21.9.2025, On the occasion of today’s visit to Oldenburg: Jon Fairburn’s 2009 Reflections on a week in Oldenburg [cycling]
Jon Fairburn (2009, Flyer): Reflections on a week in Oldenburg, Germany – the lessons it provides for increasing cycling in the West Midlands and the UK in general. (Jon Fairburn, Institute for Environment, Sustainability and Regeneration, Staffordshire University, UK) www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/49978551/reflections-on-a-week-in-oldenburg-germany
- Arriving at Oldenburg. As I emerged from Oldenburg train station, the first thing I noticed was a mass of parked bicycles … By the time I arrived at the hotel I had … seen more cyclists in that short trip than I had seen in North Staffordshire so far this year … I asked the hotel receptionist whether there was a cycling festival going on, he just laughed “Oldenburg has 160,000 people and 320,000 bikes.” …
- A different type of bike … In Oldenburg biking is part of everyday life … There is rarely a cross bar (making it easier to get on and off); they have a stand, lights, a covered chain guard, mud guards, and a rack on the back … Cycling starts at an early age in Oldenburg …
- Infrastructure: the key resource. A culture of cycling is encouraged in many ways, but perhaps most important is the provision of a proper cycling infrastructure. Most of the main roads have separate cycle lanes down both sides of the road …
- Cycling as a way of life. There is a general culture that is supportive and appreciative of cycling in Oldenburg, in part this is because many car drivers also cycle, and if they don’t, their children almost certainly do … Cycling in Oldenburg is a way of life, you see people cycling with their dogs, lovers cycling hand in hand, mothers towing their youngest children behind them in trailers, people riding home with shopping … Neighbourhood design, infrastructure provision and soft measures such as cycle training all influence the level of walking and cycling in an area …. Children and adults in Oldenburg are getting lots of exercise just from going to school and work every day by bicycle …
- City of the future. … Having a proper infrastructure and support for cyclists means that Oldenburg is actively reducing carbon emissions and has better air quality and a healthier population compared to many British cities … the city has … started to take significant action to help tackle climate change and our over reliance on fossil fuels …
Cf. 9-12 May 2025, ♣ Oldenburg: Impressons, readings, flashbacks / Eindrücke, Lektüren, Rückblenden
Human ecology and health 