Not Just Bikes: Why Many Cities Suck (But Dutch Cities Don't)

Hey! I know that guy!

I like how Jason puts it... Cities that prioritize cycling and car-free life aren't just good "for the climate", "for your health". They are just plain good places to live. Forget all those things that make it sound like it's some noble sacrifice, I just like walking to the store.

Hey Jason, regarding your audience. I am a 72 year old retired American. Through watching your videos on YouTube I have realized why I was always happier when I lived in other countries. Never could put my finger on it, but what it boils down to is (as you've described) car dependency. I was always happier in places with a fair number of bikes and with reliable and affordable public transportation. I never put two and two together. Thank you!

the comment about "a 15 year old waiting in their suburban home for their parents to get home to drive them somewhere" smacked me like a wet trout. this was EXACTLY my situation when i first discovered your channel.

KEEP IN MIND: The Netherlands weren't always ''bicycle heaven''. The traffic situation 60 or 50 years ago was like in other countries after WW2 - cities and streets getting busier and busier, more and more traffic deaths.... It was a conscious political decision to ban cars in city centres, to built special bicycle lanes etc. And even now in many older, narrow cities and streets there's not enough room for separate bicycle lanes. But you know what? Car owners and car drivers know that their OWN CHILDREN might be riding their bikes there. They themselves might be riding their bikes tomorrow or next week. So they watch out and drive carefully. Hopefully careful...

Cities need to be built around people who live in them, not just those who profit from them.

It's nice to see a YouTuber who is both correct and also capable of coming across well in public speaking and interviews. Also major kudos to the interviewer, some really interesting perspectives and questions without being aggressive, love it

Love how Jason stays on brand with the answer to the last question: “But that is a topic for a future video”. 😄

Well, I’m definitely not Jason’s key demographic (I’m a 40-year old black woman) but Jason’s videos have made me plan a trip to multiple cities in the Netherlands for 2023. I grew up in America but as an adult I’ve lived in Japan, South Korea, Prague, Milan and now I’m in France. I’ve always known that these places were “more comfortable” for me and I knew I loved good, reliable public transit and walkability over cars, gas, car insurance and registration, but I never truly considered that the infrastructure in America was intentionally built that way for cars. Now I can’t unsee sh*tty infrastructure, even here in France (how loud the cars are, and how the city I’m in has unsafe and limited bike lanes and how all that makes it unpleasant to walk around in). I rode my bike everywhere in Japan, and I’ve always wanted to duplicate that experience but have not since. This channel made me see that I never bought another bike outside of Japan because I never felt SAFE enough to ride it. Now I’m on the hunt for nearly car free places. Thanks Jason!!

Previously I lived in a wealthy suburban neighbourhood in which the dogs were taken out for a walk daily. One time there was a teenager walking down the street and I mentioned to him that he was the first person I had seen walking on that road in TWO YEARS. Another sad aspect about living there was having dinner parties with doctors and a group of well educated people. Too often the conversations were about wealth and someones desire to own the new style Mercedes that was out. I now live in a small walkable mountain town where owning such an expensive car would invite ridicule. When walking to the village centre for groceries, mail or other things there are kids all over the place. Life is better now

I live in Midtown Atlanta, which is very walkable/bikeable, but I get soo much pushback from people who live in the suburbs who think it's all traffic and crime here in the city because of the way local news sensationalizes crime stories. They could NEVER comprehend living without being a slave to their car. And let's be real: a lot of it is because they would rather sit in their steel box in traffic for an hour or two each day than live near "urban" people.

As a guy in his early 20s who just finished college and met a wonderful lady who wants to move somewhere amazing with me, I’m very thankful for Jason’s channel. It’s really educational and helped me get into other channels focused on urban planning and civil engineering, such as City Beautiful and CityNerd.

Man went from posting random vids about his life on Amsterdam to being seen as the Jesus of YouTube explainations on how to built better city's

Not a big fan of the moderator, but Jason absolutely Slaughtered it.

And I am a 47 year old Dutch bloke who's only lived in The Netherlands and England. Your channel resonates with me because like you I am not a cyclist, though I do cycle a lot. Thanks to your videos I learned a lot about the way we Dutch plan our cities, and how they compare to Nothern America... And while I think we still do a lot of things wrong here, I learned to appreciate it a lot better thanks to your videos 😁 Keep up the good work!

I really love the part where she says "yeah".

This flew under the radar. Needs more views!

I recently discovered Not Just Bikes recently when I began researching the Netherlands as a retirement location. My wife and I visited there in 2019 and are going again this fall. It has always been on my radar but with retirement getting closer (less than 3 years) and life in the US becoming less tolerable, I am putting in major research time. Not Just Bikes has been helpful in learning more about Amsterdam and has also helped in affirming my desires.

I think a big issue with escooters, especially the rental ones, is that the systems used are super messy with scooters left everrywhere blocking stuff. Fix that and it would be fine.

If people in the US would have to pay for the real cost of driving cars each time they fill `em up, they´d welcome having alternative means ofconvenient transport available. But up until now, cars are being put before people. That´s simply crazy!