College Towns Provide a Master Class in Bike-Friendliness

"Here's a secret you won't hear often: The United States has many cities where biking is far more popular than in Portland," writes Michael Andersen. "They're called college towns. And it's time for urban planners to stop ignoring how well they work and start learning from them."

College towns such as Davis (19.1%), Boulder (12.1%) and Palo Alto (9.5%) have percentages of workers commuting by bike that put cities such as Portland (6%) to shame. Andersen reviews some of the lessons that college towns can offer their big city brethren:

• Universities breed 20-minute neighborhoods
• Universities create car-free spaces
• Universities use public spaces to enable density
• Universities charge for auto parking