Dreams On Wheels

The bicycle in our climate change era could be regarded as a Trojan Horse for Sustainability. In other words, it can insidiously infiltrate people’s subconscious ambition to become climate-friendly. When inhabitants adopt bike culture, knowingly or unknowingly, the city and urban spaces become more sustainable in terms of transportation, but even more so in terms of quality of life and lifestyle.

Dreams on Wheels is an alternative advocacy exhibit to build a platform for constructive and open debate about the possible changes cities can undergo when having a cyclocentric urban design strategy. Alternative advocacy is usually a civic act entailing a certain amount of lobbying, whether aggressive or subtle, or at least that is how it is often perceived. At Etikstudio, we believe that exhibits or other creative formats can provide an alternative route to change by setting up an informal debate structure between experts and non-experts and enabling word of mouth to be an advocate for change.  

Jan Gehl, Jean Michel Charbonneau, Troels Andersen, Jens Nielsen, Klaus Bondam, Jens Rørbaek, Lars Gemzøe, Lars Bo Andersen, COWI… a list of VIPs that have been the architects behind the transformation of Copenhagen, Odense and Aarhus. They see the bicycle as much more than a leisure device, and rather as the ultimate commuter vehicle. That is, if the infrastructure, education, tradition and vision align to make a strong and motivating cycling culture.

The most striking feature about cycling is not only how you can use it for a fast commute and building healthier lifestyles in dense urban spaces, but how every city that has such a focus naturally becomes environmentally sounder. Imagine if more cities, both large and small, managed this transformation rather than investing heavily in public transportation in the first instance. Using a bike is such a civilized and stylish way of becoming an environmentalist.

This is not to say we do not need cars, or that we should stop aiming to design more efficient ones which use hydrogen or recyclable fuel cells. Nor should we dismiss public transportation strategies that are an absolute necessity when building a homogeneous mobility network with a long-term perspective. On the contrary, the bicycle is a tool to balance those other policies rather than an add-on. Sustainability is a direct benefit and quality of life improves dramatically through increased socialisation and the slowing down of the pace of the city.

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