The Copenhagenize Index 2025: A Deep Dive with CEO Clotilde Imbert
Interview | Does your city feature in the ranking of the world’s most bicycle-friendly cities?
The highly anticipated Copenhagenize Index 2025, released last month, is already sparking conversations across the globe. This biennial ranking of the world’s most bicycle-friendly cities is a touchstone for urban planners, advocates, and anyone interested in the future of sustainable mobility. We sat down with Clotilde Imbert, CEO of Copenhagenize Design Company, to discuss the new index, its methodology and findings, as well as some critical questions.
Q: Clotilde, congratulations on the release of the Copenhagenize Index 2025! For those unfamiliar, could you give us a quick overview of what the Index is and its purpose?
Thank you! Started in 2011, the Copenhagenize Index is an evidence-based benchmark tracking the extent to which the world’s cities have progressed in making cycling safe, convenient, and mainstream. Its purpose is threefold: to recognize leadership, support learning, and provide a transparent framework for planners, advocates, and decision-makers so they might gauge their own progress.
The Index exists because cycling is more than a means of transportation; it is a lens through which we can grasp how cities work. Evaluating cycling performance ultimately will reveal how cities manage space, prioritize people, and balance mobility with livability.
Cycling captures a microcosm of urban planning in full action: cities that enable safe and effortless travel by bicycle are usually those that function better for everyone, regardless of how they choose to move about.
Now in its 6th edition, the Index is not a public policy evaluation tool in the traditional sense, as it does not endeavor to audit or validate city strategies or mark off items on policy checklists. Instead, it essentially assesses the cyclability of the city itself. In analyzing factors beyond the existence of a formal bicycle plan, the Copenhagenize Index seeks to seize the real-world conditions that are currently shaping the cyclist’s experience.
Q: Could you shed some light on the key criteria the Index uses to evaluate cycling?
Absolutely. The Copenhagenize Index framework was built on a robust, evidence-based methodology organized around 13 indicators grouped into three analytical pillars that bring together the multiple dimensions of a cycling city: Safe & Connected Infrastructure, Usage & Reach, and Policy & Support.
Together, these pillars create a systems-based reading of cycling policy, recognizing that successful cities can balance physical delivery, behavioral outcomes, and institutional capacity. The Index thus moves beyond a simple ranking to become a diagnostic tool, helping cities identify which levers drive success and which require reinforcement to accelerate their cycling transition.
Q: One of the consistent observations, and a point of discussion, is the strong presence of European cities at the top of the Index. Why do you think this continues to be the case?
It’s true, European cities remain the most well-rounded when it comes to bicycle policy. Their extensive, safe, and connected cycling networks translate directly into high levels of use. This is complemented by top-quality services such as secure parking and well-managed bike-share systems that are increasingly integrated with public transport, particularly train networks, allowing seamless intermodal journeys.
These cities also benefit from their medieval heritage, with compact urban forms and dense, permeable street grids that naturally encourage short-distance trips by bicycle or on foot.
Finally, what truly distinguishes European cities is their emphasis on evidence-based policymaking: systematic data collection and continuous policy updates driven by user feedback loops ensure that progress is both measurable and adaptive
Q. How can this index inform other cities to be more bike-friendly moving forward?
Ultimately, the Copenhagenize Index is not an endpoint but a reflection, support, and diagnostic tool for decision makers. To learn from it, cities around the world should not only look at the feats of top players, but also consider how mid-ranking cycling cities are developing themselves. The Index does not suggest a single ideal model; it surfaces patterns of success that others can adapt to their own context. As proven by the variety of successes and weaknesses, it is imperative that cities take actions that are adapted to their residents.
Data, the foundational fabric of this very Index, sits at the core of all bicycle-friendly masterplans and innovations, and proves that rather than answering what the city should look like, leaders should ask themselves who cities are serving.
Q: Let’s talk about a critical question that often arises: representation from the Global South. How do you address this imbalance?
That’s a very important and valid question, and it’s one we grapple with constantly. The primary challenge currently lies in data collection and the availability of reliable, comparable information from many cities in the Global South. Our methodology relies on specific data points that aren’t always systematically collected or publicly available in these regions. However, I want to emphasise that we recognise that many cities in the Global South have vibrant, informal cycling cultures and immense potential for sustainable mobility. The challenges they face are often different - rapid urbanisation, existing infrastructure deficits, and unique socio-economic contexts - but the need for bicycle-friendly streets is just as, if not more, pressing
Q: The Index often highlights cities that have invested heavily in cycling infrastructure. But beyond the physical bike lanes, what role do you see institutions and policy playing in truly transforming a cycling city?
Institutions and policy are absolutely fundamental, and arguably even more important than just the physical infrastructure. Without strong political will and supportive policy, even the best infrastructure can falter.
We look for cities where cycling is integrated into urban planning at every level - from zoning laws that encourage mixed-use development, to traffic calming measures, to robust public transport networks that integrate cycling.
Funding is another huge aspect. Institutions need to dedicate sufficient budget for maintenance, expansion, and promotional campaigns. Education is also key. Ultimately, it’s about creating a holistic ecosystem where cycling is the easy, obvious, and preferred choice, and that requires sustained commitment from all levels of governance.
Q: Finally, Clotilde, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to a city councilor or urban planner, or concerned citizen who wants their city to climb the Copenhagenize Index in the next edition?
My strongest advice would be this: Think holistically and act boldly. Don’t just build a few bike lanes in isolation. Look at your city as an interconnected system. How does cycling connect with public transport? How does it influence economic development? What are the perceived barriers for your citizens, and how can you systematically remove them?
Engage with your community, listen to cyclists and non-cyclists alike, and then be brave enough to implement significant changes. It won’t happen overnight, but consistent political will, clever planning, and a commitment to people-centred urban design will undoubtedly put your city on the path to becoming truly bicycle-friendly!
The Index was developed by a team of experts from the consulting firm Copenhagenize, each with a long-standing commitment to advancing bikeability worldwide. The 2025 edition is supported by EIT Urban Mobility, a collaboration born out of a shared commitment to making active mobility a cornerstone of sustainable urban life.
For cities with little to no bicycle infrastructure, we encourage them to download the full report on the website, as you may be surprised to find your neighbors or peers ranked.
By Clotilde Imbert
Clotilde is the CEO of Copenhagenize, managing a broad range of projects that make cities around the world more bike-friendly. As an urban planner specialized in sustainable urban development, she has intricate knowledge of bicycle infrastructure and communications strategies. She manages a team of talented designers, architects, and planners producing world-class projects from the Paris office.
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Perhaps people at UCI could get Clothilde lmbert’s attention to the simple question as to why they indexed certain Canadian cities, and not others?
Nov 18, 2025:
Dear Copenhagenizer team,
We are reading and sharing the Copenhagenize Index (2025) with excitement. However, we are very disappointed not to see Edmonton (and Toronto) included in the index. It would seem that Edmonton fits your key selection criteria: dramatic mode share increase since 2019, with the added icing of a very strong bike culture, high quality open data from the city, and successive elections giving political mandate and will to expand the cycling infrastructure. The city's goal is to get to 50% of trips by non-automobile mode share by 2040. Since you only included three cities from Canada, you could have included Edmonton and even Toronto and remained in the five-or-under per country limit. Including Montreal makes sense, as does Vancouver, but selecting Quebec City over Edmonton or Toronto does not.
One of our organization's advocacy goals is to have Edmonton score similarly to Helsinki on the Copenhagenizer Index. It's difficult to promote this with local politicians and city administration, if the city is not ranked. Was there perhaps a problem with accessing data from the City of Edmonton? If so, we would like to know, so as to lobby for improvements.
Sincerely,
Heather Young-Leslie, PhD
President, Bikeology Guild of Canada
www.bikeology.ca
I'm so interested in the index and it's indicators. As president of the Bikeology Guild of Canada, I wrote to Copenhagenizer to ask why Edmonton was not one of the cities featured in their Canada section. It seems to me that relative to Quebec City, which is featured, Edmonton is a standout example. Copenhagenizer never responded to my email 🤷🏽♀️. Nevertheless I have recommended to our city administrators that this might be a useful tool as we continue to expand our Active Transportation and walkability infrastructure and try to get our Vision Zero goals back on track.