Summary of Final Project

The final day of class we all shared 5-7 minutes presentations on a research topic of our choice. It was interesting to hear the wide variety of topics for 16 people! There are so many ideas and concepts for us to bring home. I was struggling to pick a topic I felt connected to. There were many things I enjoyed about the trip but my favorite was the biking. I feel like it sounds boring, whereas most people say "the XX was my favorite." As a true planning nerd, the bike lanes were my favorite. I told Rebecca I really enjoyed the concept of public and private space in Copenhagen and enjoyed the revitalization of the canals. After some brainstorming, she helped me realize all my favorite parts of the trip were about recreation. After concluding on this, I'm not surprised. It aligns with my personality and values. To create a formalized topic, I settled on how Copenhagen has created recreation destinations within the city that are most easily accessible by biking (or walking). The key word for me here is "destinations." I am not just focusing on green space, but rather placemaking for recreation that are very close in distance. Places that are identifiable, and as bad as it sounds, make for a good Instagram photo. The difference I am trying to make is that these places are more unique than going to a park and sitting at the picnic table. I choose to focus on Copenhagen because I didn't feel this recreational aspect in Amsterdam. In my opinion, most quality green space felt far away and bland in Amsterdam. Yes, you could kayak on the canals but the water looked dirty and it didn't seem as popular as Copenhagen. My report is going to start off with an explanation of public space ideology propagated by Gehl and Copenhagen/Denmark's goal of bikeable recreation. Then, I will use my experience in Copenhagen to narrate a few recreational examples. I will go into historical detail on the creation of canal swimming and Copenhill. If possible, I will get data on the numbers of visitors and their means of transit. I will also a transit map highlighting all the recreation destinations I biked to. Lastly, I will share what lessons Oregon/Eugene can learn. We need bike infrastructure, but we also need somewhere to bike to!

Graphic map of the outdoor recreation in Copenhagen that I biked to


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rural Touring

Image
This past week, we biked around Aero and Tasigne island, from Svendborg to Korinth, and Korinth to Ringe. We biked around 75 miles over the course of four days. It was nice to get out of the city and bike around more immersive nature. My favorite part of touring was getting exercise while seeing new places. I think biking is a great way to see the country because it gets your around quickly and keeps you moving. Whenever I am in a new place I always walk everywhere or try to rent a bike. I rented a scooter once in Baltimore, which was fun, but someone who values physical activity, I missed that element. On both of those islands, it would have been impractical to sightsee via a private automobile. Bicycles allow you to explore smaller streets and pedestrian plazas easier. My overall reaction to the four days was surprised about the lack of infrastructure. I was thinking that we were touring because we were going to explore more great bicycle infrastructure, but it wasn't exponential...
Read more

Trip Aspirations

 I am graduate student in the community and regional planning program at the University of Oregon. Coming from a background in Interior Design, I enjoy thinking about how people interact with and shape the built environment. Continuing education in the planning field has allowed me to shift my focus from the inside to outside and work on a larger scale. Before making the decision to go to graduate school, I was already reading books like Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design for fun! I’ve read about sustainable transportation and urban planning in Europe (see Houten on our itinerary!) and I’m excited to be able to experience it firsthand. Sustainable transportation is just one facet of a walkable community that brings together climate action, accessibility, and overall well-being. I hope to take my professional and educational experience to help design and plan for more holistic communities. The top 4 things I am looking forward to are: - Biking from to city to c...
Read more

Mopeds in Bike Lanes

Image
Something many of us noticed starting in Copenhagen was the presence of mopeds on the bike lanes. I assumed they were illegal because they have motors and can get up to high speeds, but they are allowed on bike lanes in Denmark. The Netherlands has had recent legislation around mopeds in bicycle lanes. In 1974, a light moped was introduced that had a maximum speed of 12 mph and dint require helmet usage. Over the years, the light moped evolved to have increased engine power and did not have to have pedals. This meant that people could just sit on the scooter and ride at fast speeds while still avoiding cars. I've been curious to read more about this topic as I don't think it is safe to allow mopeds on bike lanes. To me, they operate more like cars - they go fast, weaving in and out of bikes, they're loud, and they smell like gasoline. Bike lanes are meant to be a refuge from vehicles like that. I always get scared when a moped drives by me on the bike lane. I have the same ...
Read more