What do I hope to gain from this course?

This course has been on my radar since I was a freshman at the University of Oregon in 2019. It was one of the initial reasons I chose to become a PPPM major and I was incredibly excited to be able to take it. However, during the summer of my freshmen year and sophomore year, it was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Summer of my junior year I studied at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology to fulfill biology requirements for my Environmental Science degree. This context led me to take this course in the Summer of 2023, leaving for  Copenhagen at 6am the day after I walked into Commencement. I’m excited to take this course as a senior who has fulfilled all the other requirements of my PPPM degree. I think it will build upon my knowledge of sustainable transit systems and open my eyes to what could be. 

Bicycles parked near a metro station, Copenhagen.

The primary things I hope to gain from this class are a more in-depth understanding of bicycle infrastructure, what locals think of the infrastructure, and how and what can be applied to my own community back in Oregon. One particular aspect of bicycle riding and infrastructure I hope to learn more about is the age demographics of bike riders in the Netherlands and Scandinavia. My intrigue in this topic actually came to me as I was walking from the Metro station to our hostel when I saw an older woman bike past. She looked to be in her mid-70s to 80s. The majority of people I see on bikes in Eugene tend to be much younger (college-aged). This may be because I live directly adjacent to campus but even when I am back home in Portland I tend to see college-aged and young to mid-aged adults (20s - 50s) on bikes and never older people. I hope to gain knowledge on how bicycle infrastructure can support ridership for all ages, both young and old.

I also want to learn more about how other forms of infrastructure can complement bicycle infrastructure and ridership and vice versa. I was very impressed with the Copenhagen Metro and would love to learn more about how, or if, the two forms of transit work together. Creating an interconnected network of diverse and sustainable transit methods is so important and I hope my increased understanding of bicycle infrastructure will elevate my understanding of public transit and pedestrian infrastructure. Many of my friends and family do not like to bike because it feels too stressful or unsafe in the US. The same can be said for public transit and walking. Elevating the non-automobile transit network will benefit not just bicycle riders, but so many others. I hope this course increases my understanding of diverse transit networks and how they can improve and build healthy and sustainable communities.