South Hams Friends of the Earth

7.30 pm, Tuesday November 6th, Church Rooms, Wellington Square, South Brent.

How have some countries and cities succeeded in restraining, or even reversing the growth in car use?
Why are rates of cycling increasing in Dutch and German cities, and still (with some local exceptions) falling in the UK?
How has the city of Groningen increased cycling to 60% of all journeys?
Hasn't it always been like that? Isn't it just because the Netherlands is flat?

Are there any lessons we can learn, in Britain, and particularly here in Devon?

Last summer, FoE member Steve Melia spent 3 months cycling from home to Germany and back, trying to answer those questions as part of his PhD research. This summer he spent a month cycling around the Netherlands, studying towns and cities, interviewing decision-makers and the travelling public, and taking photographs.

His latest findings, to be published in Cycle magazine and Town & Country Planning, challenge some of the fashionable assumptions made by planners, politicians, even some cycling organisations.

Hear Steve speak, join the debate, and see some of the surprising images he captured on film, at our next group meeting on November 6th.