These Two Cities Used to be the Same

Our new comedy urbanism channel, I Love the City is now live!

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Related Channels

Bicycle Dutch

Strong Towns

City Beautiful

Ray Delahanty | CityNerd

RMTransit

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References & Further Reading

Mobility protests in the Netherlands of the 1970s: Activism, innovation, and transitions

The Hidden History of American Anti-Car Protests

The Baby Carriage Blockades

Dymph Verdiesen - Omdat ik daar woonde

1972 Namens de kinderen van de Pijp

Oliecrises en de veranderende samenleving

How you can get involved in cycling advocacy

The Past, Present, and Future: Effective Advocacy with Mike Layton

The overwhelming majority of this video was filmed on location by Not Just Bikes, though a few scenes use stock footage from Getty Images

No generative AI or AI voices were used in the making of this video

[NotJustBikes]

Our new comedy urbanism channel, I Love the City is now live!

I Love the City is a ridiculous (and often silly) take on urbanist topics, and unlike Not Just Bikes, it's actually funny because other people write the jokes! The ILTC writers are standup comedians, and they've worked on several other comedy projects that you've likely heard of, including The Daily Show, Robot Chicken and more.

Check out our first episode, about how cars killed the hat!

More info is available in the post on my community tab:

[erikoftheinternet]

As a resident of fake london i'm so glad my city's trauma could spawn this channel

[strongtowns]

Thanks for the shoutouts! The comparison between London, ON, and Utrecht is fascinating, and it really shows that it’s not impossible to undo bad designs and make places for people again. Going from a canal, to a highway, and BACK to a canal is wild!

And we really feel your points about wanting the places we live now to be the places we WANT to stay in, but that sometimes the necessary changes to make that happen won’t be seen in our lifetimes. Still, many changes can happen immediately, and can happen quickly. As you said, local advocacy is crucial, and our Local Conversations are doing incredible work in their communities across North America — and beyond, too!

[oldbrokenhands]

I've been walking in my neighborhood (Dallas, TX) and dodging traffic for over 25 years now, it was just nice to see what a safe, walkable neighborhood is supposed to look like. Thanks for that.

[BicycleDutch]

Thanks for the mention Jason! What you didn't mention though is that I grew up in Utrecht. So you compared your hometown to my hometown and that made this video very close to err home.
I use those pictures of the 1940 protests in the US in my presentations to US summer school students. The Stop the Kindermoord protests here in the 1970s look like a carbon copy of those protests. People involved in those protests here told me they did not have the feeling they accomplished anything at the time. But aparently a seed of change was planted after all. I can only hope something will turn out to have sparked a change in North America when we look back at the car era 50 years from now...

[SquatBro]

“Cities aren’t loud. Cars are loud.”

As someone who lives in a dense Canadian city, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve lived in a low traffic neighbourhood and loved it so much more than the high traffic one I live in now.

[jazz_of_all_trades]

I live in NYC and the Netherlands was the very first European country that I visited. I immediately had a great first impression because I could take a single train straight out of Schiphol to where my friend lives near the German border in just a few hours for about 25€. And it kept getting better as I experienced the cycling infrastructure, pedestrian-oriented streets, and frequent and reliable busses and trains that could take me even to small towns. I often complain about how bad the transit is in NYC but praise it whenever I visit literally anywhere else in North America, but the transit in the Netherlands and even Germany's notoriously delayed DeutscheBahn proved to be the first ones that didnt make me miss NYC. I discovered your channel after I returned home and wanted to learn more about it, and a few weeks later when my catalytic converter was stolen off my car the same week I got a flat tire, I took it as a sign that it was time to buy an e-bike to commute to work instead whereas most other people would probably just complain that they're stranded without a car. So thank you for your effort in showing people that cars shouldn't be the only viable way to get around.

[dynamite_Alt]

I was born in the Netherlands and my family moved to Canada when i was very young. I moved to fake London for college and every complaint or grievance you have with London is spot on. being without a car in fake London makes life so much harder. Can't wait to move back to the Netherlands when I can

[tyszarko]

NJB will remain one of favorite video essayists, simply because of his approach to research.
"Would this guy be better off in a car? I don't know, I didn't ask him"

[waltysalty]

I was one of the people that was inspired to pursue a masters in urban planning after watching your videos (and doing my own research and personal learning on the side) and I must say that it has been one of the best decisions of my life! I’ve been able to move to a new city that’s walkable and has good public transit, meet so many new people who are just as passionate about urban planning as me, and I am energized to make the change that all US cities need to make. If it wasn’t for your videos I would not have found that fire to make a change in my life for the better and I cannot thank you enough! Hope to make it out to the Nederlands one day (but for now I’ll just learn Dutch 😂)

[Kerleem]

As an American living in Amsterdam, I think the hardest thing about implementing these types of changes in America is peoples' lack of a general understanding of (and experiencing) walkable cities and a daily life (work, school, groceries) without using a car. The concept is completely foreign to Americans, especially those who never leave America and never travel internationally and don't know what car dependency is. I think if more Americans experienced, or lived in walkable cities like Amsterdam, or even just experiencing any European city and comparing it to car-centric American cities, it would be easier to influence this type of change. The other factor is the fact that the American Dream (and Canadian Dream?) is sold on the basis of a big house in the suburbs. Many Americans just want bigger houses and plenty of space - this is deep into the culture (for better or worse). This is a cultural change that will take a long time to change. I do think more housing options and mixed use areas would be a good starting point, but it will take a couple generations.
I try to explain this every time I go back home, but it can only go so far...experiencing the lifestyle is the biggest difference.

[gattofila]

I spent my Erasmus semester in Utrecht in 2011, and I have been back a few times since, but haven't seen the completed renovation of the Hoog Katharijne area and the station yet. It looks gorgeous! I remember riding a white oma fiets, no need for a helmet. Oh, the stuff, and people I carried on that single speed bike! I felt great, even when it rained. It changed my life forever.
Now I live in Toronto where, despite it being still car infested, there's a great energy and push for change. I finally feel that I can make a difference and now I am involved in advocacy too. Thank you for creating quality videos that inspire us!

[ThethTurning]

The "tone" of NJB is the main reason I prefer this urbanist channel over any other.

[cousin_raditzz]

A big thank you from São Paulo, Brazil. You really helped me go after my dream of working in city planning. i tought i couldn't do it, because i have a major in design, but slowly but surely i am discovering ways to make a name in urban planning.

Keep the good work!

[jonesrmj]

This was a very insightful video not only on the comparison between London and Utrecht, but also to get a better understanding of activism in the Netherlands vs North America. I am also one of those people that was orange-pilled and got into urbanism from this channel, so I am thankful for that! The Houston video on this channel basically explained to me why I’ve always loved well-designed cities and hated living in car-dependent suburbia as a child.

[christian_b]

As i see the highway converted back to a canal, i got tears in my eyes. This is so beautiful.

[Stephy]

Thanks to you I learned about Plain Bicycle in my hometown of Winnipeg, MB.. fast forward a couple of years and now I use a bike as my main method of transportation and am a part of local bike and urbanism advocacy groups.

From talking with others in these groups, it’s apparent that a lot of people found and joined the urbanism movement because of you.

So for that I wanted to say thank you.

[caitfrizzell]

My (dutch) partner made a great observation: the mentality of drivers here is also really different now than it was in the 70s. And as an american with a dutch driver’s license, I can 10000% confirm I had to do mental backflips when I started driving here. The “I’m bigger I win” mentality of americans is such a problem! Here, I don’t let any relatives drive until they’ve ridden a bike across the city because 1) they need to learn to look for bikes and 2) they need to learn who has right of way. If there’s a bike, a pedestrian, and a car in america, no one cares what the law says — the car wins. I wonder if flipping that mentality had also helped dutchies create such beautiful infrastructure? 🤔

[mrkat]

It’s crazy. I used to be a critic of NotJustBikes, being car brained and all.
Now I’m a supporter of mixed infrastructure and want to become an active advocate in my city for it

[incendiary]

I live in boston but am from southwestern pa and my mood noticeably worsens when I'm home and cant go anywhere or do anything without a 20 minute car ride