Key Take-Aways from CRBAM 2024
Newsletter | Cycling Research Board Annual Meeting
Welcome to Urban Cycling Institute's Substack!
We’re thrilled to take our urban cycling community to the next level with a new platform- Substack! You’ll start receiving updates directly in your inbox, but you can also log in the platform anytime to explore valuable resources, visit our full archive and catch up on news and articles as soon as they’re published.
But first, mark your calendars!
We are so happy that our first newsletter on the platform captures our experience and achievements of the Cycling Research Board 2024 held in Zürich. Read what we were up to and how you can engage with our work!
- Meredith Glaser, CEO
147 researchers deep dive into cycling at ETH Zurich
When you think of a transportation conference, you probably don’t think of camping. Don’t worry, you won’t need a tent and mosquito repellent for this version! Owned and co-organised annually by the Urban Cycling Institute, the Cycling Research Board Annual Meeting (CRBAM) promotes CAMPING as a set of values meant to guide sessions: Creative, Accessible, Mutable, Pleasurable, Inspirational, Nurturing, and Ground-breaking. These aspects nurture a space for exchange of ideas that unravels the intricate relationship between bicycling and the ever-evolving urban and regional landscape
This year, we partnered with ETH Zürich to host the 8th CRBAM from 4-5 September in the city of Zürich. The meeting drew 147 scholars and enthusiasts from diverse backgrounds to contribute their unique perspectives, engage in interactive sessions, and bike rides to connect with the host city, leaving a positive urban impact.
Read on and check out our photo gallery to (re)experience CRBAM'24
For those who participated in CRBAM'24, we would like to ask you to fill in our feedback form as we start planning the 9th edition of CRBAM'25 (more details at the end of this page).
Meet the CRB Scholarship awardees
With our mission to promote equity and diversity in cycling, we launched a scholarship program inviting researchers from around the globe. Meet our awardees and their work:
Winnie Sambu: How do bicycles improve women's mobility and access to essential services and economic opportunities?
Isabel Scherer: Shaping our Cycling Culture – case example from the winter cycling capital Oulu
Inah Eteng Okon: Institutional logics for urban mobility choices amongst Nigerian urban residents and African diaspora in Netherlands
Ömür Kaygisiz: Safety Implications of Bicycle Sharing Systems: A Case Study from Konya, Turkey
Paloma Chuquín Alarcón: Exploring the Role of Bottom-Up Cycling Initiatives in Immigrant Integration: A Comparative Study - Peru & South Africa
More about their research coming up soon on our website www.urbancyclinginstitute.org
Key insights from Urban Cycling Institute
How does storytelling impact the narratives we share about cycling? As part of the ‘Culture & Institutions’ session, Shefali Bharati (Communications and PR Officer) urged the participants to unlock the potential of cycling narratives by harnessing design and media tools. The presentation outlined concrete steps individuals and organisations can take to define their audience, make effective language choices, use powerful visuals and engage them with calls to action! If you are curious to know more, reach out at shefali@urbancyclinginstitute.org!
What is good governance for cycling? On the second day of the conference, Lilian Markfort (Research Fellow) presented the ongoing research with City Thread focused on the processes underlying cycling governance and capacity building in the United States. The inputs from the active participation of the audiences enabled Lilian to better plan the upcoming field visit and consider the local specificities in the research design. For more information on the project please contact lilian@urbancyclinginstitute.org!
How can local governments more deeply collaborate with marginalized groups around cycling? In the Policy and Decision Making session, Dylan Power (Senior Researcher) presented preliminary findings from a project to promote active mobility in Bonaire. Dylan posed questions to the audience which gathered input on how the research team can be more effective in including marginalized groups in the research process and to raise active mobility as a priority item on the local political agenda. You can read more about the project here.
How can we measure employee health and wellbeing from active mobility actions? We co-hosted a workshop with partners at Decathlon which focused on developing a methodology for analyzing the health and wellbeing impacts of cycling in the workplace. We were lucky to be joined by Luis Costa, Sustainable Mobility Project Manager at Decathlon, who shared insights into Decathlon’s efforts to promote sustainable mobility amongst employees globally. Fruitful discussions took place which will influence the future development of the project. If you would like more information on the project, please contact dylan@urbancyclinginstitute.org!
Sessions of our PhD Fellows
Why Cycle Through Rain and Wind? Our PhD fellow Ran Zhang led a feedback session that included role-playing exercises using a digital interview guide. To start, participants took on the role of interviewees, responding while having limited knowledge of the research, which helped generate genuine reactions. After the role-play, Ran introduced her research topic titled "Why Cycle Through Rain and Wind? A Retrospective Exploration of Behaviors, Attitudes, and Habits," and explained how the research theories were applied. This method allowed participants to give more thoughtful feedback during the final discussion, which helped improve the ongoing research methods.
How to include marginalised communities and people of color in cycling narratives? In the session on Culture and Institutions, Michael Tahmoressi and Matthew Bruno discussed diversity in the cycling stories of the Netherlands. They talked about how previous work has often overgeneralized the narratives around cycling within marginalized communities. They presented the early results of Michael’s interviews with Dutch people of color at bike kitchens and led a Fishbowl discussion about representation in Dutch cycling.
Amplifying the importance of urban cycling community
CRBAM also hosts a Poster session where ideas or projects "present themselves" on print. Valeria Leyva Reyes (Project Officer) and Dáša Vodvarkova (Community & Partnerships) shared their ideas on the importance of nurturing urban cycling community, taking example from many popular movements around the globe where change emerged from bottom to top!
It’s a wrap!
Thank you to all the attendees who made the 8th Annual Cycling Research Board Meeting in Zurich a remarkable success!
We covered an expansive range of topics—from innovative methodologies for promoting cycling to challenging conventional mobility assumptions. Our interactive session formats sparked dynamic exchanges, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and fostering new ideas. One standout moment was the lively "fishbowl" discussion, which brought together unique perspectives on shaping the future of cycling cities.
As we wrap up CRBAM 2024 , we are excited to announce that selected contributions will soon be published in the Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research.
Next stop: Amsterdam!
We’re thrilled to announce that CRBAM 2025 will take place in Amsterdam from September 10th to 12th, 2025. Stay tuned for updates and details on how you can join us as we continue to explore the future of cycling together.
CRBAM offers a premier platform for organisations looking to engage with a unique, global audience. Become a sponsor of CRBAM 2025!
Thank you again for your participation, and we look forward to seeing you next year!