The first video in a new series for Not Just Bikes - what makes a city great? An exploration of cities, density, walkability, and what Dutch cities do right.

Why Many Cities Suck (but Dutch Cities Don't)

The coronavirus partial lockdown has meant that Amsterdam has nearly no international visitors, and the Amsterdam city centre is almost completely empty. It's bizarre to see the city like this on a Friday night.

This video shows scenes from a bicycle ride from Ferdinand Bolstraat (De Pijp) to Amsterdam Central on the evening of Friday, November 20th, 2020, between the hours of about 10PM to 1AM.

0:00 Ferdinand Bolstraat

0:44 Utrechtsestraat

1:37 Rembrandtplein

3:02 Halvemaansbrug

3:56 Oude Doelenstraat

4:30 Damrak

5:08 Stationsplein

#Amsterdam #4k #corona

Empty Amsterdam on a Friday Night during Corona [No Commentary]

Today it was 15°C and Sunny in #Amsterdam, and it seemed like everyone in the city was out. #shorts

Amsterdam: 15°C and Sunny

Dutch bicycle paths are some of the best in the world. This is the short explanation of what they're all about. #shorts

A Quick Intro to Dutch Bike Paths

Commuter rail is a rail system designed to bring people from the suburbs into a central business district for work. But is it really an efficient transit system, or just another subsidy provided to car-dependent suburbanites? This video explores commuter rail in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the train system known as "GO Transit."

The Trains that Subsidize Suburbia - GO Transit Commuter Rail

Throwing Good Money After Bad Car Infrastructure - Wonderland Road

Why the Netherlands is the Best Country for Drivers

The Trains that Killed an Airline - Italian HSR

How to (Quickly) Build a Cycling City - Paris

Buying a Bag of Milk in Fake London

A Small Change for Safer Walking - Leading Pedestrian Intervals

Dutch Cities are Better for the Climate (and my sanity)

Suburbia is Subsidized: Here's the Math [ST07]

The Only* Car-Free Neighbourhood in Canada (and why you can't live there)

Business Parks Suck (but they don't have to)

Original Title: I Don't Exercise (my city does that for me)

The Gym of Life

The Orange Pill - Your City Will Be Changed Forever

Why We Won't Raise Our Kids in Suburbia [Remake]

America Always Gets This Wrong (when building transit)

Does Anyone Actually Cycle in Switzerland!?

Do You Want to Drive a Train?

You Don't Need to Press This Button

Why Swiss Trains are the Best in Europe

The Car-Replacement Bicycle (the bakfiets)

How we got to Berlin from Amsterdam

Canada's Racist Land Covenants

The (loud!) Siren Heard All Over the Netherlands

This Amazing Cycling Bridge is Temporary

Crossing the Street Shouldn't Be Deadly (but it is)

How Toronto Got Addicted to Cars

Can Groceries Be Delivered TOO Quickly?!

The Great Places Erased by Suburbia (the Third Place)

Why Amsterdam is Removing 10,000 Parking Spaces

The Dutch Town with Canals instead of Roads: Giethoorn

The Slowest Express Train in the World - The Glacier Express

A Tale of Two Towns: Car-free vs. Not (Zermatt & St. Moritz)

Would You Fall for It? [ST08]

Bicycles Don't Need Traffic Lights

Amsterdam Just Got Awesomer

These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us

This Tiny Island has Insane Traffic

The Next Great Cycling City

Ski-Friendly Transit in Oslo

This Electric Ferry is Great

I GOT A NEW TRUCK!! (AND A MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!)

A Street Upgrade in Amsterdam (removing cars)

The Dumbest Excuse for Bad Cities

Amsterdam Just Closed their Busiest Road

How to Take the Train in Canada

Designing Urban Places that Don't Suck

Even Small Towns are Great Here (5 Years in the Netherlands)

This Train Station Has No Business Being This Good

Germany's "Green" City (with more bikes than cars!)

The People Fixing American Cities - Strong Towns

I Visited the Best* City in North America

What it's REALLY Like to Cycle in Montréal

More Lanes are (Still) a Bad Thing

OMFG DINOSAURS AND TRAINS!!!!! (with TierZoo)

Lisbon Just Got a New Funicular (how fun!)

Amsterdam needed to close a 90-year old historic bridge for for almost 4 months for necessary renovations. But they closed it to cars ... and built a whole new temporary bridge, just for bikes.

Amsterdam Closed This Bridge to Cars (but not bikes)

The Oldest Street in Europe

There's a trend towards lower speed limits in cities all over the world, but why is this happening? What is the research behind it? And what is the "correct" speed limit for cities, anyway?

What is the "Correct" Speed Limit?

Nearly 3 million people pass through Shinjuku Station every day, which is an insane number. But despite the massive number of people transported, the area around Shinjuku supports some great urbanism, with vibrant street life and lots of independent shops and restaurants.

I Visited the World's Busiest Train Station

Japan is famous for its trains. And for good reason. They’re fast. And frequent. And clean.

With so many train companies trying to differentiate themselves,

the Japanese have created some crazy trains that just don’t exist anywhere else.

I Rode the Craziest Trains in Japan

Japan's Pink "Hello Kitty" Train

Why Japan's small, urban streets are the key to it's livability.

The Secret to Japan's Great Cities

How American Fire Departments are Getting People Killed

Are the changes Taiwan is making to it's road infrastructure working for or against pedestrian and bike traffic?

Are Taiwan's Roads Still a "Living Hell"?

I needed to get from New York to Toronto. So of course, I took the train. For 12½ hours.

I Spent Over 12 Hours on an Amtrak Train (on purpose)

How Self-Driving Cars will Destroy Cities

The World's Dumbest Bike Lane Law Just Passed in Canada

These Two Cities Used to be the Same

Asphalt is a great material for building roads. But when it comes to streets, there's something better: klinkers!

Natural Handcrafted Artisanal ... Streets?!

Bergen is a city on the West coast fjords of Norway, surrounded by mountains. And they just built the best bicycle tunnel in the world.

How is a Bike Tunnel this Freak'n Great!?

North American suburbs are littered with these giant ugly "Big Box" stores. People like them because they're easy to drive to and they sell a lot of stuff at pretty cheap prices, but the way they operate is by literally bankrupting cities.

These Ugly Big Box Stores are Literally Bankrupting Cities

The Absolute Best Transportation for Cities

They Tore Down a Highway and Made it a River (and traffic got better)

There are a lot of problems with today's cities, so some people claim we should just build new cities instead. But South Korea has shown that building a brand-new city doesn't always go as planned.

When Building a Brand-New City Doesn’t Go as Planned

In the city of Suwon, South Korea is the world headquarters of Samsung, called Samsung Digital City. A high-security campus built just for Samsung employees.

Samsung's Private City

The Best-Designed Town in the Netherlands (and therefore, the world)

Trams are the absolute best transportation for cities, and yet the Toronto streetcars are borderline unusable. Why are they so bad, and will they ever get better?

Trams are Great! So why are the Streetcars SO BAD!?

In 1974, the first metro line was opened in Seoul, South Korea. Dozens of lines were built over the past few decades and today it's so advanced and comprehensive that it might just be the world's best metro system.

This Might Just Be the World's Best Metro System

I recently took a 24 hour ride on a sleeper train in Canada. The trip was pretty good, but this train used to be so much better. :(

This Train Just Keeps Getting Worse

I Tried to Take the Bus to the Beach (and failed)

When it comes to great urbanism, there's no excuse lazier than "the weather" ????

The Laziest Excuse for Bad Cities

This is Why Cycling is Dangerous in America

American SUVs and light trucks are dangerous. We cannot allow them to come to Europe.

Keep These Stupid American Trucks Out of Europe

Gornergrat is has the highest hotel in Switzerland, and it's only accessible by train. This video is about our visit, and the trains we took to get there ... including a night train!

The Alpine Hotel You Can't Get to by Car

The Finch West LRT is the first new public transit line to be built in Toronto in over twenty years, so when it finally opened the whole city was watching ... only to find out that it's really bad :(

How can a NEW Transit Line be THIS BAD!?

Google Maps is an application that is used by over two billion people every month. But as an application that is primarily designed by and for car drivers, it often fails in a human-sized city like Amsterdam.

Why I don't use Google Maps in Amsterdam

An overview of Stockholm's gorgeous metro stations and why it matters to communities.

Every Metro System Should be this Beautiful

Not Just Bikes videos don't have music, and that's intentional. And it's all because of Mumbo Jumbo.

Why I Don't Use Music in My Videos

"While some people benefit from automobility, nearly everyone—whether or not they drive—is harmed by it."

Every Reason to Hate Cars

The coming oil crisis is going to be painful, but the good news is that when oil gets expensive, cities get better.

When Oil Gets Expensive, Cities Get Better

The highest point in the Netherlands is Vaalserberg, at 322.4 metres above sea level. Or is it? As it turns out, "The Netherlands" is not as well-defined as you might think, and the reality is a lot more interesting.

I Climbed the Highest Mountain in the Netherlands!

There are a lot of great streets in Amsterdam, but one of my favourites is Ferdinand Bolstraat. Not because it's the most beautiful, or the best for cycling, but because it has all the elements of what makes a great urban street. And it's nearly car-free!

The Crazy Story of my Favourite Street in Amsterdam

Stories of great urban planning and urban experiences from Amsterdam and the Netherlands. It's not just bikes.

All Episodes of Not Just Bikes

Season 1