Introduction

In 1900, there were approximately 200 motorcars in the Netherlands; today it is close to 8.5 million, or one car for every two people. Amsterdam alone has over 250,000 cars. These numbers indicate that the Netherlands has followed the general mobilisation trend in the Western world, reaching an even higher car density than most countries in terms of vehicles per square kilometre (www.nationmaster. com). Yet in one significant aspect, it has taken an exceptional course in mobility patterns, only comparable to parts of Denmark and a handful of other urban areas across the globe (Pucher and Buehler, 2012). Despite being fully motorised, it has maintained and fostered a vital mainstream practice of cycling and bicycle infrastructure, especially in larger and midsized cities such as Utrecht, Zwolle and Groningen (Harms et al, 2016). Amsterdam is the most prominent and internationally best-known example of this phenomenon. Some say that in the Netherlands everybody cycles. It is indeed true that almost everybody cycles at least once a week, and the diversity of cyclists is a unique and often acknowledged feature. The fact that cycling levels are as high, if not higher, for women than for men is an especially radical difference from most other cycling contexts. The same goes for the remarkably high cycling levels among both teenagers and the elderly (Harms et al, 2014). There are, however, continuous concerns about especially non-Western migrant populations that, although they cycle more than similar populations in other countries, cycle less overall than the non-migrant population (although this varies according to gender and degree of urbanisation, see Van der Kloof, 2015). This correlation is further blurred by spatial variables that relate to the neighbourhoods in which migrant populations are represented. In addition, cycling and the bicycles used in Amsterdam are recently changing from a ‘national habitus’ of conspicuous non-consumption (Kuipers, 2013) to a symbol of cosmopolitan distinction, especially of the upper middle class (Boterman, 2018).

Outsiders often present Amsterdam as little less than a cycling paradise (for example, Pucher and Buehler, 2008). Indeed, although in other Dutch cities cyclists are more appreciative of cycling conditions, and those cities often boast higher cycling levels (Harms et al, 2014), Amsterdam is a more pleasant and safer place to ride than most cities around the globe.