With the 10-year benefit for Streetsblog and Streetfilms coming up on November 14 (get your tickets here!), we are counting down the 12 most influential Streetfilms of all time, as determined by Clarence Eckerson Jr.
Groningen: The World’s Cycling City
Number of plays: 259,000
Publish date: October 9, 2013
Why is it here? This mega-length Streetfilm is adored the world over. What really makes an impression on people is how Groningen's street network is divided into sections that make car trips indirect while allowing the free movement of people on bikes. For many trips, riding a bike in Groningen is two or three times faster than driving a car. In large parts of the city, bicycling accounts for 60 percent of all traffic.
Fun fact: When I got off the train in Groningen, I walked the mile to my hotel and was practically laughing out loud. There were bicycles everywhere. Happy people enjoying the outdoors, hardly a car to be seen, and almost no traffic noise. It was magical, and as much as I thought I would be prepared for it based on what I'd heard from our publisher, Mark Gorton, I was not ready. As I told many people, I felt like I was in "a magical grownup Candyland game for bikes"!
The Streetfilms Countdown so far:
#12: Lakewood, Ohio: The Suburb Where Everyone Can Walk to School
#11: Mark Gorton Interviews Enrique Peñalosa
#10: Zurich: Where People Are Welcome and Cars Are Not
#9: Sneckdowns
#8: Complete Streets: It’s About More Than Bike Lanes
#7: Park(ing) Day
