12.09.2025 –, De Brug Area 1
University cities often develop strong cycling cultures — not solely because of formal infrastructure or policy, but due to the inherent dynamics of student life: affordability, flexibility, social norms, and spatial scale. This phenomenon happens even in environments where cycling would otherwise be marginalized by car culture, weather extremes, or legal frameworks. This poster explores the organic emergence of cycling cultures within diverse global campus cities, driven by student life and urban dynamics rather than policy alone.
Through comparative case studies — from the snowy streets of Oulu, Finland, to the dense traffic of Pune, India, and the historic lanes of Oxford, UK — this research identifies common drivers of student-led cycling booms. Factors such as affordability, campus design, social norms, and lenient enforcement (e.g., tolerance of cycling under mild intoxication) contribute to cycling becoming the de facto mode of transport for students.
Global examples further extend to Stellenbosch (South Africa), Kyoto (Japan), Bogotá (Colombia), and Melbourne (Australia), revealing recurring patterns: universities shape cities where cycling thrives, often against structural or environmental odds.
By highlighting these patterns, this poster invites reflection on how student mobility choices create bottom-up demand for cycling infrastructure and cultural acceptance — offering insights for planners seeking to foster cycling in other urban contexts.
Dáša works as a Community & Impact Officer at the Urban Cycling Institute, where she explores the intersections of cycling, cities, and people. With a transdisciplinary background spanning project management, intercultural communications and linguistics, and community-building, Dáša brings a generalist perspective to urban mobility topics. Her approach is shaped by a curiosity for how cycling cultures emerge organically in diverse contexts — often beyond infrastructure or policy. Rather than focusing on deep niche research, Dáša thrives on connecting ideas across disciplines, weaving together social, cultural, and behavioral insights.
Originally from the Czech Republic, Dáša has spent the past thirteen years living, studying, and working across France, Sweden, and the Netherlands — experiences that have deepened her interest in intercultural dynamics, mobility systems, and sustainability.
For this research, Dáša draws on her passion for storytelling and her belief that cities — and their cycling cultures — are shaped by the people who move through them.