Addressing Real Challenges with Research Solutions

Although Wuppertal shares a rainy climate with previous host cities in the Netherlands and Denmark, this is the first time that the Annual Meeting will be held in a very hilly city with sparse cycling infrastructure and a correspondingly low modal share of cycling. But there is a will for change! With this environmental and cultural backdrop, this year’s CRB Annual Meeting will reflect on “the hill we ride” to foster cycling-friendly places through research.

Our discussions will focus on the real-world and scientific challenges we face and we will engage in an interactive dialog around the solutions proposed by those contributing to the meeting. Challenges we face may include, for example: a lack of cycling safety; the negative climate and health impacts of car-centric cities; cultural and individual preferences for non-cycling modes; the many potential hindrances to the up-take of cycling created by geographic conditions, infrastructure design, and the built urban form; the lack of data; or shortcomings in fundamental knowledge on attitudes, behavior and bicycle traffic flow. Our goal this year is to offer a platform for discussing, examining and debating new and old solutions to address wicked to practical challenges.

The CRB Annual Meeting strives to promote interdisciplinary networking opportunities for academics, practitioners and policy makers involved in research to strengthen alliances and facilitate the transfer of knowledge to action. It is a unique gathering which uses cycling to bring together a broad range of researchers including social scientists, engineers, data scientists, psychologists, geographers, physicists, and others touching cycling-related topics. We offer a constructive environment in which mutual support in developing applied and fundamental research, skills and knowledge is central.

Essential to the CRB Annual Meeting is the well-structured social and workshop-based program that seeks to both share and generate new ideas for cycling research. To create this unique environment, no one is a passive visitor because everyone who joins the Annual Meeting actively participates to build our conference together! Bending the conventional conference rules, each session dedicated to individual contributions will be unique. With numerous existing opportunities to deliver standard presentations about your research, sessions at the CRB Annual Meeting are designed to provoke interactive dialogue between and among the speakers and audience.  All sessions are organized using a variety of disruptive moderating approaches, such as the 33 Liberating Structures (e.g., 1-2-4-All, troika consulting, etc.) and other non-traditional methods for facilitating active and interactive discussions. Assigned moderators and facilitators will work with accepted contributors to organize interactive sessions and everyone joining as a contributor should come with the intention to discuss, not only “present” their research.
Along with your individual and group contributions, the 2023 programme will include workshops focused on important skills and knowledge for researchers as well as a fishbowl discussion highlighting different perspectives on the challenges and solutions for creating cycling cities. Social events will also be organized, including a welcome reception and conference dinner to keep our conversations going after hours.

All registered participants attending the CRBAM23 will receive a 3-day-pass to use our local transit network from our generous sponsor the Wuppertaler Stadtwerke (WSW). Not only will this give you access to the local bus and s-bahn lines, these passes can be used to take a ride on the Schwebebahn to get a unique view of the city and experience this uncommon form of transit.

If you are interested in cycling in Wuppertal, a new bike sharing system is expected to be launched in Wuppertal this year and there are several shops which rent bicycles at a fee. This website will be updated with more information about these local options you may consider using if you would like to experience our city as a cyclist.

Coffee, tea, cold drinks, snacks, and lunch will be provided on all three conference days. Contributors are also invited to a welcome reception with light snacks and drinks as well as a conference dinner on the first two nights of the conference.