Urban development is totally dependent on transport, how does it work, how is it organized, who benefits, how long time I'm using on the road or in the train or walking or bicycling, each and every day. In the case of Copenhagen public transport has been relatively well developed, trains have been in Denmark for almost a hundred years now. And over recent years also a metro has been built and the interconnections and how you change between the different modes of transport is extremely important. That is very much often a missing link - that you come to a certain point and then, to change to another mode of transport, it doesn't work really. This isn't the case in Copenhagen, where you can change from one mode of transport - the local train to the metro - easily and without difficulties. Also, to link pedestrian and cyclist, in recent years, the local train has introduced that you can take your bicycle for free, in the train, which has increased tremendously the amount of bicycles in the trains. And also - something that even in this country, but in other countries, is totally neglected - bicycles need parking lots, they need parking spaces. It's totally neglected in most cities, Copenhagen is becoming a little bit better and it's extremely important that facilities are there, otherwise cycling will simply not... you cannot promote cycling as a mode of transport if this isn't also part of it. Of course, the bicycle lanes is the safest, thus the bicycle lane is the important part, but also the parking facility is important. And also, the way that you meet in the urban spaces - you have the pedestrians, the cyclists and you have the public and there are conflicting zones. You have to, as a designer, as an architect, as a planner, you have to design for these, in order to avoid the conflict and also to increase safety. And very often, in this city, "yeah, it's good that you in Copenhagen. You tell us we should ride the bicycle in Montreal, you tell us, in Maputo, in San Francisco, in New York, but there the weather is terrible and of course we cannot ride or bicycles each and every day." I think. Copenhagen and Amsterdam other two cities that actually prove that it is possible. If people are used to make use of the bicycle as a mode of transport, they use it regardless of the weather. Of course there are extremes, yes, but they will do it and it's part of the culture. I have been working and involved in bicycle projects in Tanzania and Mozambique. In Tanzania there's somehow a tradition for riding a bicycle. In Mozambique, it's very limited, but still there's a tradition and we are somehow working against a wall. It is difficult, because, one issue of course, women cannot ride a bicycle. It's against the culture. You cannot put a woman upon a bicycle. So, that's half of the population. In order to convince people that this is wrong, of course they can do it. It's a long process that you need to go through. Then, of course, the facilities - is too dangerous, the cars that do not respect the bicycles etc. So, it is complicated, but I think that Amsterdam and Copenhagen are examples that actually proves that it is possible. Again, public transport, cheap, efficient. This is available on systems - this is Warsaw, in Poland - the tram. We also had trams in this country (Denmark) and in these years, many cities are reintroducing, not the tram, but what they're calling the light rail. Many cities in Europe and in North America. And the stations and the facilities supporting people and making attractive to use the public transport - it's very important that you have attractive physical architectural designs that actually is attractive, that you feel comfortable, that you don't fear it. This is the case with this one. And we all know that without efficient - cheap, I would argue - but at least efficient transport system; most big cities - Tokyo, Paris, London, New York - would simply come to a standstill. They would simply not work. There's a huge system underneath, that each and every day are transporting millions of people. In London, it was a sad event, but it came to the mind of everybody, during the bombings, the terrorist attack in the 2000s, July 2005, the entire metro came to a standstill for three days. London came to a standstill, it simply didn't work. So, efficient transport is key to urban development. And this doesn't work anymore. The motorway and the car belong to the past. Quite a few think that it still has a future - politicians, still some - but in the minds of planners, we all know, we can't go on like this. The car is fantastic, it can facilitate transport from door to door, but in the big scale, it cannot. This is Montreal, it's quite interesting to see, it's worn down. This is 35 years old and it many cities, somehow, they're still doing it. Even in this country, Denmark. But if you go to to India, if you go to most cities in Africa, there's nothing. There's only one thing: many buses - and walking. There's only two modes of transport. 90% of the urban population, in African cities, walk. 10 percent take the mini buses. And it doesn't work and then the 2% are driving cars, and this is a huge problem in the developing world. The bicycle, how do you introduce it? In all schools... and you need to be able to actively involve your children. This is a school in Denmark. You need to make sure that the facilities are there and you need to have safe routes from the home to the school. And if the kids they learn to ride a bike, from when there are six years old then when they're sixty, they'll still ride a bike. If they were not raised with riding a bike, they'll not ride a bike. It's rather simple, but in reality it is not that simple. Even in the kindergarten, people are learning how to ride a bike. Urban development doesn't work without the recreation and sports facilities and what is important is that they are accessible. In many countries - a little bit of this in Denmark also, but not too much - but in many countries sports facilities are closed. You have to be a member. They are clubs. You have to be a member. It is important that sports facilities are open to the public, are open to the community and when sports activities are not taking place, people can use it for recreation, people can walk, they can walk their dogs, etc. People can come here. This is quite recent, this sports facility, in Copenhagen. Also, interesting to see, that there's not a big parking lot here. You can walk to the deficit, you can take the bus, you can take the metro or you can ride your bike and then there are ten parking lots. 10! And you can plan with that. Another case in Copenhagen, recently. A sports facility. This was a parking lot, not in central Copenhagen party rather central Copenhagen and then it was turned into a sports center. Libraries are traditionally very much community centers and even if somebody, a few years ago, thought that with a new era of the digital media, we don't need books anymore - it somehow belongs to the past, people who will have their different media and they will not go to the library - but in reality, that is not true. It doesn't work like that. Even if people go there and they'll read things electronically, libraries are still there, new libraries are being built and if we understand to introduce a new technology in the library, they can still be fantastic community facilities. Also, for lectures, for screening of films, etc. Small concerts and things like that. Recreation in the open spaces, in the case of Copenhagen, but in many cities, waterfronts are considered very attractive and in this case, in this city, what was considered impossible twenty years ago is now the case. You can swim in the harbor. If you said to my mother, who has passed away now, you can swim in the harbor, she'd say that you're silly. It's polluted, of course you cannot. But this is possible now. Another case of a park, an open space close to the city centre is a beach park and this was a swampy area. They simply push out the beach line 500 meters - a very big investment but it has been a fantastic it has facilitated Copenhagen with a fantastic urban space. And it's not a problem that is close to industrial sites, as long as they're not noisy, as long the're not polluting. Also, notice that the windmill in Denmark - we are producing windmills since the seventies and today roughly speaking 23 percent of our energy, for our electricity is produced on on windmills. Another new town that was built recently in Copenhagen is the Ørestad, and what was done in the case of the Ørestad is what very often is not being done, that the infrastructure and very much the transport facilities were built before the constructions were built and that actually boosted the development a lot. Normally, what is happening is that you layout and you mark out and then you offer it to different developers and then afterwards, if development comes then the infrastructure comes. Here we did the opposite. And this is a case of high-tech solution and of course it is vulnerable when it doesn't work, but normally it works - and interesting, this is a case which is an multinational affair here, it's a medical producer (the construction site) and in this case a survey was made: 75% of the employees here are using either the metro or walking or bicycling to work. it's only 25 percent that are using the car. And the metro is simply central in the city. It's quite smart architecture, which has branded Copenhagen quite a lot. not only for the architecture but also for the architecture. This is what is maybe not that positive, this is a shopping mall, which is is part of the Ørstad, but which is somehow built along the same lines as any shopping mall anywhere in the world, which, personally, I think could have been done in a very different way. If you go to the traditional bazaar... The bazaar is a shopping mall, but the bazaar is not closed off, or mostly. I'd say more than 90% of shopping malls, around the globe - it could be in Moscow, it could be in Japan. it could be in Washington, it could be in Rio - it's a huge building, shops inside, parking outside. You park and then you walk and you walk into the building. Here, in the traditional bazaar, it is different. You have shops inside, this is true, but the entire edge is a pedestrian area and that links directly to the city. In the so-called normal shopping mall, it does not look like that, it's a closed off box, with parking all around, making it a totally different experience. Absolutely different experience. (Otherwise) it looks like this, somehow much more integrated into the urban environment. This northern Iraq.
