Velo-city, an annual conference of the cycling mobility industry within the context of developing sustainable communities, was held in Ghent, Belgium this past June. The event is owned by the Brussels-based European Cyclists’ Federation. This year the local host was the City of Ghent as well as the local Belgian province of East Flanders. 

The event has been held initially every other year but has been held annually since 1980. The first conference was in Bremen, Germany and while primarily hosted in Europe over the years, the conference has also been held in Canada, Australia, Taiwan, and Brazil. This year’s event was attended by over 1,600 attendees from over 60 countries.

Velo-city Aim, Attendees

Most of the attendees at the Velo-city conference are active cyclists or cycle advocates, including this author, and demonstrate this in many ways.

However, it is not a “bike show,” it is a means over many years of developing and positioning cycling as part of the solution to developing robust and sustainable cities, rural areas, and a means of growing local economies.

The success of the Velo-city conference is based on the progress over many decades seen in countries like the Netherlands and Denmark, but also in other countries in Europe, and more widely across the world including a number of emerging economies who are now seeing the benefits of cycling for health, transport, and economic and social development.

The breadth and progress of the cycling agenda can be shown in many was from the 2024 “European Cycling Declaration” adopted by the European Parliament and Commission, to the ECF working with the annual COP progress on global climate change mitigation and lobbying countries to include cycling in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets, to Rwanda’s plan to host the World Road Cycling Championships in 2025 and, like many countries before, use the event to significantly increase the profile of cycling in their country and in Africa more generally.

Velo-city and the Cycling Conversation

Cycling is a large, growing, and ambitious business and there were many lessons, insights, and conversations to be had at this energetic event.

Countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, and parts of Germany can demonstrate overwhelming progress in cycling as a means of transport, as well as infrastructure and cycling culture. But this is a relatively recent phenomenon and they will admit that they continue to have issues in terms of adoption, social inclusion, and acceptance of the mode.

In the 1970’s, for example, Dutch cities and Copenhagen were gridlocked with cars like most comparable western cities.

It is through the effort of many years of consistent policy and policy development, as well as infrastructure spending that has led to what we see today. For example, 50% of trips to Dutch railway stations are made by bike. 

This Year’s Conference

One of the speakers in an early Velo-city conference plenary was one of the County Commissioners from Harris County, Texas (Houston).

Rodney Ellis outlined the progress, as well as some of the issues he was facing in trying to make Houston a more cycle-friendly city. This included making use of the available bayou (linear park) space to create a connected network for cycles and other micromobility users, and to create more people-friendly streets and places throughout his region.

Connected networks, people-friendly places, road safety, and social inclusion were the key themes reflected throughout the Velo-city event. This should be the starting point for thinking about cycling, and more widely micromobility, including shared bikes and e-scooters.

Cars and trucks are critical to our lifestyle, but people-friendly spaces can, and are, supporting communities and are a means of increasing the viability of all sustainable modes, including public transport.

In Flanders (northern Belgium) the top three drivers of local cycling policy are to address: road safety, modal shift to sustainable mobility, and quality of life in public spaces.

The importance of public space management and quality provision for sustainable transport options was discussed repeatedly during the conference. Without this provision in our cities — and between our suburban and rural communities, cycling, and other micromobility solutions will have limited appeal to users and viability.

This was demonstrated numerous times, including via the host city of Ghent and the implementation of its controversial “Circulation Plan.” This plan divides the inner city into sectors and only allows inter-sector car movement via returning to the ring road.

A Picture of What Can Work

The center of Ghent is remarkably vibrant, engaging, and yet calm, while still allowing for necessary car access. This is in a wider region of Belgium and the Netherlands, which is some of the most densely populated and industrial in Europe and the world and dependent on intensive movement to and from some of the world’s busiest ports.

However, goods and intensive traffic movements are largely separated from urban movements to enable sustainable streets to be delivered.

Shared cycling was represented and discussed throughout the event. One session focused on the relatively high shared-bike usage per person and per bike in cities such as Paris, Antwerp, Toulouse, Lyon, Bologna, and Florence and what other cities in Europe, and more widely, could learn from them as a city authority or a bike share operator. This also had implications for the market for shared e-scooters.

Another topic discussed at the Velo-city event was the relevance of cargo bike logistics. The case for the use of cargo bikes in logistics was vigorously made and demonstrated in several cities such as Brussels by smaller businesses as well as across Belgium by the Belgian Post Office — Bpost.

Cycle Tourism

The opportunity of cycle tourism was also discussed. Several regions presented the opportunity of this market within the conference exhibition including Turkiye, Italy, and Japan.

If supported with robust infrastructure and safe routes, picturesque countryside, accessible attractions, and appropriate accommodation, many areas are finding that cycle tourism can, in particular, spread tourism spending and benefits away from crowded historical centers and into the local countryside.

The conference examined the complex and, at times, difficult relationship between bicycles and trains.

In particular, the opportunity for local transport operators to link to cycling, as well as wider micromobility users, through the use of robust, numerous, secure, and high-quality micromobility interchanges under the banner of “mobility hubs.”

Numerous and varied examples were provided, such as in Vienna, Basel, and Barcelona, as well as Flanders, who have over 1,000 of these mobility hubs.

In addition, the national rail operator in the Netherlands commits to provide cycle hire at all of its stations across the country.

Cycling also offers communities many opportunities in creating unique types of very locally relevant employment. Cycle logistics often encourages staff that are highly motivated, educated, and passionate about the opportunities of this mode.

Similarly, within the main railway station in Brussels, a commercial bike repair facility has recently opened amongst the cafes and souvenir shops to offer service to the numerous cyclists using the station. Cycling offers many opportunities to grow new and local employment.

Building A Shared Mobility Model

In summary, if we can break the assumption that public space is primarily for the “fast” movement of cars, as well as their storage (parking) and maneuvering, a new paradigm in cities can be opened.

The Velo-city conference demonstrated this paradigm was being considered, developed, and successfully deployed by cities around the world.

Public transport is often an enabler and beneficiary of these interventions. However, strong political will is required as well as local, regional, and national support or frameworks.

This will ultimately deliver benefits including on health, inclusive, and sustainable transport; better and more vibrant, and appealing public places improved tourism opportunities; and local employment.

The Velo-city Conference will return in Gdansk, Poland in June 2025.