Universität Wien

290010 EX Making Cycle City - Vienna (2013S)

1.50 ECTS (1.00 SWS), SPL 29 - Geographie
Continuous assessment of course work

This excursion is an English-speaking course. Deliverables have to be written in English, too.

Please note, that your registration on Moodle is considered as a pre-registration. It does not imply a confirmed participation in the excursion.
After the closing of the registration on March 13th you will be notified whether you have been accepted or not.

Timetable:
18 March: Introduction. 08:30 - 12:00 (Lecture Room 5A; Conference Room C0520, NIG, 5th floor)
22 March: Expert Meetings (TBD). 9:00 - 17:00
15 April: Progress Workshop. 17:00 - 19:00. (Lecture Room 4C, NIG, 4th floor)
29 April: Final Presentations. 15:00 -18:00 (Seminar Room C528, 5th floor)
27 May: OPTIONAL Public Presentation. 17:00 - 20:00 (Lecture Room 4C, NIG, 4th floor)
Moodle

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes

Currently no class schedule is known.

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The City of Vienna has declared 2013 to be the Year of the Bicycle (RadJahr). More than two decades of bicycle planning has resulted in a comprehensive cycling master plan, a multi-million euro investment in cycling infrastructure, one of Europe's oldest bike-share schemes, and the recent establishment of the office of Cycle Commissioner (Fahrradbeauftragter). Feeding and fed by these efforts, cycling's modal share has increased faster than anticipated; currently 6%, it could reach 10% by 2020. Vienna will also host the world's preeminent urban cycling conference, Velo-city, in June.

Despite the numerous well-documented environmental, economic, and social benefits that urban cycling offers, cycle planning has become greatly politicised, even divisive. Vienna’s pro-cycling Green Party (Die Grünen) has encountered stiff opposition and minimal coalition support, and could be betting their future on cycling's success. Implementation, however, is also an enormous challenge, particularly in a city such as Vienna with limited road space, extensive public transit, and no real history of cycling culture. Further complicating the issue is Vienna's political division into 23 districts (Gemeindebezirke), each beholden to widely varying constituencies.

Cycle City: Vienna is clearly under construction, but how solid is its foundation? Who is shaping it and why? What will it look like and how will it function? What impact will it have on Vienna? What contributions will the Velo-city Conference make? How, in practice, will 2013 be the Year of the Bicycle?
Students will role-play as consultants tasked with elucidating and evaluating the making of Cycle City: Vienna by conducting field work within four overlapping themes:

1. the politics of cycle planning
2. the challenges of implementation
3. the development of cycling culture, and
4. the risks & opportunities of the Velo-city Conference.

Assessment and permitted materials

1. Soft Skills (20%)
attendance, participation, punctuality

2. Theme Analysis & Presentation (80%)
Comprehensive understanding of local processes, actors, instruments
Application of appropriate methods (e.g. mapping, perception analysis)
Development of own action approaches
Policy and operational recommendations
Preparation of Interim Report including references and analysis outcomes
Presentation of thematic analysis
Optional: Defence of own ideas during discussion with expert jury

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

In terms of methodological skills, this excursion is aiming at a comprehensive actors analysis accompanied by implementation and policy recommendations as well as at the ability to present the results to a public audience.

With regard to the content, this excursion enables students to identify key actors and analyse urban policies with regard to cycling in Vienna. Key research questions are :
1. How does the current cycle situation look like in Vienna (e.g. modal split, infrastructure, cycling activists, public debate, media representation)?
2. What kind of political aims does the City of Vienna follow concerning cycling in Vienna ?
3. Who are the main actors/stakeholders?
4. What is being done so far ? Political, operational and technical changes as well as behaviour setting of cylists.
5. How does the situation look like at the district level ? What obstacles hinder progress? What compromises can be made? What costs are involved (financial, social, political, etc)? Who pays them? How to argue for that payment?
6. Can we identify additional potential in order to improve cycling at the district and city level ? How could approaches of action look like ?

Examination topics

Each group (max. 6 students) is assigned a specific theme. Their task is to compose a complete yet concise evaluation of the theme (see « course description ») as it pertains to Vienna by:
(1) identifying relevant actors, conflicts, and opportunities;
(2) evaluating existing plans & processes ;
(3) conducting interviews and field research;
(4) proposing amendments for improvement;
(5) considering applicability of best practices from beyond Vienna;
(6) creating graphics (maps, photos, videos, etc.) when appropriate;
(7) collaborating with the other groups to relate their theme to the other three;
(8) reporting their findings in an engaging, well-crafted, rehearsed presentation.

Reading list

1. Sustainable Urban Mobility

BLÄSER, JANSEN AND WEHMAYER (2012) : Urbane Mobilität der Zukunft. In : Raumplanung 165, 6-2012, pages 56-59.
LUCA BERTOLINI, FRANK LE CLERCQ (2002): Urban development without more mobility by car? Lessons from Amsterdam, a multimodal urban region. In: Environment and Planning A 2003, volume 35, pages 575 – 589.

LOUKOPOULOS PETER AND ROLAND W SCHOLZ (2004) : Sustainable future urban mobility: using area development negotiations; for scenario assessment and participatory strategic planning. In : Environment and Planning A 2004, volume 36, pages 2203 - 2226

2. Cycling in the City

PETER MIDGLEY (2009) : The Role of Smart Bike-sharing Systems in Urban Mobility. In : JOURNEYS May 2009, pages 23-31.

3. Cycling in Vienna

EUROPEAN CYCLISTS FEDERATION AND CITY OF VIENNA (2012) : Velo-City 2013. The Sound of Cycling. Urban Cycling Cultures. Fact Sheet.
http://velo-city2013.com/wp-content/uploads/factsheet_velo-city-2013_en.pdf
STADTENTWICKLUNG WIEN, MAGISTRATSABTEILUNG 18 (2003) : Transport Master Plan Vienna 2003.
http://www.wien.gv.at/stadtentwicklung/shop/broschueren/pdf/mpv2003-kurzfassung-englisch.pdf

Association in the course directory

(B11-7.3) (B07-7.3) (MG3-EX) (MR7-EX) (L-EX)

Last modified: Fr 31.08.2018 08:56