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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Unraveling the Cycling City by University of Amsterdam

4.9
stars
240 ratings

About the Course

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....

Top reviews

C

Mar 20, 2022

The course has selected really interesting articles and videos. The course gave me a much more open view, it taught me to see opportunities instead of seeing only problems with cycling and cities.

AC

May 12, 2020

I have to say all the hours of this course are worth it and it was not a waste of time. This is what you want to know when you are surfing on reviews, right fellow student? I hope you enjoy it!

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26 - 50 of 106 Reviews for Unraveling the Cycling City

By Clifford M

Apr 27, 2020

This class was amazing. However! I feel that the volume of reading is too high for the basic achievement of a Certificate. None of the summaries to the articles worked so I needed to read all of the formal papers which were 30 odd pages long each. Why is this important to adjust? I feel that cycling and the content of this certificate is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT for everyone to understand and get behind so that we can change as a planet away from this CAR CENTRIC urban design. but if you are making this certificate so time consuming, everyone or most will quit.

By Mathias K

Aug 11, 2020

Excelente curso, con buenos videos, lectura de papers y links asociadas a la hermosa cultura ciclo-inclusiva que lleva incorporando Holanda desde los años 70´. El formato online es muy cómodo y la plataforma es fácil de utilizar. Recomendable para romper algunos paradigmas.

Excellent course, with good videos, papers and links, associated with the beautiful cycling culture that Holland has been promoting and developed since the 70's. The online format is comfortable and its platform very easy to use. I recommended to break some paradigms.

By Tom S

May 14, 2020

A really interesting course, thank you! Lots of varied topics for advocates and professionals to explore. The course allows people of a range of backgrounds and with a range of interests to delve further into the topics that they are most interested in. In order to improve the course they could encourage more dialogue between individual participants by allowing a 'message' function and by stating the participants city and country next to their name on discussion boards.

By Lorenz B

Aug 6, 2020

Very good introduction into how to plan cycling in a smart and sustainable way, based on best-practices. A nice variety of methods and different media are used. I particularily liked that they not solely rely on dry academic articles but also include popular reads, videos and blogposts. Very likeable team. For me personally I would have wished for more depth.

By Daniel W

May 11, 2020

I would really like to see this course as the intro to a larger specialization. It touched every so briefly on many things and it would have been great to have each expanded.

By Miguel S

Dec 15, 2022

Links to crucial reading material are not working since 2 months (15.12.2022). The issue starts from Week 2 onwards.

By Ángel A L R

Sep 12, 2023

Very interesting and enriching, which offers a broad and deep vision of the phenomenon of urban cycling and its implications for the planning and design of cities. The course addresses topics such as history, culture, health, creativity, interaction and social justice related to urban cycling, and presents case studies and good practices from different cities around the world. The course also invites participants to reflect on their own experience and perspective as urban cyclists, and to share their ideas and opinions with other students and teachers. The course is well structured, with videos, readings, quizzes and practical activities that facilitate learning and participation. The course is taught by experts on the subject, who transmit their knowledge and passion for urban cycling in a clear and enjoyable way. The course is free and available in English with Spanish subtitles.

By Russell R

Jan 8, 2021

Excellent course for those interested in cycling, sustainable travel and urban planning and with an interest in how best to improve these elements utilising the Dutch model and how this could be applied elsewhere and the constraints that might exist.

Course provides a foundation for further study and investigation.

Thanks to the University of Amsterdam and the lecturers for presenting such an information course so that others might benefit from approaches taken and in considering how best to apply.

By Vijay M

Apr 20, 2020

Unraveling the Cycling City is a well designed course with comprehensive research material, scholarly articles, educational videos and flexible schedule. Five weeks into this course and I have a renewed approach towards bicycle design, urban planning and better equipped to promote cycling in my city. This course is recommended for transport and city planners, policy makers, cycling advocates and people in the function of mobility and sustainability. Thank You Urban Cycling Institute and Coursera.

By Vejuna Z

Oct 11, 2020

This course is very cleverly designed, very interactive, uses a lot of different methods to enagage you and make it very interesting. The content was challenging enough, thought provoking, had a good selection of reading of academic articles, the course leaders give you guidance on the way and provide helpful video discussions of the key literature. It was very intelectually stimulating and very profesionally done to high quality standards. Thank you so much George and Marco!

By Karen S L

Feb 4, 2020

Very informative. The course really expanded my knowledge. I would ask you to please check the transcripts of your video presentations. The spoken word "spatial" was transcribed as "special", for example. I noticed several such transcriptions. It makes the course more difficult for learners whose first language is not English. I will certainly sign up for any further courses of this type from the Urban Cycling Institute.

By Ján R

Feb 17, 2020

Very useful course focused on non-technical aspect of cycle transprtation development - socio-economical aspects, historical sapects, urbanism and planning, connection to public transport, even some psychology and many more. Except two or three lessons (too theoretical to me, thus a little bit boring) the content was really interesting and I am sure I will use it a lot in my cycling decelopment work.

By Matthew B

Aug 30, 2020

I loved this course and got a great deal out of it. To those of us who live outside, Amsterdam has always been the byword for excellence in cycling infrastructure so to study it in greater detail was fascinating. I always believed that the infra that's existed in Amsterdam for years was brilliant but to see how it's developing to create even better cycle journeys was eye-opening.

By Guilherme C

Oct 9, 2020

The course enabled me to deepen my understanding of the cycling practice in a lot of different aspects, from the very street design to policies and regulations. It also provides an overview of how the bicycle developed to be a central element of Dutch culture, enabling us to reflect on what could be applicable in different contexts. Highly recommend it!

By Stephen H

May 9, 2020

I thought it was an excellent insight into the historical context and contemporary practices and gaps even within a highly developed cycling culture. If you have any interest in promoting cycling, or background in transportation, city planning and urban design, this may broaden your awareness of various topics and how they interconnect.

By Norbert P

Aug 7, 2020

Very good and interesting course.

I learned a lot about the social aspect, the organization, and the development of the cycling culture.

Why we cycle – or why we don’t:

I had a question in my mind when I learned the course:

If they already solved their mobility problems, why other cities/country doesn’t apply the same solution?

By Jessica A

May 14, 2020

This layout of this course was completely unique and extremely engaging. It really stimulates critical thinking about the interplay of various factors and how they can shape a cycling city. I personally really enjoyed this course and it inspired me to hopefully continue researching and learning about this.

By Deleted A

May 5, 2020

Cours très riche, très intéressant avec de bonnes surprises. Il m'a permis de renforcer ma culture vélo et de l'ouvrir vers de nouvelles perspectives. Il m'a donné envie de retourner faire du vélo aux Pays-Bas pour observer les flux de cyclistes, pour expérimenter les aménagements.

By Katya C

Aug 11, 2020

Very informative course, full of great resources including research articles, videos, interviews, webinars, etc Really enjoyed zoom discussions with fellow students and learn from their experiences. The course gave me vocabulary to advocate for bike infrastructure in my community.

By Arzu S

Oct 12, 2022

Dear Team Urban Cycling Institut I am very grateful to the organizers of this course. After this course, I gained a lot of experience in scientifically proving the importance of cycling. It was the beginning, I will try to pass all the courses of your institute.

Best Regards,

By Robert C

Feb 12, 2020

Very insightful MOOC, i have learnt a lot and will take away new gained knowledge and thoughts to deliver into my professional and also personal life! All the personnel and staff that contributed to the content, have invaluable skills and knowledge ready to be soaked up.

By Ben T

Nov 9, 2021

I highly recommend this course to anyone thinking seriously about improving the balance of our transport networks around the world. The unboxing of how cycling fits into the urban environment was revealing and thought provoking for my own professional practice.

By Anna W

May 8, 2020

A fascinating course which packs a lot into its four weeks, illuminating the complexity of cycling within historical, social and urban contexts and providing plenty of inspiration for further learning, both academically and in real life. Highly recommended.

By Rahul R

Feb 16, 2020

This course is a wonderful guided tour of the cycling world. Cycling is a cultural phenomenon which is entirely nonlinear and sometimes unpredictable due to its vast culture, dynamics and infrastructure that exists in cycling-friendly Dutch society. Thanks.

By Leonie T

Jan 23, 2020

Interesting topics and you'll get an insight of different points of views (inhabitants, urban planners, ...). The tasks are also do-able and the demanded time for all the exercises is exactly (if not even less) than described in the module.