Copenhagenize, a multinational urban design consultancy, has released the 2015 edition of the , which ranks the world鈥檚 best cities for cyclists. This year, 122 cities around the globe were ranked according to 13 parameters, including safety, infrastructure, social acceptance, and 鈥渕odal share,鈥 which describes the percentage of the city鈥檚 travelers and commuters who get around by bike. Copenhagen, which finished second in the last two Copenhagenize rankings, took first place on the 2015 list.
鈥淭he Danish capital remains impressively consistent in its investment in cycling as transport and in making efforts to push it to the next level,鈥 the report鈥檚 authors . 鈥淲ith regards to a uniform network of urban design for bicycles, Copenhagen is unrivaled in the world.鈥
The only U.S. city in this year鈥檚 top 20鈥攁nd the first U.S. city to appear since 2013鈥攊s Minneapolis. Copenhagenize鈥檚 analysts noted the city鈥檚 popular bike share system, 117 miles of bike lanes, and 鈥渁n impressive鈥攆or America鈥攎odal share.鈥 The difficulties of winter travel in Minneapolis by bicycle (or, indeed, any mode of transport) were not lost on the report鈥檚 authors, who suggested improving bike path clearance during months when the city鈥檚 streets are covered in snow.
鈥淣ew cities storm into the top 20 at the expense of others,鈥 Copenhagenize CEO Mikael Colville-Andersen 聽announcing the release of the 2015 list. While Dublin has gone from 11th to 15th place, Montreal has dropped from 14th to 20th.聽Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Nagoya, Japan, fell out of the top 20 entirely. The U.S. cities of Portland, San Francisco, and New York City, all of which have appeared in the top 20 in the past, also failed to make this year鈥檚 list.