Unraveling the Cycling City (Coursera)

At the same time, there are large differences in developments across time and space, that allows for a better understanding of potential causal relations. This is also increasingly recognized by (inter)national top tier researchers from many different academic fields. They are uncovering reciprocal relations of cycling with spatial, ecological, historical, social, cultural, economic, biological and political structures. Unraveling the Cycling City bundles the state-of-the-art knowledge that emerges from research and practice on the Dutch cycling system. As such, it provides an easily accessible platform to learn about important causes and effects, to open minds for the complexity of the entire system and to support group deliberations around the world.

What You Will Learn

- Re-imagine the street as a space for negotiation and social interaction

- Compare and contrast the experience of cycling to the experience of driving and walking

- Explore the historical development of Dutch cycling

- Examine the reciprocal interactions between land use and transport and identify how cycling fits into these systems

Syllabus

Week 1

A Historical Perspective

Obscured by its apparent simplicity, cycling is a complex phenomenon. Being an almost perfect human-machine hybrid, cycling is deeply rooted in a plethora of socio-technological systems. Around the world cycling is embraced as an important ingredient to tackle a wide variety of individual and societal challenges. The Netherlands is often seen as an ideal living lab, because cycling has retained its significant share of mobility throughout the country. At the same time, there are large differences in developments across time and space, that allows for a better understanding of potential causal relations. This is also increasingly recognized by (inter)national top tier researchers from many different academic fields. They are uncovering reciprocal relations of cycling with spatial, ecological, historical, social, cultural, economic, biological and political structures. Unraveling the Cycling City bundles the state-of-the-art knowledge that emerges from research and practice on the Dutch cycling system. As such, it provides an easily accessible platform to learn about important causes and effects, to open minds for the complexity of the entire system and to support group deliberations around the world.

Week 2

The urban environment

A four-part module alternating between academic articles and popular content examining the relationship between cycling and the environment on a macro scale.

Week 3

The street within a network

A four-part module alternating between academic articles and popular content examining the relationship between cycling and the environment on a meso scale.

Week 4

The co-evolution of design and behavior

A four-part module alternating between academic articles and popular content examining the relationship between cycling and the environment on a micro scale.

Week 5

Final assignment