Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality

Across the world’s car‑choked cities, the humble bicycle is quietly staging a revolution. As congestion, climate change, inequality and social isolation intensify, more and more city leaders are rediscovering the bike as a simple, elegant and surprisingly powerful tool. And nowhere demonstrates its potential better than the Netherlands — the only country where bicycles outnumber people, thanks to a cycling culture designed for everyone, of every age and ability.

In Building the Cycling City, Chris and Melissa Bruntlett explore how Dutch cities became global leaders in everyday cycling, and what the rest of the world can learn from them. Through engaging interviews with planners, designers, advocates and everyday riders — plus stories from their own experiences pedalling through five Dutch cities — they reveal how the Netherlands built a transport system centred on people, not cars.

The book also highlights inspiring examples from North America, where cities such as Atlanta and Seattle are already adapting Dutch ideas to local needs. These stories show how small, thoughtful changes can unlock huge benefits: safer streets, healthier residents, stronger communities and more joyful ways of moving through urban space.

A key insight is the Dutch distinction between wielrenner (“wheel runner”) and fietser (“cyclist”). The latter — casual, inclusive, everyday riders — make up the vast majority of people on Dutch streets. Creating a world full of fietsers requires a cultural shift: designing cities around how people want to move, not how cars force them to.

Packed with relatable success stories, practical lessons and hopeful examples, Building the Cycling City will leave readers inspired to rethink their own streets — and ready to help create cities that are better places to live, work, play and, of course, cycle.