Brussels. From a city constructed for cars towards a liveable city
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This is my presentation on the final and closing plenary of the Velo-City Conference 2016 in Taipei.
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Brussels. From a city constructed for cars towards a liveable city
- 1. What is Brussels like?
- 2. 153 nationalities in a district the size of Songshan Airport Capital of Belgium … and Europe 1,2 million people 19 Michelin star restaurants 4.200 bike sharing bikes
- 3. HISTORY
- 7. How to fix?
- 13. Mobility is not a goal, quality of life is our goal
- 14. Cycle routes
- 17. Cycle comfort
- 19. Brussels is a superdiverse city, but mainly white, highly educated male biker
- 21. Urban cycling is not only a transport or sports activity but a way of life in the city
Editor's Notes
- My name is Matthias Van Wijnendaele. I would like to thank you on behalf of the Brussels Minister of Mobility Pascal Smet for the great conference. I am responsible for cycle policy and public works as a co-worker of the Brussels Minister. So, when I arrived at the hotel, a nice person who worked there, asked me. “How is Brussels like?”:
- - Brussel is the capital of a small country Belgium, but also of the continent Europe. - Brussels is a city like Taipei. It’s rainy (well, that day it rained a lot in Taipei), a lot of cars, a bike sharing system, nice people and good food. - It’s a superdivers city. A lot of migrating flows in the past and now – Syria crisis. 153 nationalities live in the smallest district, called Sint-Joost of Brussels, not bigger than the size of the Songshan Airport. Brussels is an Arrival City with hundreds of nationalities.
- Brussels is best known for the most beautiful Grand Plaza in its city center. But after WWII we had a strong believe in modernism and progress. So we constructed a parking lot next to the Grand Plaza, built a flyover to a new place outside the city. There, we build a symbol for Brussels, Belgium and the modern era, called the Atomium (it’s an iron cristal structure). In 1958 the World Expo was organised. Everybody was happy, and believed in progress and new inventions like the car.
- But people left the city and moved to the country side. Until the mid-nineties, when a lot of houses were empty and we discovered: we have constructed a city for cars. People don’t want to live in a city for cars. The quality of life is completely gone. At this moment, we have to deal with an extra problem. 2 of the main tunnels, major entries to the city for cars, are closed due to necessary structural works. The Brussels goverrnement and our Minister of Mobility are searching to find solutions for these problems as well. The tunnels are sometimes 50 years old. Of course, car drivers need to chgange behavior and search new ways to travel.
- So we discovered: we have constructed a city for cars. People don’t want to live in a city for cars. The quality of life is completely gone. So the people of Brussels came together and blocked car traffic. By organising picnics in the middle of a main road. They were eating on the street and blocking a main road of 4 car lanes. They asked politicians to make a city where it is nice to live.
- It wasn’t only on the main roads, but also for example in my street, where children started to draw crosswalks. And people organised picnic’s inside building blocks because of the lack of public space. An older philosopher started a petition to change the center of the European district, which is now a rounabout, into a square.
- We need to rethink and reconstruct our city from a city for cars to a city for people: We need a city : where it is nice to live Where people can meet in public space and hang around and enjoy city life - Where children can play on the street and bike to school - security Where the quality of life is better than the country side: good air quality and a lot of green and open and car free space Where people can cycle safe and comfortable Where people can picnic
- In 2000, a new millenium, Brussels organised the first car free Sunday. No car was allowed during one Sunday in september. Since then, every year, the streets are car free.
- In 2015, last year, the main road with 4 lanes was closed permanently for trafic. People took over the public space.
- In november of 2015, Minister Pascal Smet started the demolition of a flyover in the city.
- This is the result after one weekend. Inhabitants were very happy to be able to look out of their window for the first time in 50 years.
- The modernist’s point of view was « Form follows function » and therefore, we created flyovers and tunnels. But we forgot that mobility and car mobility is not a goal on itself. We now clearly belief that the quality of urban life, people happily living in the city, is our final goal. And mobility can help us to achieve this. Therefore, we need an intelligent transport system: High performance public transport: tram, metro, bus Urban cycling is the key to create a city for people: Because cycling is fast and cheap way to travel around Because cycling is healthy Because it is good for air quality and the environment and answers global warming Because 2 cyclists can communicate with eachother and 2 car drivers can only horn to eachother Because it’s the best way to discover the city and city life => So, cycling is not only a fast transport mode or a sports activity, but it is a way of living in the city.
- If urban cycling is key to a happy city life. To help urban cycling, we need: Comfortable and secure bicycle infrastructure, so also children can ride on their own to school To make cycling as simple as possible.
- If urban cycling is key to a happy city life. To help urban cycling, we need: Comfortable and secure bicycle infrastructure, so also children can ride on their own to school To make cycling as simple as possible.
- If urban cycling is key to a happy city life. To help urban cycling, we need: Comfortable and secure bicycle infrastructure, so also children can ride on their own to school To make cycling as simple as possible.
- We need to help cyclists - to find a parking spot by investing in secured bicycle parkings (bicycle box). - To fix small problems on cycle routes. Here, we developed an application “Fixmystreets.Brussels” where people can ask to fix a problem. We see 2 man making a slippery border more comfortable for the cyclist. - To fight bicycle theft: bicycles should be registered, like cars have to be registred - By involving more and more people and communities to cycle.
- Start with education programs for migrant people, for women, for children. Children are the future.
- 1) Their shared bikes have the same colour, but also girls ride with it 2) More flyovers than in Brussels, But Taipei managed to tear one down in 164 hours 3) People have masks because of the stinking scooters. But Taipei has the best electrical bike developers to replace these scooters 4) The public space is so extremely clean, that Taipei can easily organise picnics in the streets