It feels like every second day Amsterdam or the Netherlands ranks high for something good. Whether it’s about being happy in general, having safe cities, innovative thinking, or being the best non-native English speakers, the Dutch are doing something right. Their latest achievement? Amsterdam just came second-in-the-world for green mobility, reports NOS.
What is green mobility? It’s a fancy term for how environmental our transport methods are. Because Amsterdam has such high bike usage, space for pedestrians, and a strong public transport offering that ticks a bunch of boxes according to the research conducted by international research agency Oliver Wyman. The index compares large cities in the world in terms of new, green mobility.
But who beat out Amsterdam for the top spot? Bloody Singapore of course. Alright, alright, we’re happy there are other cities doing things to save the earth too, but we do like the Dutch being the best (even if they aren’t always).
Trailing behind Singapore and Amsterdam are our friends across the pond in London, those in Shanghai (what?) and New York. All the way at the end of the list of green mobility is Cairo.
What is Singapore doing differently?
Singapore has been introducing road pricing since 1998 in an effort to make the city car-free. Road pricing systems charge vehicles based on how much they use the road, at what times, and in accordance with how much congestion they cause. Road pricing has also been suggested to be implemented in Amsterdam and across the Netherlands.
But, the Dutch capital is well on its way with attempts to ban the car from the city centre by introducing high parking fees and limiting parking spaces. This incentivises public transport options to get to the city instead of travelling by car.
Green mobility will be the hot topic for scientists and researchers around the world today at a conference in Paris aimed at making large cities liveable and how innovation can help. It’s an urgent discussion: within 10 years, 60 per cent of the world’s population is forecast to live in large cities.
What do you think of Amsterdam’s latest ranking? What else could the city do to be greener? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Feature Image: Ralf Gervink/Pixabay
