Copenhagen: City Of Bikes And World's Happiest People

Copenhagen is so renowned for cycling that a blog and its name, Cycle Chic, has been trademarked and become part of the global fashion vernacular.

Urban mobility expert and CEO for Copenhagenize Design Company Mikael Colville-Andersen decided to put a growing number of his photos about Copenhagen's bicycle culture into one place on the internet and created the blog City Chic.

The city’s large biking lanes is a showroom for both fashionistas, business men, families with kids and urban youngsters racing through town.

In his blog, Colville-Andersen advocates urban cycling and encourages people to use bikes for everyday transport.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/roman581/Bicycles and urban mobility

Mikael Colville-Andersen is an urban mobility expert and CEO for Copenhagenize Consulting. He is often referred to as Denmark’s Bicycle Ambassador, and is a leading voice in urban planning and reestablishing the bicycle as transport on the urban landscape.

The bicycle has served to liberate the working classes and, in particular, women back in the tail-end of the 19th century. In the post-war years, the bicycle was relegated to being merely a toy or piece of sports equipment. Cycle Chic aims to take back the bike culture by showing how the bicycle once again can be an integral, respectable and feasible transport form, free of sports clothes and gear, and how it can play a vital role in increasing the life quality in cities.

On Copenhagenize.com Colville-Andersen highlights how Copenhagen's bicycle culture was established and inspires other cities in their pursuit of bicycle-friendly infrastructure and culture.

Danes are officially the happiest people on earth

Maybe there's something to be said for cycling? The World Happiness Report 2016 looks at trends in the data recording how highly people evaluate their lives on a scale running from 0 to 10. The rankings are based on surveys in 156 countries covering the years 2013-2015. Seven key variables are used: real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, perceived freedom to make life choices, having someone to count on, generosity, and freedom from corruption. Denmark once again ranks first, reclaiming the top spot position from 2013 and 2014.

Denmark is a leader in welfare 
For the first time, this year's World Happiness Report measured the consequences of inequality in the distribution of well-being among countries and regions. It found that people are happier living in societies where there is less inequality of happiness.

Denmark is well known for its generous state welfare and for its egalitarian nature. Copenhagen ranks number nine in the global study of living conditions for expats by Mercer, taking the 11th place in the personal safety sub-index, which is a key factor in determining expat quality of living.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kristoffer-trolle/Best country for women
The Danes are among the most progressive when it comes to women’s rights and gender equality. A recent survey of more than 7,000 women has ranked Denmark as the world’s ‘Best Country for Women’.