Genre de Vie is about the senses, urban experiences and transit. It documents how urban life is enhanced and empowered by the bicycle — a simple interface to experiencing and accessing the city. Bicycling becomes attractive when it is safe and the fastest way to access the city. These two requirements involve providing separate infrastructure for bicycles: physically separated lanes, convenient bike rental/sharing and integrated networks of bicycle routes throughout the city. By bicycle, I can get across Paris in under 40 minutes, impossible by almost any other mode of transport.
Genre de Vie, filmed in Copenhagen and New York by Jorri Spoelstra and Sven Prince of Photobooth Works and Faithful to the Subject, offers insights on how we can make our own cities immediately more livable and enjoyable for ourselves.
-Rob Shields (University of Alberta)