A city made for walking and cycling
Also relevant to: Neighbourhoods, Calm
Geneva in 2061
In 2061, walking and cycling are the natural ways to get around Geneva. Every neighbourhood has its shops, cafés, schools and services within a short walk. Dedicated cycle lanes and streets keep bicycles, fast e-bikes and pedestrians apart, so collisions have become very rare, and cyclists show respect for walkers. Most people live close to where they work: nobody commutes more than 20 to 30 minutes, whether on foot in the centre, by bicycle from nearby, or by metro from the outskirts.
“Nice feeling,” thought Verity, “what a difference it makes when there are not plenty of cars parked and driving around everywhere.”Grooters, Book 1, Part 16 “2061”
Geneva today
Already 47% of trips in Geneva are made on foot or by bicycle
In 2021, 39% of the trips made by the canton’s residents were on foot and 8% by bicycle or e-bike, against 40% by car or motorbike and 14% by public transport. In the city of Geneva, 43% of households have no car.
Source: Cantonal Statistics Office (OCSTAT), La mobilité des habitants du canton de Genève en 2021 (September 2023)
- The share of households with an e-bike more than doubled in six years, from 7% in 2015 to 15% in 2021 (same source).
- Walking is still little used for getting to work: only 21% of work trips are made on foot, against 48% of shopping trips (same source).
- In the city of Geneva, 65% of all journey stages are made on foot or by bicycle, against 42% in the less dense outer communes (same source).
Where it is already done
- Pontevedra (Spain) pedestrianised its historic centre in 1999 and later set a maximum speed of 30 km/h across the city, and 10 km/h in the centre. Traffic fell by 92% in the centre and by 53% in the city as a whole, and there have been no traffic deaths in the pedestrianised area since 1999. With so few cars, the city needs no separate cycle paths: cyclists are expected to respect walkers.
- Copenhagen (Denmark) has invested in cycling since the 1970s and built 350 km of cycle tracks separated from cars, often by a curb or trees. In 2014, 45% of the people working or studying in the city cycled there, and half of Copenhagen’s cyclists say they cycle simply because it is the easiest way to get around.
A Pattern Language
Related patterns from the book A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander and colleagues (1977), a classic of architecture and town planning.
- 9 Scattered Work: Alexander and his colleagues argue that workplaces should be spread throughout the city rather than concentrated in business zones, so that people can live close to where they work.
- 56 Bike Paths and Racks: They propose a continuous network of bike paths, kept apart from both car traffic and pedestrian paths wherever possible, with bike racks at every destination.
How far along
Done somewhere A city or country already does it. Geneva only needs to adapt it.
The path to 2061
Milestones proposed for discussion.
- 2027Geneva publishes a map showing, for every neighbourhood, what can be reached within 15 minutes on foot or by bicycle.
- 2031A continuous network of protected cycle lanes links all neighbourhoods, with separate space for pedestrians and cyclists, and enough secure bicycle parking in the city centre.
- 2041Every neighbourhood has its shops, services and green spaces within a short walk, and more than two-thirds of trips are made on foot or by bicycle.
- 2051Most people live within 20 to 30 minutes of their work, on foot, by bicycle or by metro.
- 2061As Verity sees it, people get around mostly on foot or by bicycle, in a quiet and harmonious city.
What moves it
Human needs it serves
Open questions
- Should Geneva separate cyclists and pedestrians, as Copenhagen does, or slow traffic enough for everyone to share the space, as in Pontevedra?
- How can fast e-bikes, which can reach 45 km/h, be kept safely apart from walkers?
- How can older people and people with disabilities get around easily in a city with few cars?
- With the explosion of bicycle and e-bike use, the city centre lacks bicycle racks: what own creative solutions can Geneva find, and what can it learn from cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen?