Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
good.jpg

GOOD Magazine profiles five innovations in urban transportation that you don't find in America, yet. Josh Jackson reports:

Cities around the world are leaps and bounds ahead of America when it comes to issues of urban transit. Though this country is woefully lagging, it's a rare example of when falling behind actually works in your favor: as U.S. cities work to update their transportation systems for the 21st century, they don't have to reinvent the wheel. The solutions are already out there.

In the States, cycling is still for the most part recreational. In Copenhagen, though, perhaps the world's most bicycle-friendly city, 36 percent of commuters rode to work in 2003, 33 percent used public transit, and 27 percent drove. But Copenhagen's streets haven't always been so balanced: In the 1970s, when bike riding was at an all-time low, the city's traffic-congested downtown resembled American cities of the same era. Yet unlike their American counterparts, who tried to solve congestion by building more roads, Danish planners took an alternative approach: they tried to reduce the number of cars.

Photo: Aaron Naparstek

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Likely Mayor Mamdani Supports Daylighting as DOT Digs In Heels

The next mayor will have to overcome a deeply entrenched bureaucracy opposed to the common-sense policy.

October 6, 2025

Under Pressure: Uber’s Navigation System Endangers the Public With Reckless Driving Directions

An Uber driver made an illegal u-turn and hit someone, but the in-app navigation told him to do it and the company won't give up the code.

October 6, 2025

Monday’s Headlines: Trump Games Continue Edition

Trump restored some security grant for New York, but billions of dollars in grants remain on ice. Plus more news.

October 6, 2025

Friday Video: Meet the Subway’s Straphanger-Free Trains

We've all seen them. Now, thanks to YouTube's "Half as Interesting," we can tell you the purpose of each one.

October 3, 2025

The MTA Is Headed To The Lab To Design The Ridgewood Busway

A filthy private road underneath the elevated M tracks could become a gleaming bus-first corridor.

October 3, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Good News Edition

The Department of Transportation reports that traffic deaths are way down through the first three quarters of 2025. Plus other news.

October 3, 2025
See all posts