The 2015 Copenhagenize Index rewards both commitment and results, but Italian cities are still absent: Copenhagen overtakes queen Amsterdam for the first time.
Copenhagen rises to the top of the most cycling-friendly cities, according to the 2015 ranking that takes its name from the Danish capital itself. The Copenhagenize Index was established in 2011 and is drawn up every two years to highlight cities' commitment to making the bicycle a viable, practical and socially acceptable means of transport. After two second-place finishes, Copenhagen thus dethrones Amsterdam, which had topped both the 2011 and 2013 rankings. Another Dutch city, Utrecht, retains third place, while Eindhoven comes in fifth.
Several French cities make a surprise appearance in the ranking: newcomer Strasbourg bursts in at fourth place, Nantes at seventh and Bordeaux at eighth, with Paris at nineteenth.
Among the other new entries in the 2015 Copenhagenize Index are Ljubljana, which managed to make the ranking simply by copying good practices in cycling mobility, Buenos Aires thanks to the introduction of a number of measures, Vienna and the American city of Minneapolis.
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Two Spanish cities feature: Seville, which has distinguished itself over recent years through initiatives promoting cycling, and Barcelona, which is investing heavily to become even more bike-friendly.
Italy has so far failed to make its mark in the Copenhagenize Index, though this does not mean that the gradual changes being implemented by some cities cannot also make the Bel Paese a place where cycling is a pleasure.
Copenhagenize Index: how it works
Cities are assessed across thirteen categories, each scored from zero to four. Bonus points of up to twelve are available for particular commitments or achievements, serving to highlight good practices that would otherwise be overlooked by the thirteen parameters. The Copenhagenize ranking considers cities with a metropolitan area of at least 600,000 inhabitants, with exceptions for certain cities such as Malmö and Ljubljana.
The Copenhagenize Index categories
advocacy (support from NGOs);
cycling culture/facilities (bike racks, channel ramps on stairs, dedicated spaces on trains and buses);
quantity of cycling infrastructure;
bike sharing (does the city have a well-designed and well-used bike-sharing scheme?);
gender (how many cyclists are male and how many female?);
percentage of cyclists (set between 1 and 25 per cent);
increase in the percentage of cyclists since 2006 (from one to five per cent);
perception of safety;
political interest in cycling;
social acceptance (what do drivers and the community in general think of urban cyclists?);
urban planning (from car-centric to priority for cyclists and pedestrians);
traffic reduction (30 zones and measures to improve road safety).
Copenhagen tops the Copenhagenize Index for cycling-friendly mobility
Mobility — di Emanuele Rigitano
The 2015 Copenhagenize Index rewards both commitment and results, but Italian cities are still absent: Copenhagen overtakes queen Amsterdam for the first time.
