Monday 12 October 2009

Before and After in Groningen

Previously I've covered how the policies followed by the government in Groningen led to the city having the highest cycling rate in the world.

Here are two videos made by other people showing much the same part of the city

First two films from old fashioned Groningen. Go anywhere you like by car. You could drive right through the centre of the city and out the other side. The bus stop was right on the main square in the middle instead of being near the railway station:


This film of a driving lesson in the 1960s shows more of the same. Road design was all about cars:


And next we have modern Groningen. In this film from 2009, someone cycles from streets around the centre to the very centre of the city and back out again during the evening rush hour. Note the almost total lack of private cars on the streets (taxis have blue numberplates, it's Tuesday so the market means quite a few vans). It's always like this in the world's top cycling city where 55% of journeys are by bike:


I don't understand why the film ends with turning into the bus station, but it's an interesting counterpoint to the first part of the first video. If the filmer had waited, a couple of hundred metres further along is the railway station with it's marvellous cycle parking.

Which one does your city most resemble ? Old fashioned Groningen or modern day Groningen ?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cool! Thanks for the old movies!