PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING: A few corrections/comments: * Amsterdam metropolitan area has 2.5 million, not 4 million inhabitants. * There are plenty of "single family" homes in the Netherlands, but many are attached rather than detached, unlike in the US. Additionally, the average size of a Dutch home is about half the size of an American one, according to Pubmed * I visited all the major cities in the Netherlands and was in the country for around 2 weeks. This video is just part one of the review, which is about Amsterdam as its the first city I visited. I know Amsterdam is not representative of the whole country! * When I say "Medieval" I mean the urban form, or footprint of the city in Medieval times. I know most of the buildings in Amsterdam are not from this time period! * I already made a video about other parts of the country, mainly Houten, and more are coming out soon. * When I say I was yelled at on the bicycle lane--yes, I know its because I slowed down unexpectedly. I am simply not used to such busy bike lanes here in the US. I'm sure if you ride on Amsterdam bike lanes every day, you get used to the energy and etiquette pretty quickly. My comparison to a freeway in the US is a compliment: Amsterdam should be proud of how many people cycle, rather than drive! * My comments about feeling stressed on a bike lane, or not knowing where something was, are just that--comments. They're my opinions, not facts. Like I say in the video, sometimes I can be an idiot! ruclips.net/video/dq0GKEdoQkg/видео.html
About stopping on a bike lane: As soon as you stop on a bike lane, except for traffic lights of course , you are a pedestrian. A pedestrian doesn't belong on a bike lane, so move over to the sidewalk. About traffic rules on a roadcrossing: Traffic from the left must yield, that's the law, but.... Say there are a mom and a 5 year old kid both on a bike coming from you left, would you claim your "right", or let the mom and kid cross so you wouldn't create any danger for the kid? Same with a group of teenagers going to school, you know their brains are occupied with anything but traffic, so let them go. Claiming priority is not a right, it may be according the law, but flexible adaptation to a situation is the best way to move and keep moving without accidents.
Can I, as a mother of a 5 year old, please ask you to just stick to the rules, otherwise I can't teach my kid what the rules are. Thanks for being nice, but please don't. Please let me teach my child what he's supposed to do, without confusion. Thanks!
Imagine a Dutch tourist in Manhattan. He never drives a car at home, but being in the US he rents one. Of course, the US, country of cars. He drives slow, swings around and stops in the middle of the road because he wants to see all the buildings, drives on the sidewalks and against traffic. So much fun !!! I wonder, how would the average commuting New Yorker in his car react ?
Haha not really tho. I did visit Canada for a road trip and the cities (Toronto, Quebec, Montreal etc) are just congested with cars. I was even faster walking around then using my rental car. Also, people from over the world know more about America than Americans know of other countries. Lack of education and interest if you'd ask me. America is known for rules like 'keep your lane' and going through red when going right (if possible AND allowed). But offcourse this depends on what state you drive in. And to think that we don't own cars because we CAN cycle is just crazy. Most families have at least 2 cars. What transportation method you choose depends on what you are gonna do. Going to another city? Use car. Bring your kids to school? Use bike. In America you are forced to use a car because houses are far away from stores. In the Netherlands stores are everywhere. And also if you would have to pay $10 a gallon for gas like we do, you might want to switch to a efficient car instead of driving an overinflated ego with a V6 in it.
Why would you do that when there are rental bikes ready to grab spread out all over the city? I had a blast cycling through Manhattan an Brooklyn. Sure, it doesn't feel as safe as cycling in The Netherlands, but it is comparable to cycling in The Netherlands forty-odd years ago.
@@qazatqazah I rented a car while I was in Manhattan 😊 but it was to drive out of the city. We visited my friends who live 2 hours away where public transport wasn’t an option. Driving in Manhattan wasn’t as challenging as I expected although my (male) friend didn’t dare to. Getting on the right freeway once we were off the island was more of a hassle. But you’re right, when you stay in the city there is absolutely no need for a car.
Biking is not stressful at all if you know the rules of the street. From the days of being a toddler you learn the rules from the front seat of your mother's bike. It sort of gets engrained in your mind from a very young age. Then you get traffic lessons in elementary school with a traffic exam in group 5 (I think) when you have to bike a route through the city unsupervised but carefully watched and evaluated. And because we all biked to secondary school daily, you get experience in traffic. How to go with the flow and what to do and what not to do ... And because most car drivers also cycle, they also know how it works. Besides that, under Dutch law, the "stronger" road user is always responsible for the "weaker" road user. That means that if you hit a cycler or a pedestrian in your car, you're in big trouble ...
Makes sense, and I agree. What made biking stressful in Amsterdam for me was not the proximity of speeding cars, which is something I deal with in the US all the time. Instead, it was the fact that I am very unused to being on bike paths that are so crowded and well used, and where people are trying to get places in a hurry. The equivalent would be if someone who had only ever driven in a small desert town went to Houston and drove on the freeway. Also, I think the benefits of many car drivers in the Netherlands also being bike riders can't be overstated. It causes more empathy for sure!
I spent a month in Utrecht because of NJB, and it truly was amazing. About half of the city's population uses bikes for their daily commutes there. It was so quiet compared to American streets.
The difference in noise level is truly an amazing thing. They should really hire NJB to the national Dutch tourism board. He's driving a lot of business!
Yes, quite likely! So if you want to slow down or stop in the middle of the street, you'll have to stick your hand up and then clench to a fist briefly (like the military sign you want to stop). At least that rule we got taught as kids, not sure how many people still know or still use it that often. Also not so handy when you need both hands to pull the breaks though.😅
Nice video, although this was just Amsterdam! Have you been anywhere outside the Holland or Utrecht provinces as well to really be able to obtain an honest view of the Netherlands? Towards smaller towns in less populated provinces, things can get a bit different. I'm from the eastern side of NL, near the German border. Looking forward to upcoming videos.
At 9:30 you said "these tents looks pretty permanent" but they are not, it's only for one day maybe two. And that was not a delivery truck, it's the truck of one of the standholders. At 13:23 this is a one way street for cars, but not for bikes, so that guy on the bike was not going the wrong direction.
Sorry to correct you but I know this street. Officially it is not allowed here for cyclist, since this streets has two sections, each one direction. But no one really cares.
@@barryvandertas2234 I don't live in Amsterdam, but most streets are 2 way for bikes, so I assumed that this one was too. And tbh, sometimes I think it is a bad idea when they are 2 ways for bikes.
Dutchie living close to the square mentioned around 9:30. To answer your question: The market always takes place on Mondays, and after that everything is taken away, so you essentially get an open space. The market people usually set up their market in another place the next day. Cars, except for emergency services and the market people's vehicles on Monday, are not allowed here at all. Parking is on the side on two places, and next to the square is also the start of a tram line to the city centre, so it really functions as some sort of gate to the neighbourhood as well. These kinds of squares are indeed more common. Basicly, the outer neighbourhoods of the city all have their own square, especially in the Western part of the city, which was designed as a garden city, with lots of green space, relatively short after the 2nd World War. Some of the buildings have now been demolished since their building quality wasn't the best. The neighbourhoods are currently densified slowly, which is a good thing in my opinion since it adds to the liveliness of the area. :)
Thanks for answering! I think each neighborhood having a square is a great way to design places. Like I mentioned, so many American neighborhoods have no natural gathering spaces, leaving residents lonely.
I'm sure this goes a very long way toward improving cyclist safety. Unless you know what its like being passed by a car within a few inches while on a bike, its hard to have sympathy for cyclists.
Amsterdam is under 1 million inhabitans... And the centre within the canals is like 17th century, NOT medieval (500-1500). Those market-tents are easily broken-up and moved for this (mostly weeklly) markets. And ofcourse when construct these mobile shopping-things come from cars and trucks.
Amsterdam has only a tiny part of the centre that is late Middle Ages, the canal houses are indeed 'early modern period'. Actually, Amsterdam and the Dutch Republic put the modern into early modern period.
Usually a "Market" is held once per week on a certain day. The stalls are metal frames with wooden table-like selling area's and on top a canvas tent like canopy which can be rolled up. This all can be taken down after the market and brought to another neigborhood and put down early in the morning and the sellers come with their own trucks/vans put their wares on the table and in stacks to the front and sell Vegetables,fruits, clothing,second-hand stuff, fish, etc. and next day the market is in another square/neighborhood. In Amsterdam Zuidoost there are 4 area's with markets from monday till saturday. People walk to the market and have at least 1 close by and 2/3 within 3 kilometers, ride their bike and have fresh produce several times a week.
Wow, fun video guys. As someone living in Hilversum, I find biking in Amsterdam quite relaxing, but that is probably due to having cycled in the Netherlands for almost half a century now and when it so engrained in to you as a person there is no hesitation as to how to move around, how to stop and turn, which is the same dance as the others do and then it is like a second nature. But for an outsider, I see what you mean and understand it can give stressful moments, also to the natives. It's like this one guy that skates the other way around on the ice rink.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yes, cycling culture was a bit of a shock but I'm sure I could get used to it too. Like I said, I'd rather have a busy cycling area than car area, as the latter is far more deadly than the former.
Often understated, but driver licenses in the Netherlands are real tough to get. So drivers in bigger city with all these obstacles are way better fitted to deal with them. Mirror checking, road turning and giving way to plenty of cyclists are direct show stoppers when not done perfect for your exam here.
Howdy there internet people! I think NJB is actually creating (slow) changes to North American infrastructure. It gives me hope for the future. Maybe Americans would not be so divided culturally and politically if their communities were walkable. I'ts just a thought.
Hi there internet person! I agree with you. I may not have gone into planning as a career if it weren't for his (and many other creator's) videos. Sometimes I think it should be mandatory for Public Works directors and new City Council people to watch at least one of his videos, haha.
There are other traffic rules that differ from motorized traffic. Kids at Dutch primary schools also have to take a theory and practical bicycle exam. A rule when you slow down on a bicycle path, stick out your right hand and cycle to the right side of the bicycle path. This is important for the cyclists who cycle behind you. And besides that, Amsterdam is the most bicycle-unfriendly city in the Netherlands, with the most unfriendly cyclists. In Amsterdam, everyone always seems to be in a hurry. But Amsterdam is also a challenge to cycle, narrow roads, tram tracks, tourists, etc. The experienced cyclists know exactly how to cycle and what obstacles there are. And if someone suddenly slows down on the road this can be hindrance and even dangerous.
9:20 it looks like a (market) square within a shopping center, these tents are market stalls that are removed by the end of the day. I don't think cars go there ever. But I know they also do these weekly markets in parking lots.
2:45 I have such mixed feelings about strip-mall renewal because often more niche/independent/community focused/low cost places inhabit them, so when you demolish and rebuild that you’re effectively losing cheaper rental space. Gentrification basically. Definitely have to tread carefully.
You're right. It a nuanced and multi-faceted issue. Because we've essentially made walkable neighborhoods a rare commodity, they've become expensive. I've seen new mixed-use buildings have empty storefronts for years, likely because the rent is too high. At the same time, we don't want to leave unwalkable, unpleasant, and dangerous neighborhoods and streets unchanged simply because of possible gentrification. Hopefully, if we built enough of these places, they will no longer be so rare as to be expensive in the first place.
@ True! It’s not just scarcity though, new construction commands a premium, it’s economics. We are very quick to tear down older buildings for renewal instead of restoring and building incrementally on what we have. Strong Towns small bets approach and all that 😅
Not every spot is perfect because most of our cities are hundreds of years old. Every decade or so when they do large maintenence on roads they change them to current standards. It's a process.
Amsterdam doesn't have 1,2 million inhabitants. In 2024 the city had 931.298 inhabitants. Corop area Amsterdam does have that amount of inhabitants, but that includes Haarlemmermeer, Ouder Amstel, Amstelveen, Diemen, Aalsmeer, Uithoorn, Oostzaan, Landsmeer, Waterland, Purmerend and Edam-Volendam).
@ That is the number I found as well, but later found the 1.2 million. It does seem your number is the correct one, so thanks for the correction. It actually makes the 4 million remark even worse, except maybe that making an error can happen to everyone.
15:00 You just have to pull up on the sidewalk (on a spot not endagering pedestrians) when you wish to stop, so you're out of the way of the bicycle flow.
What most foreign cycling advocates miss about Dutch cycling infrastructure is that government merely meets demand. If we had waited with cycling for infrastructure like this we wouldn't have gotten it. So improvise, negotiate space and overcoming obstacles was part of the deal and still is. A lot of it's succes and it''s origin is in the competence of the individual cyclists to deal what is in front of and around them. That is what this contraption allows for, it's much more flexible than a car.
I definitely got toasted once or twice (: This applies mainly to Amsterdam, though. Everywhere else I biked in the country was pretty chill. More on that in a future video.
@@Sullyville In summer 2024 I also was in Amsterdam and I was screamed at while riding bike. Even though I'm European who knows how to do it. And currently I live in the US for last 5 years.
I'm very familiar with their work! Love what they're doing. My hometown of Santa Barbara has been enforcing a traditional architectural style guideline for almost 100 years now. You can look it up pictures and see,
Amsterdam actually prohibits building higher than 4 stories in the city center, that's why you will see those 10+ story buildings only on the outskirts of the city.
Makes sense that they would want to preserve the historic vibe of the city center. Many American cities had become quite large and built-up before the invention of the sky-scraper as well, but chose to tear down generations of older buildings. Looking at downtown Philadelphia today, for instance, one might not know that it once had a waterfront that looked a lot like Amsterdam! If you look up pictures its shocking. You can see one here: whyy.org/articles/philadelphias-historic-north-central-waterfront-market-spring-garden-streets-or-what-hath-i-95-wroug/
Great video! When I have friends over from abroad, I always tell them: "mind the cyclists, the car drivers are seldomly a problem." However, aggressive cyclists are a problem specific to Amsterdam only.
This is a lovely video offering an interesting view on Dutch city design. I hear you "imagining" and "betting" a lot though. Like with the sidewalks crossing the street and the market on the square. Have you considered asking someone or at least googling it?
@8:10 "I bet's it is in the code somewhere". Yes indeed, there are guidelines. Some if these are written down in documents by some government institute, other guidelines are just the ones that planners learn during their study. @9:27 - These tents are not permanent. This is a traveling market that moves to different places every day. A lot of those markets are set up as parking lots but some of these markets are set up in a street in the city center. The "monday market" in Nijmegen is put up in a town square and a street. This street is used as a street that is used by delivery companies and public transportation. And yes: cycling is stressful. As a Dutch guy, cycling through a German town feels a bit stressful to me since drivers (bike and car) behave different than in the Netherlands and also because I do not alway know the exact route I need to take. But even a more crowded city like Amsterdam is not that stressful to me
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I've ridden all over the Netherlands - Utrecht and Amsterdam are busier than normal, but still very easy to ride. Car drivers are cool and respectful. The only menace is the polo shirt wearing blokes on Lambretta copies, who can use the cycle lanes and even they are not really that bad. I was there one time on my umpteenth tour, when my reactive arthritis was at it's worst and I fell off my bike in Scheveningen and everyone imeediately rushed to help me within seconds. A very bossy woman took over and I told her I was absolutely fine and it was just my arthritis (which at the time made my grip very weak) and I fell off because I was trying to turn 180 in a tiny circle on a bike full loaded with luggage. It happens, not so much now, and I am used to it and have learnt to twist to land on the back of my shoulder. She held up her hand and said "It is okay - he has arthiritis" and everyone stood back. I thanked them all and she told me off for not wearing a helmet. I was riding a Kona Unit X, with 2.6" tyres, fully loaded front and back, so you cannot go more than about 14 mph max, and more like 14 kph, and the lugagge makes it hard to fall badly. I have never taken a helmet on any of my Dutch tours. I do use them in the UK, especially if I ride a road bike, but not if I am riding an old three speed.
The centers of Dutch cities aren't the greatest to get around in in a car, but for anywhere else (including the more urban areas of the cities) I wouldn't say it's inconvenient to drive. Anywhere the trains go the cars can go as well, it's just that many people either don't want to drive or don't even have a car because it's simply not necessary to have one. The Netherlands (including Amsterdam) also regularly makes the top 3 highest-quality roads in the world.
Yes, absolutely. I've also read about it being so well rated for drivers. It also helps that so many people are cycling or taking transit aka not driving--leaving all that road space less congested for those who actually want to drive. What I've been telling planners in my area is that its not about subjugating cars in favor of bikes, but about giving all modes equal treatment. The lifestyle you describe of not owning a car because you don't want to would be nearly impossible in a place like Los Angeles. You'd be completely stranded, even though its the nation's 2nd largest city.
@@Sullyville The reason you would be stranded in LA with not owning a car is that there aren't any, or very little viable alternative modes of transportation. Here in The Netherlands there are.
Good. Hoping to represent your country well! Everyone was very friendly on my travels, and the Dutch people commenting on my videos are pretty friendly as well.
Dutchie here - I totally agree. One of the main points in this respect is that a single situation is not important, it’s all about the overall system and the network. That’s was shines through somewhat in this video. One particular useful measure won’t yield much, it’s all about the integration of policies. This is also what NJB highlights time and again. ALL measures are directed toward a certain behaviour, that makes alle the difference. A key element present in The Netherlands but nearly nowhere else is that virtually every car driver is a fietser himself, so he knows the ropes. Literally nobody would consider ‘just’ opening a car door without watching carefully. Chances that a cyclist will run into your door are seizable, so everybody takes heed! So BOTH the physical infrastructure AND the behaviour makes the interaction berween slow and fast traffic superior over here, and therefore safer. However, as this video also correctly shows, it’s not paradise everywhere. We have next level problems, which would be considered luxury anywhere else in the world but are very real in the Netherlands.
@@reneolthof6811 Thanks! Yes, the fact that drivers are aware a cyclist could be right outside there door makes it much safer. Most Americans haven't been on a bike since they were children, or never learned to ride at all.
Fair enough video. Well done. Just the experience of some random guy without biased views. Amsterdam (and most big cities ) can be pretty intense to bike if you'r not used to it. it's obviously no utopia . People do ignore rules like everywhere else. We have a-holes like everywhere else. Drunk & stoned tourists (or inexperienced tourist on bikes ) are a plague added to the mix.. We grow up with it, and every car owner is also a 'biker' and pedestrian.
Hi gentlemen, I'm from Amsterdam. I do everything by bike. Love it. Cyclists, especially here in Amsterdam, have an unwritten code while cycling. It is especially true when turning left or right. You can extend your hand, but it is mainly how you position your body on your bike. You immediately see what someone wants to do. I know, it's difficult to explain to someone who doesn't ride a bike often. But we were practically born on a bike.
If there is a collision between a car and a cyclist - the car gets 100% of the fault by law. Even if the traffic rules would say the car was driving correctly and the cyclist was wrong. The idea is that you are the more lethal vehicle, and you have a responsibility to drive slower and be more careful in dangerous situations with vulnerable fellow road users. Since everybody also cycles, you can read cyclist more easily and anticipate as a driver. The road design you showed at 12:20 and 13:10 look like 30km/h speed zones, and often include paid parking to discourage drivers from just going there. These are not roads designed to go from A to B - but for people to get to their houses from the 'main road' leading moving into the neighbourhood.
I am Dutch and the airport is prounced "Schiphol"not "SchGGGGGGGGiphol" ... In the Northern half of The Netherlands we do have what is known as a gutteral or hard G but we understate it. We pronounce it quick, short and soft. We do not add volume and attention to that letter by basically screaming GGGGGGGG everytime it comes up in a word. Like you did....
Trick for cycling and stopping. Do not stop suddenly with the breaks. Stop peddling before you get where you want to go. This is the signal for the following bikers that you are stopping. Only do this on the right side of the lane or road. The other bikers will then go around you when you slow down. You can then stop at the edge of the sidewalk or ride up the sidewalk and break when both wheels are on the sidewalk. Don’t ride to far on the sidewalk and watch out for the pedestrians. If you hit someone who walks, you are at fault. 😊
Biking is stressful if it’s all new to you. You are not used to it. Of course you can’t do sight seeing on a bicycle lane. Normally there’s no cursing at other cyclists, only when you are endangering traffic 😎. Utrecht has been named best bicycle city in the world, several times. And when you bike in Amsterdam and in Utrecht (you can even bike from one city to the other in just a couple of hours) you notice the difference in infrastructure. In Utrecht it’s even better for bikes compared to Amsterdam. In Utrecht you don’t have to share the street with cars as often as in A’dam …
In the Netherlands: Every car driver is also a bicycle driver. Let that go through your mind to understand the implications. Also: if a car and a bicycle crash in the Netherlands. The car driver is legally at fault. Always! No matter if the bicycle driver did not look, was driving wrong way or whatever 😉
I like that rule! Also, I'm sure the fact that drivers have experienced biking and therefore have empathy for cyclists goes a long way to improving safety.
12:10 . it is especially inconvenient to drive a car in city centers, and the local authorities are also trying to ban motorized traffic from city centers because it causes a lot of traffic and causes annoying but also unsafe situations, so it is therefore outside the center and also more remote. It is certainly very common to have a car and even necessary because in some places there is only limited public transport, such as 1 or 2 buses per hour or so, such as in a village or in more remote areas such as the coast or in polders or near forests or other places, usually tourists don't really go outside of Amsterdam and if they do, certainly not in remote places because there is simply nothing to do there, there will be a supermarket and a snack bar and maybe a pub and a pharmacy and 1 or 2 schools and that's it, there are plenty of places like this. In general, the traffic outside the city is different and you see many cars on the highways, just drive on the A4 near The Hague during rush hour, it is apparently one of the busiest highways in Europe
I would imagine you got yelled at because you stopped suddenly without signaling which is the Dutch equivalent of slamming the brakes on the freeway without your brake lights turning on. Super dangerous stuff. Always look over your shoulder and announce your intentions if someone is behind you.
"Cyclist going the wrong direction!" Probably not, because most streets in my country that are one way streets for cars, are two way for everybody else, like pedestrians and cyclists. This is indicated by a sign at the beginning of the street, telling that it is a one way street, with a wite sign underneath it, showing a bike and the word "uitgezonderd", which means something like excluded.
@@Sullyville Just depends on the definition of 'Amsterdam', municipality, metropolitan area, economic area, etc. Most of the time the entire cluster called 'Randstad' is considered to be a single city. Metro and tram lines cross into other 'cities' and trains run like NYC metro all over the country. So urban planning is on a much larger scale than just Amsterdam.
Just a little more than that, at about 932,000 according to the website of the municipality of Amsterdam. Which is a good sized city, even by international standards. For comparison, it's a little larger than (for example) Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Marseille (France's second largest city), Krakow, and Liverpool, if we're sticking with European cities. It's also a bit larger than San Fransico, and Seattle, and substantially larger than Washington DC and Boston, to add some US cities to the mix. Yes, there are a few hundred cities with populations in the millions, and even several with populations in the tens of millions. But on the total number of places designated as cities in the world (conservative estimate: 10,000+) they are very much so the exception to the rule. Any city with a population of almost a million people, is absolutely a good sized city.
I don't know...do you think there are too many podcasts out there? But I was featured on the Strong Towns Podcast recently: www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/12/10/sully-israel-bottom-up-shorts
@ there definitely are too many podcasts but this video of you guys talking was actually pretty interesting. Maybe just more videos in this format if they perform well on yourube
Coming from the beautiful province of Fryslân (in the North) I to would get stressed when i had to bike in Amsterdam 😂. Where i live you can bike really relaxed to work or school. My daughters bike to school every day (about 10 miles one way, so 20 Miles a day). They can bike on bikelanes all the way so it is save❤
Sounds awesome. Yes, in part 2 I'll discuss other parts of the Netherlands I visited (though not up north in your area) where biking was far less stressful. In my Houten video I talk about this too. 10 miles is far! Do they ever complain about it in the winter?
I love cycling in Amsterdam but not because it's particularly relaxed. It's busy and the trams add another layer of complication, also by having to cross the tracks at a right angle not to get stuck in them.
To add on your comment of preferring buildings in olden style there is a new town build in the Netherlands with old style buildings. ruclips.net/video/DsFEhxuqoC8/видео.html Furthermore it is difficult to talk about The Netherlands but mostly showing Amsterdam. I get why you do it, and you have probably alot of comments about this already, but good infrastructure is found more often outside of Amsterdam than in Amsterdam.
from 8 min .10 min is a market place you are not allowed to come there by car only the market traders are allowed to come there with their cars to unload .12.48 min on the canals there is 1 way traffic. on the Manixstraat 5 cars and 20 cyclists Put on a helmet then all of Amsterdam knows watch out there goes another tourist :) 😇 Mvg Frits from Amsterdam
I do think it's hard to implement what we got here in the US. Because it's a mindset and I don't think the US is ready for that. I know it's a touchy subject but it's the same with your gun laws. Instead of changing them they'd rather have armed guards and metal detectors at schools. I think it's the same with cars.
The ugly buildings you talk about around 7:30 are old buildings. It probably was pretty modern at the time they were build. New apartment buildings look much better nowadays
Get rid of those weird zoning laws. I used to think the US was the land of the free… And don’t get me started about those HOA-rules. Thank God we don’t have them here.
Amsterdam isn’t my town anymore…all the things that happen now…and it is strange they put so many people in a mega building…and claiming that those communities, having a better social living place…is wrong. I know somebody how are living in such a building, and he doesn’t know any other persons how are living in that building, he even doesn’t have contact with his neighbors, they even greets or talks to others they just step into the lift and some saying only goodbye…the phone is more important these days…the only person he have contact is the concierge….poor world…and that park front his building, well it is just, well you can call it that nature take over, it is just only weeds what is growing……and front his building, well bikes did take over de space…
Offcourse we have single houses, what are you thinking? And visiting only Amsterdam, then thinking that you know how an entire country is... you dont even know how many people live in Amsterdam. Disappointing...
Americans who have visited Europe often complain about how small the European refrigerators are. That is not true. We also have large refrigerators. In fact, they are even larger than the ones sold in the US. But we do not keep them in our houses. We keep them in a special buiding on the corner of our street or a 10 min bike-ride away on our way home from work. What's more, we have not even paid for the fridge not for any of the produce in it which is ALWAYS fresh.
13:43 but it is not paradise! Obviously it is not, Amsterdam is actually not the best cycling city in the Netherlands. But saying this while showing a video taken in the Jordaan (I think) while following a car weave through the streets shows your ignorance. You don’t need to separate all types of traffic everywhere, if the area has a very low default speed limit. In Amsterdam the speed limit overall is 30 km/h. And in areas like this 15 km/h is usually the norm.
Here's another honest review :> The number of wrong statements in this video are staggering lol. To mention some: - Amsterdam is not a city with 4 million citizens. Not even the metropolitan area of Amsterdam has that much citizens. - There's very little left of medieval Amsterdam. With the natural (and manmade) disasters, 'golden eras' and reconstruction, only those monuments on your tourist-guide-map are that old. - Houten is not a bedroom community. In fact, Houten has an (slightly) above average amount of jobs compared to the rest of the Netherlands - Amsterdam is not the utopian city with the most pedestrian/biker-friendly urban and infrastructural (re)design - Amsterdam is NOT representative for the Netherlands. There is a a reason their city logo comprises 3 X's, cuz it suXXX.
3:41 wow! Was making an uniformed video your aim? We have suburbs with single family homes, it actually is the standard! You should have visited Amstelveen, Haarlem, Hoofddorp, Zaanstad, Purmerend, Weesp, Diemen and especially Almere! Which are part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam. They almost exclusively exist of single family houses! With a small front and a bit bigger backyard!
1:27 I didn’t want to ask, because that would be stupid? While in a country with the highest English proficiency of any non English native speakers! Walking aimlessly for 20 minutes because you are afraid to ask is STUPID! Just ask! We are all willing to help, as I do on a daily basis. You are in a foreign country, with a different language, also in terms of design. No shame in feeling lost.
4:05 you show the Zuid As here, which is the financial district in Amsterdam with indeed more high rise. But that is the exception not the rule. I have given this video a thumbs down just for the horrible errors in the first few minutes. It is like visiting La Defence in Paris and thinking this how the entire city looks like!
relax bro. Actually, highrises are being built in many areas in Amsterdam, not just in Zuidas. Also in Amstelkwartier, Bajeskwartier, Sloterdijk, NDSM, Sluisbuurt, Amstel III to name a few areas.
I have visited NYC, Toronto, Chicago, Ottawa and many true American suburbs and towns like Grand Rapids. If I were to only have visited Manhattan and would have concluded the USA only build super tall high rise buildings, how would you feel about that? Because that is what it feels like with this video. You took a bus from Schiphol that rode along the Zuid As with tall buildings and seemed to have stayed in Diemen or Zuidoost. While these areas are not represented of how most Dutch people live. And the Zuid As is the exception to the rule. High rise is rare, and only build more these days in Amsterdam Noord and in Zuid Oost. Again it feels like someone who was dropped in Manhattan and make conclusions about the rest of the USA.
As biking goes Amsterdam is probably the worst city in the Netherlands. You reviewed Amsterdam , NOT the Netherlands ! I mean I visited NYC , would you say that my experience there is the same for the rest of the US ? So I can now do an honest review of the US ?
For an honest review about the Netherlands you spend a lot of time talking about American infrastructure, only to suddenly cut the video off halfway. Don't get me wrong: I get that you can't talk about one thing without comparing it to another, but the combination of what you did here just makes the video title feel like clickbait.
The Province of north Holland, idos not represent the Netherlands, the Netherlands dos not represent the totale of theBenelux, and these tents are just the weekly market.
When you see the words "HONEST", you know that you are going to get a big bag of *dishonest, lying* BS. For instance: In the first minute you start complaining about Schiphol. Simple *fact* however: Schiphol is model for the rest of the World because of its GREAT signage and GREAT way the airport has been designed. So the only problem is your own inability to navigate in a busy urban space. But the *dishonesty* is already visible in your get up in your presentation. I am not even going to spend more time on this BS. Thumbs down!👎🤡🤡
PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING:
A few corrections/comments:
* Amsterdam metropolitan area has 2.5 million, not 4 million inhabitants.
* There are plenty of "single family" homes in the Netherlands, but many are attached rather than detached, unlike in the US. Additionally, the average size of a Dutch home is about half the size of an American one, according to Pubmed
* I visited all the major cities in the Netherlands and was in the country for around 2 weeks. This video is just part one of the review, which is about Amsterdam as its the first city I visited. I know Amsterdam is not representative of the whole country!
* When I say "Medieval" I mean the urban form, or footprint of the city in Medieval times. I know most of the buildings in Amsterdam are not from this time period!
* I already made a video about other parts of the country, mainly Houten, and more are coming out soon.
* When I say I was yelled at on the bicycle lane--yes, I know its because I slowed down unexpectedly. I am simply not used to such busy bike lanes here in the US. I'm sure if you ride on Amsterdam bike lanes every day, you get used to the energy and etiquette pretty quickly. My comparison to a freeway in the US is a compliment: Amsterdam should be proud of how many people cycle, rather than drive!
* My comments about feeling stressed on a bike lane, or not knowing where something was, are just that--comments. They're my opinions, not facts. Like I say in the video, sometimes I can be an idiot!
ruclips.net/video/dq0GKEdoQkg/видео.html
Soviet microdistrict vs usa suburbia.
The capital of Belarus ( Minsk) has the same population as Houston, Texas.But 1/8 smaller in size
About stopping on a bike lane:
As soon as you stop on a bike lane, except for traffic lights of course , you are a pedestrian.
A pedestrian doesn't belong on a bike lane, so move over to the sidewalk.
About traffic rules on a roadcrossing:
Traffic from the left must yield, that's the law, but....
Say there are a mom and a 5 year old kid both on a bike coming from you left, would you claim your "right", or let the mom and kid cross so you wouldn't create any danger for the kid?
Same with a group of teenagers going to school, you know their brains are occupied with anything but traffic, so let them go.
Claiming priority is not a right, it may be according the law, but flexible adaptation to a situation is the best way to move and keep moving without accidents.
My driving instructor (I got my license in Amsterdam) always said "You can never take the right of way, it can only be given to you".
Can I, as a mother of a 5 year old, please ask you to just stick to the rules, otherwise I can't teach my kid what the rules are. Thanks for being nice, but please don't. Please let me teach my child what he's supposed to do, without confusion. Thanks!
Imagine a Dutch tourist in Manhattan. He never drives a car at home, but being in the US he rents one. Of course, the US, country of cars. He drives slow, swings around and stops in the middle of the road because he wants to see all the buildings, drives on the sidewalks and against traffic. So much fun !!!
I wonder, how would the average commuting New Yorker in his car react ?
That is what the average New Yorker does..., not looking at buildings, but for a parking spot!
@@dutchman7623 sad life
Haha not really tho. I did visit Canada for a road trip and the cities (Toronto, Quebec, Montreal etc) are just congested with cars. I was even faster walking around then using my rental car. Also, people from over the world know more about America than Americans know of other countries. Lack of education and interest if you'd ask me.
America is known for rules like 'keep your lane' and going through red when going right (if possible AND allowed). But offcourse this depends on what state you drive in.
And to think that we don't own cars because we CAN cycle is just crazy. Most families have at least 2 cars.
What transportation method you choose depends on what you are gonna do. Going to another city? Use car. Bring your kids to school? Use bike.
In America you are forced to use a car because houses are far away from stores. In the Netherlands stores are everywhere.
And also if you would have to pay $10 a gallon for gas like we do, you might want to switch to a efficient car instead of driving an overinflated ego with a V6 in it.
Why would you do that when there are rental bikes ready to grab spread out all over the city? I had a blast cycling through Manhattan an Brooklyn.
Sure, it doesn't feel as safe as cycling in The Netherlands, but it is comparable to cycling in The Netherlands forty-odd years ago.
@@qazatqazah I rented a car while I was in Manhattan 😊 but it was to drive out of the city. We visited my friends who live 2 hours away where public transport wasn’t an option. Driving in Manhattan wasn’t as challenging as I expected although my (male) friend didn’t dare to. Getting on the right freeway once we were off the island was more of a hassle.
But you’re right, when you stay in the city there is absolutely no need for a car.
Biking is not stressful at all if you know the rules of the street. From the days of being a toddler you learn the rules from the front seat of your mother's bike. It sort of gets engrained in your mind from a very young age. Then you get traffic lessons in elementary school with a traffic exam in group 5 (I think) when you have to bike a route through the city unsupervised but carefully watched and evaluated. And because we all biked to secondary school daily, you get experience in traffic. How to go with the flow and what to do and what not to do ... And because most car drivers also cycle, they also know how it works. Besides that, under Dutch law, the "stronger" road user is always responsible for the "weaker" road user. That means that if you hit a cycler or a pedestrian in your car, you're in big trouble ...
Makes sense, and I agree.
What made biking stressful in Amsterdam for me was not the proximity of speeding cars, which is something I deal with in the US all the time. Instead, it was the fact that I am very unused to being on bike paths that are so crowded and well used, and where people are trying to get places in a hurry.
The equivalent would be if someone who had only ever driven in a small desert town went to Houston and drove on the freeway.
Also, I think the benefits of many car drivers in the Netherlands also being bike riders can't be overstated. It causes more empathy for sure!
@@andyhorvath6630 Well written!
I spent a month in Utrecht because of NJB, and it truly was amazing. About half of the city's population uses bikes for their daily commutes there. It was so quiet compared to American streets.
The difference in noise level is truly an amazing thing.
They should really hire NJB to the national Dutch tourism board. He's driving a lot of business!
It's hilarious that American urban planners require things like setback limits to reduce density because "density increases noise". Absolute nonsense.
@@Sullyville The tourism board would liquidate Jason on day one, the Netherlands has a problem with overtourism.
You probably didn't get screamed at because you slowed down, but because you slowed down unexpectedly.
Yes, quite likely! So if you want to slow down or stop in the middle of the street, you'll have to stick your hand up and then clench to a fist briefly (like the military sign you want to stop). At least that rule we got taught as kids, not sure how many people still know or still use it that often. Also not so handy when you need both hands to pull the breaks though.😅
Nice video, although this was just Amsterdam! Have you been anywhere outside the Holland or Utrecht provinces as well to really be able to obtain an honest view of the Netherlands? Towards smaller towns in less populated provinces, things can get a bit different. I'm from the eastern side of NL, near the German border. Looking forward to upcoming videos.
@@wilbertjanssen1010I have never seen anyone do that ever in the Netherlands. Nor did I ever hear that before. Where did you hear that?
@@annebokma4637 it is a thing but is mostly just used when teaching biking
Indeed, it's about predictability. Dutch cyclists know what another Dutch cyclist is wanting to do next by what the legs are doing.
At 9:30 you said "these tents looks pretty permanent" but they are not, it's only for one day maybe two. And that was not a delivery truck, it's the truck of one of the standholders.
At 13:23 this is a one way street for cars, but not for bikes, so that guy on the bike was not going the wrong direction.
Sorry to correct you but I know this street. Officially it is not allowed here for cyclist, since this streets has two sections, each one direction. But no one really cares.
@@barryvandertas2234 I don't live in Amsterdam, but most streets are 2 way for bikes, so I assumed that this one was too. And tbh, sometimes I think it is a bad idea when they are 2 ways for bikes.
Dutchie living close to the square mentioned around 9:30. To answer your question: The market always takes place on Mondays, and after that everything is taken away, so you essentially get an open space. The market people usually set up their market in another place the next day. Cars, except for emergency services and the market people's vehicles on Monday, are not allowed here at all. Parking is on the side on two places, and next to the square is also the start of a tram line to the city centre, so it really functions as some sort of gate to the neighbourhood as well.
These kinds of squares are indeed more common. Basicly, the outer neighbourhoods of the city all have their own square, especially in the Western part of the city, which was designed as a garden city, with lots of green space, relatively short after the 2nd World War. Some of the buildings have now been demolished since their building quality wasn't the best. The neighbourhoods are currently densified slowly, which is a good thing in my opinion since it adds to the liveliness of the area. :)
Thanks for answering!
I think each neighborhood having a square is a great way to design places. Like I mentioned, so many American neighborhoods have no natural gathering spaces, leaving residents lonely.
Keep in mind that Dutch drivers are also cyclists which helps in being considerate towards other road users.
I'm sure this goes a very long way toward improving cyclist safety. Unless you know what its like being passed by a car within a few inches while on a bike, its hard to have sympathy for cyclists.
Amsterdam is under 1 million inhabitans... And the centre within the canals is like 17th century, NOT medieval (500-1500). Those market-tents are easily broken-up and moved for this (mostly weeklly) markets. And ofcourse when construct these mobile shopping-things come from cars and trucks.
Amsterdam has only a tiny part of the centre that is late Middle Ages, the canal houses are indeed 'early modern period'. Actually, Amsterdam and the Dutch Republic put the modern into early modern period.
They're talking about the larger metropolitan area, which is about 2.5 million.
Usually a "Market" is held once per week on a certain day. The stalls are metal frames with wooden table-like selling area's and on top a canvas tent like canopy which can be rolled up.
This all can be taken down after the market and brought to another neigborhood and put down early in the morning and the sellers come with their own trucks/vans put their wares on the table and in stacks to the front and sell Vegetables,fruits, clothing,second-hand stuff, fish, etc. and next day the market is in another square/neighborhood.
In Amsterdam Zuidoost there are 4 area's with markets from monday till saturday. People walk to the market and have at least 1 close by and 2/3 within 3 kilometers, ride their bike and have fresh produce several times a week.
11:54 all canal roads in central Amsterdam are one-way streets. One way on one side of the canal, the other way on the other side of the canal.
Soviet microdistrict vs usa suburbia.
The capital of Belarus ( Minsk) has the same population as Houston, Texas.But 1/8 smaller in size
Wow, fun video guys. As someone living in Hilversum, I find biking in Amsterdam quite relaxing, but that is probably due to having cycled in the Netherlands for almost half a century now and when it so engrained in to you as a person there is no hesitation as to how to move around, how to stop and turn, which is the same dance as the others do and then it is like a second nature. But for an outsider, I see what you mean and understand it can give stressful moments, also to the natives. It's like this one guy that skates the other way around on the ice rink.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, cycling culture was a bit of a shock but I'm sure I could get used to it too. Like I said, I'd rather have a busy cycling area than car area, as the latter is far more deadly than the former.
Often understated, but driver licenses in the Netherlands are real tough to get. So drivers in bigger city with all these obstacles are way better fitted to deal with them. Mirror checking, road turning and giving way to plenty of cyclists are direct show stoppers when not done perfect for your exam here.
Howdy there internet people!
I think NJB is actually creating (slow) changes to North American infrastructure. It gives me hope for the future.
Maybe Americans would not be so divided culturally and politically if their communities were walkable. I'ts just a thought.
Hi there internet person!
I agree with you. I may not have gone into planning as a career if it weren't for his (and many other creator's) videos.
Sometimes I think it should be mandatory for Public Works directors and new City Council people to watch at least one of his videos, haha.
@@Sullyville Yeah, or one video of yours. Keep up the good work!
There are other traffic rules that differ from motorized traffic. Kids at Dutch primary schools also have to take a theory and practical bicycle exam.
A rule when you slow down on a bicycle path, stick out your right hand and cycle to the right side of the bicycle path. This is important for the cyclists who cycle behind you.
And besides that, Amsterdam is the most bicycle-unfriendly city in the Netherlands, with the most unfriendly cyclists. In Amsterdam, everyone always seems to be in a hurry.
But Amsterdam is also a challenge to cycle, narrow roads, tram tracks, tourists, etc. The experienced cyclists know exactly how to cycle and what obstacles there are. And if someone suddenly slows down on the road this can be hindrance and even dangerous.
9:20 it looks like a (market) square within a shopping center, these tents are market stalls that are removed by the end of the day. I don't think cars go there ever. But I know they also do these weekly markets in parking lots.
Around 3:14 you say there is a farm across the street, that would be some sportsfields. Farms would be a few kilometers further down the tramline
2:45 I have such mixed feelings about strip-mall renewal because often more niche/independent/community focused/low cost places inhabit them, so when you demolish and rebuild that you’re effectively losing cheaper rental space. Gentrification basically. Definitely have to tread carefully.
You're right. It a nuanced and multi-faceted issue. Because we've essentially made walkable neighborhoods a rare commodity, they've become expensive.
I've seen new mixed-use buildings have empty storefronts for years, likely because the rent is too high.
At the same time, we don't want to leave unwalkable, unpleasant, and dangerous neighborhoods and streets unchanged simply because of possible gentrification. Hopefully, if we built enough of these places, they will no longer be so rare as to be expensive in the first place.
@ True! It’s not just scarcity though, new construction commands a premium, it’s economics. We are very quick to tear down older buildings for renewal instead of restoring and building incrementally on what we have. Strong Towns small bets approach and all that 😅
Not every spot is perfect because most of our cities are hundreds of years old. Every decade or so when they do large maintenence on roads they change them to current standards. It's a process.
1:58 Is looking up facts on Wikipedia so hard? Amsterdam has 1.2 million inhabitants, not 4 million! The metropolitan area has 2.5 million in total.
Amsterdam doesn't have 1,2 million inhabitants. In 2024 the city had 931.298 inhabitants. Corop area Amsterdam does have that amount of inhabitants, but that includes Haarlemmermeer, Ouder Amstel, Amstelveen, Diemen, Aalsmeer, Uithoorn, Oostzaan, Landsmeer, Waterland, Purmerend and Edam-Volendam).
@ That is the number I found as well, but later found the 1.2 million. It does seem your number is the correct one, so thanks for the correction. It actually makes the 4 million remark even worse, except maybe that making an error can happen to everyone.
15:00 You just have to pull up on the sidewalk (on a spot not endagering pedestrians) when you wish to stop, so you're out of the way of the bicycle flow.
What most foreign cycling advocates miss about Dutch cycling infrastructure is that government merely meets demand. If we had waited with cycling for infrastructure like this we wouldn't have gotten it. So improvise, negotiate space and overcoming obstacles was part of the deal and still is.
A lot of it's succes and it''s origin is in the competence of the individual cyclists to deal what is in front of and around them. That is what this contraption allows for, it's much more flexible than a car.
14:21 On contrary, NJB mentioned several times not to use bikes as leisure because of this: bikes are transportation and anyone slow will get toasted.
I definitely got toasted once or twice (:
This applies mainly to Amsterdam, though. Everywhere else I biked in the country was pretty chill. More on that in a future video.
@@Sullyville In summer 2024 I also was in Amsterdam and I was screamed at while riding bike. Even though I'm European who knows how to do it. And currently I live in the US for last 5 years.
6:07 yass, guys if you're into traditional architecture check out Leon Krier and Architecture Uprising
I'm very familiar with their work! Love what they're doing.
My hometown of Santa Barbara has been enforcing a traditional architectural style guideline for almost 100 years now. You can look it up pictures and see,
Amsterdam actually prohibits building higher than 4 stories in the city center, that's why you will see those 10+ story buildings only on the outskirts of the city.
Makes sense that they would want to preserve the historic vibe of the city center.
Many American cities had become quite large and built-up before the invention of the sky-scraper as well, but chose to tear down generations of older buildings. Looking at downtown Philadelphia today, for instance, one might not know that it once had a waterfront that looked a lot like Amsterdam! If you look up pictures its shocking.
You can see one here: whyy.org/articles/philadelphias-historic-north-central-waterfront-market-spring-garden-streets-or-what-hath-i-95-wroug/
Great video! When I have friends over from abroad, I always tell them: "mind the cyclists, the car drivers are seldomly a problem." However, aggressive cyclists are a problem specific to Amsterdam only.
Thanks!
Yes, I visited other parts of the country (video coming out on that soon) and never felt stressed biking.
This is a lovely video offering an interesting view on Dutch city design. I hear you "imagining" and "betting" a lot though. Like with the sidewalks crossing the street and the market on the square. Have you considered asking someone or at least googling it?
@8:10 "I bet's it is in the code somewhere". Yes indeed, there are guidelines. Some if these are written down in documents by some government institute, other guidelines are just the ones that planners learn during their study.
@9:27 - These tents are not permanent. This is a traveling market that moves to different places every day. A lot of those markets are set up as parking lots but some of these markets are set up in a street in the city center. The "monday market" in Nijmegen is put up in a town square and a street. This street is used as a street that is used by delivery companies and public transportation.
And yes: cycling is stressful. As a Dutch guy, cycling through a German town feels a bit stressful to me since drivers (bike and car) behave different than in the Netherlands and also because I do not alway know the exact route I need to take. But even a more crowded city like Amsterdam is not that stressful to me
I've ridden all over the Netherlands - Utrecht and Amsterdam are busier than normal, but still very easy to ride. Car drivers are cool and respectful. The only menace is the polo shirt wearing blokes on Lambretta copies, who can use the cycle lanes and even they are not really that bad.
I was there one time on my umpteenth tour, when my reactive arthritis was at it's worst and I fell off my bike in Scheveningen and everyone imeediately rushed to help me within seconds. A very bossy woman took over and I told her I was absolutely fine and it was just my arthritis (which at the time made my grip very weak) and I fell off because I was trying to turn 180 in a tiny circle on a bike full loaded with luggage. It happens, not so much now, and I am used to it and have learnt to twist to land on the back of my shoulder. She held up her hand and said "It is okay - he has arthiritis" and everyone stood back. I thanked them all and she told me off for not wearing a helmet. I was riding a Kona Unit X, with 2.6" tyres, fully loaded front and back, so you cannot go more than about 14 mph max, and more like 14 kph, and the lugagge makes it hard to fall badly. I have never taken a helmet on any of my Dutch tours. I do use them in the UK, especially if I ride a road bike, but not if I am riding an old three speed.
"Everything is a bit more flexible." We call that *freedom* 😁
The centers of Dutch cities aren't the greatest to get around in in a car, but for anywhere else (including the more urban areas of the cities) I wouldn't say it's inconvenient to drive. Anywhere the trains go the cars can go as well, it's just that many people either don't want to drive or don't even have a car because it's simply not necessary to have one. The Netherlands (including Amsterdam) also regularly makes the top 3 highest-quality roads in the world.
Yes, absolutely. I've also read about it being so well rated for drivers.
It also helps that so many people are cycling or taking transit aka not driving--leaving all that road space less congested for those who actually want to drive.
What I've been telling planners in my area is that its not about subjugating cars in favor of bikes, but about giving all modes equal treatment. The lifestyle you describe of not owning a car because you don't want to would be nearly impossible in a place like Los Angeles. You'd be completely stranded, even though its the nation's 2nd largest city.
@@Sullyville The reason you would be stranded in LA with not owning a car is that there aren't any, or very little viable alternative modes of transportation. Here in The Netherlands there are.
As a Dutch person, this was really enjoyable to watch!
Good. Hoping to represent your country well! Everyone was very friendly on my travels, and the Dutch people commenting on my videos are pretty friendly as well.
Dutchie here - I totally agree. One of the main points in this respect is that a single situation is not important, it’s all about the overall system and the network. That’s was shines through somewhat in this video. One particular useful measure won’t yield much, it’s all about the integration of policies. This is also what NJB highlights time and again. ALL measures are directed toward a certain behaviour, that makes alle the difference. A key element present in The Netherlands but nearly nowhere else is that virtually every car driver is a fietser himself, so he knows the ropes. Literally nobody would consider ‘just’ opening a car door without watching carefully. Chances that a cyclist will run into your door are seizable, so everybody takes heed! So BOTH the physical infrastructure AND the behaviour makes the interaction berween slow and fast traffic superior over here, and therefore safer. However, as this video also correctly shows, it’s not paradise everywhere. We have next level problems, which would be considered luxury anywhere else in the world but are very real in the Netherlands.
@@reneolthof6811 Thanks! Yes, the fact that drivers are aware a cyclist could be right outside there door makes it much safer. Most Americans haven't been on a bike since they were children, or never learned to ride at all.
Fair enough video. Well done. Just the experience of some random guy without biased views. Amsterdam (and most big cities ) can be pretty intense to bike if you'r not used to it. it's obviously no utopia . People do ignore rules like everywhere else. We have a-holes like everywhere else. Drunk & stoned tourists (or inexperienced tourist on bikes ) are a plague added to the mix.. We grow up with it, and every car owner is also a 'biker' and pedestrian.
4 million? Take it a notch down to not even one million in amsterdam
11:39 this whole discussion is actually about a one-way road :p
The markets are weekly/montly markets mostly, where a slow road or parking is closed for this day.
13:55 Cluttering roads actually makes it safer because everyone will pay more attention to situations and will slow down.
Hi gentlemen,
I'm from Amsterdam. I do everything by bike. Love it. Cyclists, especially here in Amsterdam, have an unwritten code while cycling. It is especially true when turning left or right. You can extend your hand, but it is mainly how you position your body on your bike. You immediately see what someone wants to do. I know, it's difficult to explain to someone who doesn't ride a bike often. But we were practically born on a bike.
If there is a collision between a car and a cyclist - the car gets 100% of the fault by law. Even if the traffic rules would say the car was driving correctly and the cyclist was wrong. The idea is that you are the more lethal vehicle, and you have a responsibility to drive slower and be more careful in dangerous situations with vulnerable fellow road users.
Since everybody also cycles, you can read cyclist more easily and anticipate as a driver.
The road design you showed at 12:20 and 13:10 look like 30km/h speed zones, and often include paid parking to discourage drivers from just going there.
These are not roads designed to go from A to B - but for people to get to their houses from the 'main road' leading moving into the neighbourhood.
I liked your video 😊 It's true in larger cities bicycling can be stressful and lanes are too small to handle all the bikes.
Thank you! More videos are on the way.
With all due respect, this is not a review of The Netherlands. At best, it's a review of (parts of) Amsterdam.
I am Dutch and the airport is prounced "Schiphol"not "SchGGGGGGGGiphol" ... In the Northern half of The Netherlands we do have what is known as a gutteral or hard G but we understate it. We pronounce it quick, short and soft. We do not add volume and attention to that letter by basically screaming GGGGGGGG everytime it comes up in a word. Like you did....
Trick for cycling and stopping. Do not stop suddenly with the breaks. Stop peddling before you get where you want to go. This is the signal for the following bikers that you are stopping. Only do this on the right side of the lane or road. The other bikers will then go around you when you slow down. You can then stop at the edge of the sidewalk or ride up the sidewalk and break when both wheels are on the sidewalk. Don’t ride to far on the sidewalk and watch out for the pedestrians. If you hit someone who walks, you are at fault. 😊
Biking is stressful if it’s all new to you. You are not used to it. Of course you can’t do sight seeing on a bicycle lane. Normally there’s no cursing at other cyclists, only when you are endangering traffic 😎. Utrecht has been named best bicycle city in the world, several times. And when you bike in Amsterdam and in Utrecht (you can even bike from one city to the other in just a couple of hours) you notice the difference in infrastructure. In Utrecht it’s even better for bikes compared to Amsterdam. In Utrecht you don’t have to share the street with cars as often as in A’dam …
In the Netherlands: Every car driver is also a bicycle driver.
Let that go through your mind to understand the implications.
Also: if a car and a bicycle crash in the Netherlands. The car driver is legally at fault. Always! No matter if the bicycle driver did not look, was driving wrong way or whatever 😉
I like that rule!
Also, I'm sure the fact that drivers have experienced biking and therefore have empathy for cyclists goes a long way to improving safety.
By Jove.. he's got it. It's the density The cost of sewers and powerlines devided by the people living.
more of these please. There must be more footage you can comment on, it was fun to watch.
Part two is on the way!
12:10 . it is especially inconvenient to drive a car in city centers, and the local authorities are also trying to ban motorized traffic from city centers because it causes a lot of traffic and causes annoying but also unsafe situations, so it is therefore outside the center and also more remote. It is certainly very common to have a car and even necessary because in some places there is only limited public transport, such as 1 or 2 buses per hour or so, such as in a village or in more remote areas such as the coast or in polders or near forests or other places, usually tourists don't really go outside of Amsterdam and if they do, certainly not in remote places because there is simply nothing to do there, there will be a supermarket and a snack bar and maybe a pub and a pharmacy and 1 or 2 schools and that's it, there are plenty of places like this. In general, the traffic outside the city is different and you see many cars on the highways, just drive on the A4 near The Hague during rush hour, it is apparently one of the busiest highways in Europe
I would imagine you got yelled at because you stopped suddenly without signaling which is the Dutch equivalent of slamming the brakes on the freeway without your brake lights turning on. Super dangerous stuff. Always look over your shoulder and announce your intentions if someone is behind you.
Lots of high rise building because the NL is a very small country with a lot of people. Literally no room for one-family homes for everybody.
"Cyclist going the wrong direction!" Probably not, because most streets in my country that are one way streets for cars, are two way for everybody else, like pedestrians and cyclists. This is indicated by a sign at the beginning of the street, telling that it is a one way street, with a wite sign underneath it, showing a bike and the word "uitgezonderd", which means something like excluded.
@1:55 You think there are 4M people in Amsterdam? It's less than a million.
I was thinking of the metropolitan area, but yes even that is just 2.5 million. Thanks for the correction!
@@Sullyville Just depends on the definition of 'Amsterdam', municipality, metropolitan area, economic area, etc. Most of the time the entire cluster called 'Randstad' is considered to be a single city. Metro and tram lines cross into other 'cities' and trains run like NYC metro all over the country.
So urban planning is on a much larger scale than just Amsterdam.
Amsterdam has 0.8 million inhabitants, it's actually just a bit more than a village...
Just a little more than that, at about 932,000 according to the website of the municipality of Amsterdam. Which is a good sized city, even by international standards.
For comparison, it's a little larger than (for example) Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Marseille (France's second largest city), Krakow, and Liverpool, if we're sticking with European cities. It's also a bit larger than San Fransico, and Seattle, and substantially larger than Washington DC and Boston, to add some US cities to the mix.
Yes, there are a few hundred cities with populations in the millions, and even several with populations in the tens of millions. But on the total number of places designated as cities in the world (conservative estimate: 10,000+) they are very much so the exception to the rule. Any city with a population of almost a million people, is absolutely a good sized city.
This is actually really insightful for a podcast style video. Maybe you should make a podcast!
I don't know...do you think there are too many podcasts out there?
But I was featured on the Strong Towns Podcast recently: www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/12/10/sully-israel-bottom-up-shorts
@ there definitely are too many podcasts but this video of you guys talking was actually pretty interesting. Maybe just more videos in this format if they perform well on yourube
Coming from the beautiful province of Fryslân (in the
North) I to would get stressed when i had to bike in Amsterdam 😂. Where i live you can bike really relaxed to work or school. My daughters bike to school every day (about 10 miles one way, so 20 Miles a day). They can bike on bikelanes all the way so it is save❤
Sounds awesome. Yes, in part 2 I'll discuss other parts of the Netherlands I visited (though not up north in your area) where biking was far less stressful.
In my Houten video I talk about this too.
10 miles is far! Do they ever complain about it in the winter?
@@Sullyville it is indeed quite far. Cold isn't a problem but if it is really windy or a rainy/snowy day, they go by bus
@@Sullyville Where can I find this Houten video ?
@@mac5er On my channel. Here is a link: ruclips.net/video/UYz5iFVtDY0/видео.html
I love cycling in Amsterdam but not because it's particularly relaxed. It's busy and the trams add another layer of complication, also by having to cross the tracks at a right angle not to get stuck in them.
To add on your comment of preferring buildings in olden style there is a new town build in the Netherlands with old style buildings.
ruclips.net/video/DsFEhxuqoC8/видео.html
Furthermore it is difficult to talk about The Netherlands but mostly showing Amsterdam. I get why you do it, and you have probably alot of comments about this already, but good infrastructure is found more often outside of Amsterdam than in Amsterdam.
from 8 min .10 min is a market place you are not allowed to come there by car only the market traders are allowed to come there with their cars to unload .12.48 min on the canals there is 1 way traffic. on the Manixstraat 5 cars and 20 cyclists Put on a helmet then all of Amsterdam knows watch out there goes another tourist :) 😇
Mvg
Frits from Amsterdam
I do think it's hard to implement what we got here in the US. Because it's a mindset and I don't think the US is ready for that. I know it's a touchy subject but it's the same with your gun laws. Instead of changing them they'd rather have armed guards and metal detectors at schools. I think it's the same with cars.
A HOY , The tents are one maybe two times a week purepose setting ! MARKET PLACE . Rest of time town square or parking lot !
Monster in The Netherlands is the best!
The ugly buildings you talk about around 7:30 are old buildings. It probably was pretty modern at the time they were build. New apartment buildings look much better nowadays
Amsterdam is anything but Dutch. The ground is so expensive that a normal family house would cost around 800.000 euro.
Get rid of those weird zoning laws. I used to think the US was the land of the free… And don’t get me started about those HOA-rules. Thank God we don’t have them here.
Humans are not animals of prey.
Edit: in fact we are the apex predators on this planet.
Imagine people having eyes on the side of their head! 🤣✌🏼
09:00 Than to imagine that this is an low income immigrant neighbourhood by outsiders considerd as a ghetto, Amsterdam West 😮
Sociale huurwoningen toch?
Amsterdam isn’t my town anymore…all the things that happen now…and it is strange they put so many people in a mega building…and claiming that those communities, having a better social living place…is wrong. I know somebody how are living in such a building, and he doesn’t know any other persons how are living in that building, he even doesn’t have contact with his neighbors, they even greets or talks to others they just step into the lift and some saying only goodbye…the phone is more important these days…the only person he have contact is the concierge….poor world…and that park front his building, well it is just, well you can call it that nature take over, it is just only weeds what is growing……and front his building, well bikes did take over de space…
He can’t find the exit on the airport and thinks that Amsterdam has 4 million citizens….🤔
asking for help is stupid...I heard enough. Groetjes.
Most Amsterdam streets are actually one way.
The signs at Schiphol are in English... mate hahaha
Offcourse we have single houses, what are you thinking?
And visiting only Amsterdam, then thinking that you know how an entire country is... you dont even know how many people live in Amsterdam.
Disappointing...
Americans who have visited Europe often complain about how small the European refrigerators are.
That is not true. We also have large refrigerators. In fact, they are even larger than the ones sold in the US. But we do not keep them in our houses. We keep them in a special buiding on the corner of our street or a 10 min bike-ride away on our way home from work. What's more, we have not even paid for the fridge not for any of the produce in it which is ALWAYS fresh.
If you can´t ride a bike, don't ride one in Amsterdam. Thanks.
Amsterdam is actually teally bad for biking....
13:43 but it is not paradise! Obviously it is not, Amsterdam is actually not the best cycling city in the Netherlands. But saying this while showing a video taken in the Jordaan (I think) while following a car weave through the streets shows your ignorance.
You don’t need to separate all types of traffic everywhere, if the area has a very low default speed limit. In Amsterdam the speed limit overall is 30 km/h. And in areas like this 15 km/h is usually the norm.
Here's another honest review :> The number of wrong statements in this video are staggering lol. To mention some:
- Amsterdam is not a city with 4 million citizens. Not even the metropolitan area of Amsterdam has that much citizens.
- There's very little left of medieval Amsterdam. With the natural (and manmade) disasters, 'golden eras' and reconstruction, only those monuments on your tourist-guide-map are that old.
- Houten is not a bedroom community. In fact, Houten has an (slightly) above average amount of jobs compared to the rest of the Netherlands
- Amsterdam is not the utopian city with the most pedestrian/biker-friendly urban and infrastructural (re)design
- Amsterdam is NOT representative for the Netherlands. There is a a reason their city logo comprises 3 X's, cuz it suXXX.
Not a massive fan of 020 either, but please don't spread the word that there's a Netherlands beyond the A'dam canal ring.
Yeah a lot of wrong statements. But it's the American way. 0 research.
- There's NOT a farm on the other side of the street at the Zuidas they showed. The nearest farm is >2km away.
Why would they need to be 100% accurate on everything though? They are just showing their perspective, they're not claiming to know everything.
3:41 wow! Was making an uniformed video your aim? We have suburbs with single family homes, it actually is the standard! You should have visited Amstelveen, Haarlem, Hoofddorp, Zaanstad, Purmerend, Weesp, Diemen and especially Almere! Which are part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam.
They almost exclusively exist of single family houses! With a small front and a bit bigger backyard!
Seems you have a double in Belgium... ruclips.net/video/JllZzGAxQCA/видео.html
1:27 I didn’t want to ask, because that would be stupid? While in a country with the highest English proficiency of any non English native speakers! Walking aimlessly for 20 minutes because you are afraid to ask is STUPID!
Just ask! We are all willing to help, as I do on a daily basis. You are in a foreign country, with a different language, also in terms of design. No shame in feeling lost.
4:05 you show the Zuid As here, which is the financial district in Amsterdam with indeed more high rise. But that is the exception not the rule. I have given this video a thumbs down just for the horrible errors in the first few minutes.
It is like visiting La Defence in Paris and thinking this how the entire city looks like!
relax bro. Actually, highrises are being built in many areas in Amsterdam, not just in Zuidas. Also in Amstelkwartier, Bajeskwartier, Sloterdijk, NDSM, Sluisbuurt, Amstel III to name a few areas.
You only talking bullshit.
I have visited NYC, Toronto, Chicago, Ottawa and many true American suburbs and towns like Grand Rapids. If I were to only have visited Manhattan and would have concluded the USA only build super tall high rise buildings, how would you feel about that?
Because that is what it feels like with this video. You took a bus from Schiphol that rode along the Zuid As with tall buildings and seemed to have stayed in Diemen or Zuidoost. While these areas are not represented of how most Dutch people live. And the Zuid As is the exception to the rule. High rise is rare, and only build more these days in Amsterdam Noord and in Zuid Oost.
Again it feels like someone who was dropped in Manhattan and make conclusions about the rest of the USA.
7:56 you are a planner? I don’t want to keep giving criticism, but your planning of this trip was HORRIBLE!
As biking goes Amsterdam is probably the worst city in the Netherlands. You reviewed Amsterdam , NOT the Netherlands ! I mean I visited NYC , would you say that my experience there is the same for the rest of the US ? So I can now do an honest review of the US ?
We all helped Mexico to pay for the wall, stay on your side. We can send you books and videos on how to do city planning.
For an honest review about the Netherlands you spend a lot of time talking about American infrastructure, only to suddenly cut the video off halfway.
Don't get me wrong: I get that you can't talk about one thing without comparing it to another, but the combination of what you did here just makes the video title feel like clickbait.
The Province of north Holland, idos not represent the Netherlands, the Netherlands dos not represent the totale of theBenelux, and these tents are just the weekly market.
Change the title from honest review to misinformed review!
Amsterdam does not have a population of 2 but less than 1 million.
Stop looking for excuses
Wth is a bedroom community. You cant just use American words for life in the Netherlands
Also you can't just use "sub-urb, outer sub-urb" etc. Because the country is not the same as usa. You can't compare.
Relax bro, we have the same word in Dutch. "slaapstad".
When you see the words "HONEST", you know that you are going to get a big bag of *dishonest, lying* BS. For instance: In the first minute you start complaining about Schiphol. Simple *fact* however: Schiphol is model for the rest of the World because of its GREAT signage and GREAT way the airport has been designed. So the only problem is your own inability to navigate in a busy urban space. But the *dishonesty* is already visible in your get up in your presentation. I am not even going to spend more time on this BS. Thumbs down!👎🤡🤡
relax bro
I liked your video 😊 It's true in larger cities bicycling can be stressful and lanes are too small to handle all the bikes.
Thank you! There's more videos on the way!