The children strike of 1972

How the children of Amsterdam forced the city officials to change the traffic policies and helped building a bike-friendly city. 

Chaotic traffic in Amsterdam during the 60's.

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Amsterdam is known for its bikes, but this wasn't always the case. In fact, during the post-WWII decades, the city was completely taken over by cars, making it extremely dangerous to bike.

​The immediate victims of this situation (which happened throughout all major Dutch cities) were children and bikers, confined to narrow, dangerous streets, full of traffic. The consequences were brutal:
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"The number of traffic casualties rose to a peak of 3,300 deaths in 1971. More than 400 children were killed in traffic accidents that year", reads this Guardian article.
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The decrease of bike usage in the Netherlands is clear in the next graphic:

The share of trips made by bicycle in Amsterdam plunged from 80% to 20% between the 1950s and 70s. Source: Bruheze and Veraart, quoted by The Guardian

In the early 70's the population started to manifest itself, creating the "Stop the Children Killing" movement (Stop de kindermoord, in Dutch).

One of the most successful and earliest initiatives demanding safer streets took place in Amsterdam, in DePijp in 1972. This over-populated working-class district was known for the cluttered multi-children families confined to small houses - the streets were the natural playground. 

The children invaded the streets and blocked all traffic, holding posters and banners. Cars were painted in graffiti with the words "Car Free" and violence escalated. City officials were forced to meet the children and hear their claims, in an extraordinary episode, summarized in the following video:

Today Amsterdam is the world's second most bike-friendly city - also thanks to this extraordinary episode (fuelled by the oil crisis of 1973...). ;)

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Don't miss out additional information here and here. ​
Sources by order: Photos:
https://www.pinterest.pt/abelvlieger/amsterdam/?lp=true
https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/525654587733822182/?lp=true
https://www.pinterest.pt/gokzuhal/frits-lemaire-fotograaf-tussen-1950-2000/?lp=true

Graphic
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord