ABSTRACT
So far, this book has advanced the possibility that a bicycle system could emerge in the not-so-distant future proposing a viable alternative to the automobile, at least for short and medium urban journeys. Increasingly, the supremacy of the car as the default mobility option within cities is contested (see not only Copenhagen and Amsterdam but also the centres of London, Paris and other European cities where bicycle trips are close to overtaking car trips), particularly in the Western world, where issues of congestion and pollution warrant the adoption of rapid and decisive actions. Even as these potential alternatives are advanced and sometimes materialised, there is an implicit assumption that the new mobility system must retain some essential affordances of the automobile: ensure direct connectivity and seamless, fast, mobility from A to B.
