denmark, with those of people living in a small town in the commuter belt. The study uses a questionnaire survey, which was conducted in spring 2016, to examine the relationship between the urban structure of people’s residential location and their leisure travel patterns, and whether this relationship reveals compensatory travel activities. The study applies ordinal logistic regression to investigate the influence of a set of parameters on frequency of longer weekend trips (max. 3 overnight stays), holidays (>3 overnight stays) and total number of private plane trips over the course of one year. The results show that city dwellers go more frequently on longer weekend, holiday and plane trips and choose more distant destinations compared to small town dwellers. Access to a second home and related weekend trips appear as some sort of compensatory behaviour among city dwellers; however, lifestyle and related residential choice turn out to be stronger determinants of city dwellers’ leisure travel patterns.

Universal concepts in spatial planning, e.g. ‘re-humanisation’ of cities, have been adopted by many cities worldwide. However, spatial planning cannot be understood independently from its socio-cul...

This study focuses on three groups: cyclists, non-cyclists, and non-car owners and examines the significance of the perceived cycling environment, current travel behavior, urban form and socio-demographic variables for the respondents' attitudes towards future cycling and car purchasing. The paper uses survey data (N = 1427) collected in eight Beijing neighborhoods. The analysis is carried out by means of principal component analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis. The respondents were generally more positive towards continuing cycling or cycling more in the future than towards car purchasing. The perceived cycling environment was found to be associated with respondents' attitude towards future cycling and car purchasing. The higher the level of satisfaction with the clarity of cycling space allocation and the higher the agreement with pro-cycling policies, the higher the probability that the respondents will cycle in the future and the lower probability that they will buy a car. Associations with current travel behavior indicate that long everyday travel distances (e.g. 10 km to work or longer) negatively affects the respondents attitude towards their future cycling, whereas short everyday travel distances up to 2 km are positively linked to future cycling prospects. Non-car owners' attitude to future car ownership is strongly linked to socio-demographic status - low education and low income level groups seems to be most unlikely to take up driving in the future. To encourage people to cycle more and drive less, policy should direct efforts to promoting the clarity of cycling space on the street and strengthen pro-cycling policies. Attention should also be given to stabilizing the current travel modes of non-car users, including promoting the image of cycling, improving the service of walking, cycling, public transport and generally by introducing attractive alternatives to private car ownership.

In the course of climate change and sustainable development, changing travel behaviour marks a cornerstone towards reducing the negative impacts of CO2-emissions and resource exploitation. The differences in daily travel (e.g., commute to work) between urban and peri-urban areas have been comprehensively researched. However, other travel domains (e.g., occasional weekend trips or holidays) have only recently received more attention, despite their environmental impact. The paper investigates whether and how daily travel patterns (“modality styles”) correspond with non-daily travel behaviour such as holidays and longer weekend trips in order to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the role of urban structure in travel behaviour across different travel domains. The study is based on a questionnaire survey, which was conducted in an urban district in central Copenhagen and a small town in the commuter belt of Greater Copenhagen in spring 2016. First, we identify “modality styles” by grouping the sample based on the respondents' daily mode choices. Second, we relate the identified modality styles to socio-economic and socio-demographic factors, frequency and mode choice of longer weekend trips and holidays, and travel-related attitudes. The results reveal that the urban structure of a residential location (e.g., urban vs. peri-urban) exerts to some extent influence on the constitution of daily modality styles. We found, furthermore, a tendency for more weekend trips and holidays among the urban sample; we interpret this as interdependency between modality style, residential location, car ownership/use, and plane use expressed in certain travel behaviour.

This paper explores the urban form, demographic and socio-economic dependencies of walking, cycling and e-biking in Beijing based on a survey (N = 1427) of daily travel among residents in eight neighborhoods, enriched with urban form variables. The results show that walking is most frequently used, followed by cycling, which in turn is more frequent than e-biking. Walking and cycling are preferred when the accessibility of public facilities and services is good, while e-bikes are used when public transport provision is low. Urban form variables of population density, job employment density, and public facilities and services confirmed the experience from western countries that higher density mixed land use increases walking, cycling and e-biking. It is recommended that future sustainable transport policy addresses the maintenance of proximity environments at the neighborhood level. Furthermore, if the contribution of walking and cycling to sustainable urban mobility is to be maintained and repositioned, the younger generation requires substantial encouragement to get them to cycle more, while low education, low and middle income earners, non-hukou citizens are groups that should be encouraged to keep on walking, cycling and e-biking even if their income situation may improve in the future.

Cities around the world are constructing bicycle infrastructure to increase cycling. However, identifying efficient design solutions and determining how bicycle infrastructure planning knowledge can be integrated into comprehensive policy remains a challenge. The objective of this paper is to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of current bicycle infrastructure planning in both an experienced city, Copenhagen, and in a less experienced city, Beijing. The paper examines how local design solutions are identified, how efficient they are and to what extent bicycle infrastructure planning is supported by the local planning cultures. The study draws on the successful experience of Copenhagen to identify challenges to bicycle infrastructure planning in Beijing and to improve it based on lessons learnt. The study uses qualitative semi-structured data collected from 11 interviews with key planners. It employs the Dutch CROW principles to assess the efficiency of the bicycle infrastructure planning. The analysis of the role of the local planning culture is framed by the ‘culturized planning model’. The study finds that bicycle-friendly infrastructure planning could be strengthened in Beijing by integrating and applying all the CROW principles simultaneously. It concludes that Beijing can draw inspiration from Copenhagen by increasing the priority of cycling in both the planning and societal environment. The planning environment could be strengthened by professionalizing bicycle infrastructure planning and by aligning the prioritization of bicycle transport between policies. The societal environment could become more supportive by improving the status of the bicycle as a means of transport.

Riyadh is one of the most gender-segregated cities in the world. However, as gender segregation is less enforced on sidewalks, it provides an optimal case study for a space where women and men may ...

Walking is a mode of perceiving the city which also contributes to health and social benefits. This paper studies the influence of the socio-cultural aspects on the practice of walking and the meaning of walkscapes in Riyadh, one of the most auto-dependent and gender-segregated cities on the Arab Peninsula, where socio-cultural values and restrictions regulate men and women’s use and access to public spaces. The methodology used is a combination of movement tracking data using GPS technology and map-based workshops where participants can reflect on their walking behaviour and spatial preferences. The results of mapping where the respondents walk show a city consisting of gender-specific walkscapes. Indoor environments, such as shopping malls, function as ‘urban shelters’ for women, so they use such spaces for walking. On the other hand, young men mainly walk in urban streets, which provide greater opportunities for gender interaction. However, streets are socially conceived as men’s walkscapes, wh...

Multimodality is important for achieving less car dependent lifestyles and more sustainable transport behaviours. It is widely recognised that cycling plays a prominent role in sustainable transport. However, research has largely focused on cycling substituting motorised transport. This study explores how cycling forms part of multimodal transport behaviour based on survey data on transport modes and travel purposes and the weekly frequency of out-of-home activities and travel mode use in a representative sample of adult Danes (n = 1957). The following five distinct multimodal travel segments or 'modality styles' are identified: 'education transport'; 'public-based transport'; 'limited transport'; 'bicycle-based transport'; and 'car-based transport'. Travel behaviour is predominantly multimodal with few unimodal car-drivers being identified. Substantial cycling takes place in all modality styles, and is embedded in a multimodal behaviour as the modality style combined cycling with several other modes. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that cycling serves many purposes that transgress the division of utility cycling and recreational cycling, and that cycling takes place in both dense urban settings and small towns. Thus, the way in which travel modes relate to the urban environment and variations in modality styles must serve as the starting point for policies aiming to fulfil the potential of multimodal transport behaviour and promote cycling. Language: en

Cycling plays an important role in low-carbon transitions. Around the globe, cities are constructing bicycle infrastructure. The city of Copenhagen has a bicycle-friendly infrastructure celebrated for its fine-meshed network. This study documents the spatio-temporal development of Copenhagen’s bicycle infrastructure and explores how the development corresponds to other processes of urban transformation. The study builds on historical maps of bicycle infrastructure that are digitised into geographical information, which allows for a comprehensive analysis of the formation of the network. In search for identifying drivers, the study analyses the city’s spatial growth pattern, migration pattern, development of road network and changes in the transport culture. Analyses reveal that the bicycle infrastructure expanded at a relatively constant pace during distinct periods of urban transformation, including periods when the city suffered from spatial, economic and demographic decline, and dominance of car traffi...

Small towns are often considered as losing out in the current trend towards urban development. However, research from around Europe shows a great diversity of small town development, including successful development trajectories despite geographical disadvantages. Investigations into this are predominately done in the context of economic development and urban systems, but such approaches fail to explain why a number of small towns that are not centrally located near a metropolitan region are not in decay. This paper examines how the restructuring of retail and service sectors, demographic composition, residential migration, social organisation and community engagement form and affect small town (1000–5000 inhabitants) development patterns in Denmark and specific place-based endowments. The study is carried out with mixed methods, comprising a quantitative analysis of development trends, complemented by qualitative case studies in six small towns. Our findings show how favourable development paths are a co...

Københavns cykelvenlige infrastruktur er verdensberømt. Dette Videnblad beskriver, hvor og hvornår cykelstierne er blevet anlagt og har udviklet sig til et sammenhængende cykelstinetværk. Oplysningerne er fundet ved at undersøge kort og dokumenter fra de sidste hundrede år.

The paper analyses the environmental correlates of cycling based on Danish transportation and urban form micro-data. The results show that established walkability factors such as density, connectivity and diversity are related to cycling, but access to retail concentrations/centres, public transportation level-of-service, as well as competition between walking and cycling depending on environmental features can be added. Attractive conditions for using public transportation or walking are related to less cycling. The findings quantify the effects of urban form on the probability of cycling and the distance cycled. A high probability of cycling generally implies short cycling distances leading to non-uniform, non-monotonous relationship between environmental indicators such as walkability and cycling.

Cities are increasingly looking to cycling as a means to promote sustainability, liveability, and public health. Denmark is one of the European countries where cycling has remained significant – even in the motor age, and national strategies now aim to support and further increase cycling. The article presents the state of cycling in Denmark and Copenhagen – as well as the cycling promoting efforts of the city of Copenhagen which is one of the forerunners in the field.

The tradition of using qualitative interviews in the study of everyday life, place and identity in geography, housing studies and related disciplines is a long and sound one. Recently there has bee...

Purpose – This chapter traces the development of cycling in several European countries over the period from the 1880s to the present, with special focus on the two cycling nations, Denmark and The Netherlands. Methodology – Drawing on a wide array of research on bicycle use in Europe in the twentieth century as well as primary sources, the chapter pays particular attention to the users of the bicycle, their organisations and the mixture of male and female, young and old, and rich and poor, because these users were the people who actually shaped cycling cultures. Findings – While acknowledging that geographical conditions cannot be fully ruled out as contributing factors, the authors point out that political, social and cultural aspects were all woven together into what would become increasingly distinctive national cycling cultures. Value – This study provides historical context for recent efforts to increase cycling participation by identifying relevant cultural, social and political factors, and providing insights into the trajectories of Dutch and Danish cycling cultures.

I forskningsprojektet ”Kvarteret som ramme om børns hverdagsliv” forsøger at indfange børns hverdagsliv i et helhedsperspektiv ved at belyse på hvilke måder kvarterts fysiske, funktionelle, sociale, kulturelle og tidslige strukturer influerer på det. Børns hverdagsliv foregår mange steder, og de mange dagligt besøgte steder involverer ofte et stort transportforbrug. Ved at se på samspillet mellem hvor børns hverdagsliv foregår, og hvordan deres hverdagsliv tidsligt er struktureret analyseres børns selvstændige mobilitet, transportbehov samt transportvaner. Det empiriske materiale består af 4 casestudier af bykvarterer der er forskellige hvad angår bebyggelsesstruktur, trafikale forhold, indretning af grønne rum, lokalisering af funktioner m.m. Her er 61 børn i alderen 5-11 år blevet interviewet om bl.a. deres daglige transportruter og –vaner. I dette papir præsenteres nogle af de foreløbige resultater af denne undersøgelse., Proceedings from the Annual Transport Conference at Aalborg University, Vol. 8 No. 1 (2001): Proceedings from the Annual Transport Conference at Aalborg University

Bicycles are widely recognized as an effective solution for reducing short-distance trip-related climate impacts and addressing sedentary lifestyle-caused chronic diseases. Yet, the historical patterns of global bicycle production, trade, stock, and use remain poorly characterized, preventing thorough investigation of its role in sustainable road transport transition. Here, based on a dynamic model and various data sources, we have compiled, to our knowledge, the first global dataset for bicycle ownership and use by country from 1962 to 2015. Our comparison between the historical development of per-capita bicycle ownership and car ownership reveals five varying types in an S-curve among different countries. High bicycle ownership does not necessarily lead to high bicycle use, which is instead still marginal in daily trips worldwide (