TED Videos on Urban Bicycle Culture

Below are some videos I've seen in YouTube on making cities more bike-friendly. We need all the ideas and inspiration we can get if we want to transform Metro Manila.

Bicycle Culture by Design: Mikael Colville-Andersen at TEDxZurich

Key take-aways:

1. We should veer away from traffic engineering and move into a more user-centered design.
2. Sociology - anthropology and mapping "desire lines" are great starting points to investigating safe and usable infrastructure for modern cities.
3. It doesn't always have to be all about the automobiles.

TEDxCopenhagen - Mikael Colville-Andersen - Why We Shouldn't Bike with a Helmet

Key take-aways:

1. The bicycle helps in rebuilding cities into livable ones.
2. We live in an age wherein the culture of fear is prevalent. And fear clutter up the ideology.
3. The scientific community is split on the efficacy of wearing helmets. A study showed that wearing a helmet increases the chance of getting an accident by 14%. They are designed for non-life threatening impacts in solo accidents under 20 km/h.

TEDxPortland 2011 - Mia Birk - Pedaling Towards a Healthier Planet

Key take-aways:

1. I think I should visit Portland, Oregon and study how they made their roads cycle-friendly.
2. To make bike lanes, maybe we can try removing a foot or two from our car lanes.
3. I should try to get a copy of her book.