Cat Silva

Research Focus
- Urban and mobility design
- Planning and design of bicycle infrastructure
- Observational Research
- Mixed-Methods-Innovation
Projects
Study Programme M.Sc. Cycling Futures, Programme Manager
Learn more about the study programme here!
Cycling Research Board Annual Meeting, Eventplanner
Website of the CRBAM23
General information
Current courses
- Bicycle Traffic PhD Seminar
Courses previously instructed
- Urban and Regional Planning (Technical University of Munich)
- Regional Governance and Planning Policies (TUM)
- Research Design: How to Tackel a Master's Thesis (TUM)
- Urban Mobility PhD Colloquium (TUM)
- mobil.LAB Doctoral Research Group Colloquium (TUM)
Professional Activities
Since 04/2022: Lead Researcher
Chair of Bicycle Traffic, Bergische Universität Wuppertal
05/2020 - 09/2021: Coordinator of the mobil.LAB Doctoral Research Group
Chair of Urban Structure and Transport Planning, Technische Universität München
11/2015 - 12/2016: Assistant Planner
Development Services Department, City of Issaquah, USA
05/2015 - 08/2015: Campaign Manager
Seattle City Council, Position 9, USA
02/2015 - 05/2015: Associate Planner
Department of Landscape Architecture, Unifersity of Washington, USA
04/2014 - 02/2015: Graduate Student Assistant
Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington, USA
07/2012- 09/2013: Graduate Transportation Planning Intern
Transportation Department, City of Bellevue, USA
04/2012 - 07/2012: Data Collection Consultant
Right Size Parking Project, King County Metro Transit, USA
02/2010 - 06/2011: Administrative Assistant
CollinsWoerman Architecture, Design and Planning, USA
Education
2017 - 2022 (exp.): Engineering PhD Student
School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich
2011 - 2015: Master of Urban Planning, Urban Design Specialization
College of Built Environments, Universität Washington, USA
2012 - 2015: Master of Public Administration
Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington, USA
2013 - 2014: Valle Scholar (Visiting student)
School of Architecture, Design and Planning, Aalborg University, DK
2006 - 2008: Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude
Dual Major: Danish; History | Minor: Scandinavian Area Studies
Department of Scandinavian Studies and Department of History. University of Washington, USA
2008: ScanDesign Fellow (Visiting Undergraduate Student)
Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, DK
Doctoral thesis
- 2022 (forthcoming): Silva, C. Informing bicycle infrastructure design through Grounded Theory observation of behavior and interaction: A case study of two types of bicycle lanes in Munich, Germany. PhD Thesis. Munich, DE: Technical University of Munich. Supervisors: Dr.-Ing. Rolf Moeckel, Technical University of Munich and Dr. Kelly Clifton, Portland State University
Master thesis
- 2015: Silva, C. Bicyclists’ Stopping Behavior: An Observational Study of Bicyclists’ Patterns and Practices. Master’s Thesis. Seattle, WA: University of Washington. Supervisors: Dr. Christopher Campbell and Dr. Ann Bostrom, University of Washington. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/34214.
Bachelor thesis
- 2008: Silva, C. Racial Restrictive Covenants: Enforcing Neighborhood Segregation in Seattle. Bachelors’ Thesis. Seattle, WA: Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project , University of Washington. Supervisor: Dr. James Gregory, University of Washington.
https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/covenants_report.htm.
- 2008: Silva, C. The Style and Themes of Simon Fruelund’s Literature: A Critical Analysis of “Borgerligt tusmørke”. Bachelors’ Thesis. Seattle, WA: Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington. Supervisor: Dr. Jan Krogh Nielsen, University of Washington.
Peer-Reviewed Article
- 2022: Silva, C., Moeckel R., Clifton K. “Comparative Observational Assessment of Bicyclists’ Interactions on Urban Streets with On-Street and Sidewalk-Level Bicycle Lanes.” Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221118539
- 2020: Silva, C., Moeckel R., Clifton K. “A Grounded Theory Approach to Understanding Bicyclists’ Interactions on Unprotected Facilities: A Proof of Concept from Munich, Germany.” Transportation Research Record. October 2020. 2674(10): 94-104. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198120943588.
- 2019: Llorca, C., Silva C., Kuehnel N., Moreno A., Zhang Q., Kii M., Moeckel R. “Integration of land use and transport to reach Sustainable Development Goals: Will radical scenarios actually get us there?” Sustainability 2020, 12(23): 9795. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239795.
- 2019: Villeneuve, D., Durán-Rodas D., Ferri A., Kuttler T., Magelund J., Mögele M., Nitschke L., Servou E., and Silva C. “What is Interdisciplinarity in Practice? Critical Reflections on Doing Mobility Research in an Intended Interdisciplinary Doctoral Research Group.” Sustainability 2020, 12(1): 197. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010197.
Peer-Reviewed Conference Papers
- 2018: Silva, C., Clifton K., and Moeckel R.. “Observational Method and Coding Framework for Analyzing the Functionality of Unprotected Bicycle Lanes.” Transportation Research Procedia, 41: 559–71. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2019.09.100.