Source: csmonitor.com
I am in midst of reading the illuminating and intriguing book entitled In The City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Bicyclist by author Pete Jordan. If you ever wanted to know the bicycling history of this great European city, Mr. Jordan’s exceptional book is a great place to do it.
Amid the myriad of fun and interesting cycling stories, Mr. Jordan includes a textbook analysis of the fourteen social, cultural, economic, historic, geographic, and demographic differences that led the United States to become a nation overrun with cars, while the Netherlands became Earth’s royal domain of bicycles. In the interest of brevity, the reasons are listed in the order presented in pages 100 through 113 the book, but the author’s detailed explanation for each is not included. Some are self-explanatory. If a reason can be summarized succinctly, it is provided. Otherwise, the list below gives you a reason to go buy it or check out the book from you library. I hope you find his identified differences in our two cultures as interesting as I did.
The difference in the price of a car. [Mass production in the United States while the Netherlands imports nearly all motor vehicles.]
The difference in access to easy credit.
The difference in the price of gasoline. [Historically, the price of gas on average is three times higher in the Netherlands, partially due to a lack of home-grown resources.]
The difference in the availability of parking.
The difference in the need for a chauffeur.
The difference in the amount of physical space – and how that physical space is regarded.
The difference in how distances were regarded.
The difference in urban street widths.
The difference in the physical size of urban areas.
The difference in the pace of traffic (and of life).
The difference in the necessity of a car.
The difference in traffic safety.
The difference in perspectives on bike riding and car owning.
The difference between spendthrifts and cheapskates. [Being frugal is not the same as being cheap.]
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