In car-clogged urban areas across the world, the humble bicycle is enjoying a second life as a legitimate form of transportation. City officials are rediscovering it as a multi-pronged (or -spoked) solution to acute, 21st-century problems, including affordability, obesity, congestion, climate change, inequity, and social isolation. As the world’s foremost cycling nation, the Netherlands is the only country where the number of bikes exceeds the number of people, primarily because the Dutch have built a cycling culture accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ability, or economic means. Chris and Melissa Bruntlett share the incredible success of the Netherlands through engaging interviews with local experts and stories of their own delightful experiences riding in five Dutch cities. Building the Cycling City examines the triumphs and challenges of the Dutch while also presenting stories of North American cities already implementing lessons from across the Atlantic. Discover how Dutch cities inspired Atlanta to look at its transit-bike connection in a new way and showed Seattle how to teach its residents to realize the freedom of biking, along with other encouraging examples. Tellingly, the Dutch have two words for people who ride bikes: wielrenner (“wheel runner”) and fietser (“cyclist”), the latter making up the vast majority of people pedaling on their streets, and representing a far more accessible, casual, and inclusive style of urban cycling—walking with wheels. Outside of their borders, a significant cultural shift is needed to seamlessly integrate the bicycle into everyday life and create a whole world of fietsers. The Dutch blueprint focuses on how people in a particular place want to move.

"A fantastic history of the Dutch evolution into the bike-capital of the world and how its history and solutions can be applied...elsewhere. It should be required reading for every politician, planner, advocate, traffic engineer, or anyone else involved in the livable streets movement." - Streetsblog San Francisco

"All designers of bicycle infrastructure would do well to read the book...It's a book that even many cycling advocates would do well to read...Most importantly, it's a book that should be in the hands of every elected official of every city everywhere." - Transportation Planning

"An informative and enjoyable read that will inspire anyone interested in learning more about Dutch transportation planning and policies...Building the Cycling City left me inspired." - Sightline

"Unflaggingly optimistic...Building the Cycling City is an accessible read." - Environment & Urbanization

"Melissa and Chris Bruntlett’s book Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality is a fantastic read for those interested in exploring more about how the Dutch have been successful and how those long-learned lessons can be applied at home." - Spacing

"Decision makers the world over would do well to read this book to see just how clean, humane and pleasant our towns and cities can be." - Resurgence & Ecologist

"I would equate Building the Cycling City to riding a Dutch bike. You don't want to rush through it like a road bike, but it hauls a lot of lessons from the Dutch cycling experience which are practical to North American cities and delivered in an upright, easy to read manner." - Dandyhorse

"If cycling as a mode of transportation interests you and you're not impressed with our half-ass bike lanes, Building the Cycling City should be on your reading list." - Urban Review Saint Louis

"Their book provides a valuable introduction and overview of Dutch cycling culture for those unfamiliar with it, covering many of its different dimensions and perspectives." - Urban Cycling Institute

"Excellent." - Resilience.org

"Beautifully crafted...recommended to all the cycling advocates, city and town planners, city design architects, municipal corporations, road traffic and safety departments, companies and officials involved in urban infrastructure development, politicians, citizen activists...and every one who believes in making our cities more livable ." - Pedal and Tring Tring blog