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University of Amsterdam

Being Smart about Cycling Futures

Marco te Brömmelstroet
George Liu
Anna Nikolaeva

Instructors: Marco te Brömmelstroet

1,567 already enrolled

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(10 reviews)

Intermediate level
Some related experience required
23 hours to complete
3 weeks at 7 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(10 reviews)

Intermediate level
Some related experience required
23 hours to complete
3 weeks at 7 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Critically consider multiple perspectives on the future of cycling

  • Develop a deeper understanding of cycling practice's relation to infrastructure, its diverse users, and the wider mobility system

  • Situate cycling (innovations) in the context of inequalities and across different countries

  • Explore the limits of our society's collective mobility imagination and how to overcome them

Details to know

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Assessments

15 assignments

Taught in English

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This course is part of the Human Mobility in Future Cities Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 6 modules in this course

What will the future of cycling be like? This module introduces you to one of the main ideas of the course: that cycling futures are multiple and contested. You will be introduced to velotopias- visions of urban future in which cycling is the key mode of transportation- and to cycling innovations. You'll learn about the Smart Cycling Futures research project and the paradoxes encountered in researching innovations. You will notice that scholars and innovators have different ideas on how cycling should become a more important part of our lives. The different futures that we envision prioritize different values and different ideas about cities, mobility and human interaction.

What's included

6 videos10 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt

In this module you will learn about how cycling and cycling innovations are part of a larger mobility system. First, should the goal of innovations always be to get people to shift to cycling from other modes? And, do innovations forget about the people who are already cycling? How does the practice of cycling fit with other modes? This module will also introduce you to the bike-train system, which has become highly developed in the Netherlands.

What's included

4 videos4 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt1 plugin

How do innovations change the experience of cycling, its meaning, and how it is governed? This week will introduce you to new technologies and smart innovations, including both bicycles themselves and also bike infrastructure, accessories, and mobile applications. You will learn to recognize how innovations are shaped by the context in which they are developed. You'll understand how innovations can shape futures of cycling, and recognize moments where we may be choosing one future over another. We will also zoom into specifically to the subject of e-bikes, through an academic paper and a conversation with bike component manufacturer enviolo.

What's included

3 videos4 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt

This module will look at cycling infrastructure, or: how are we reinventing the spaces where cycling occurs in our cities? You will reflect on what "ideal" cycling infrastructure is and recognize that different types of users, with different needs, share our cycle paths and streets. We will zoom in to the concept of cycling highways - a contested phenomenon- from the perspective of practitioners. We will hear about how smart innovations may influence how different kinds of future cycling spaces function from infrastructure company BAM. Finally, we will focus on how cycling practitioners work, exploring an agile way of working in the context of Amsterdam.

What's included

5 videos5 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt

This module is about the social context of cycling. Who cycles now, and who will in the future? Is cycling less accessible for some than for others? We will hit the tip of the iceberg on what can be done to make cycling more accessible for all. You will see how certain social groups can be excluded or negatively impacted by cycling policies or infrastructure projects, and you will see how this issue is often context dependent. We also ask you to bring your own perspective on this complex issue, and learn from your peers.

What's included

3 videos3 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt1 plugin

In this final module, you will go through an exercise in which you imagine diverging cycling futures yourself. You will then read about the positive imagined utopian futures of your peers. To wrap up the course, you will write an essay that reflects on the limits of our society's collective mobility imagination and how to overcome them.

What's included

1 reading1 peer review1 discussion prompt

Instructors

Instructor ratings
4.5 (6 ratings)
Marco te Brömmelstroet
University of Amsterdam
4 Courses24,816 learners
George Liu
University of Amsterdam
4 Courses24,816 learners
Anna Nikolaeva
University of Amsterdam
3 Courses14,666 learners

Offered by

Enviolo

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Learner reviews

4.8

10 reviews

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5

Reviewed on Jun 19, 2022

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4

Reviewed on Jul 26, 2022

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