Going to Houten felt like I was experiencing an entirely different world. It was amazing getting to hear from the local cycling activists and government workers to hear the background of how Houten came to be. Houten is a town that was essentially created for solely for cyclists and pedestrians. Normally, most of a cities transportation infrastructure would be centered around cars but in Houten, there are no traffic lights and vehicles yield to bikes. The entire town is centered around cycling.
They came up with a concept where anything the people would need is within a comfortable cycling distance. Even the schools are intentionally built next to the cycle main cycle path so that children can safely and easily cycle to school and home. Another interesting element in the design of Houten is that the created a road ring around the city which is the only main road to drive out of town. There are also roads that connect residential areas to the road ring.
Houten is definitly an example of radical action towards sustainable cycling infastructure but it was cool to be able to see how the town functions so well with this way of life. Everyone we talked to that lived their seemed to love the way of life and talked about how it has created a tight knit community.
Looking back on the last two weeks here in the Netherlands, I have an entirely new perspective how impactful sustainable infrastructure can be in communities and cities. I have never been a huge cyclist before this trip; but, I have enjoyed using cycling as a mode of transportation every day. The infrastructure makes it so enjoyable and easy to hop on your bike and go wherever you want. It will be interesting to go back to the United States and look at our infrastructure with even more of a critical eye.
One important thing I will be taking away from this experience is that we do not have to accept things as they are just because it has been that way for a long time. It took the Netherlands a long time to transform streets after realizing the issues that automobiles were causing in their country. In our country, there have already been states that have adopted policies to implement more sustainable infrastructure and it will just take time and persistence to have it at a scale like the Netherlands.
Aside from school, I have loved meeting so many amazing people that are now my friends after two weeks. I have also really enjoyed trying different foods and embracing a different way of life. Overall, one of the best classes I have taken!