A woman cycling during Copenhagen Fashion Week

Strategic design project · Berlin × Copenhagen

Berlin Cycling Experience Standard.

Why Berlin's cycling experience falls short — and how a Copenhagen-inspired, citywide experience standard could close the gap.

Begin with the challenge →What is the BCES?

Photo: N. Quenum / Vogue (2015), figure 1 in the paper

The premise

Berlin has plenty of cycle lanes. What is missing is a coherent ride, one that feels equally safe, smooth and welcoming from start to finish.

The Berlin Cycling Experience Standard (BCES), proposed by Paula Klinnert and Malin Zeitter, connects infrastructure, services and the cycling experience instead of prescribing a uniform physical design. It defines what every cyclist should be able to expect, organised around three principles, and connects them to value for users, organisations, the mobility ecosystem and society.

The authors draw on first-hand experience of living in Berlin and Copenhagen. Their paper states that generative AI was used solely for language support; its ideas, case selection, reference research and analysis are their own.

Content labels:Existing exampleStudent observationTheoretical interpretationProposed redesign

01The ChallengeWhy Berlin's cycling experience falls short→02The BCESA citywide experience standard→03Protect the RoutePrinciple 1 · safety and continuity→04Remove FrictionPrinciple 2 · comfort and convenience→05Everyday CyclingPrinciple 3 · cycling as social life→06Value CreationFour levels of value→07ImplementationPilot, evaluate, scale→