World-renowned planner Dr Meredith Glaser of the Urban Cycling Institute in Amsterdam is set to be the keynote speaker at the Socio-Cycle Cycling Symposium in Cork.

The conference is taking place in Cork City Hall and UCC on Friday and Saturday and will consider how to make Cork a more cycling-friendly city. It comes just days after the announcement that €57m will be made available this year towards the delivery of over 130 Active Travel schemes across Cork city and county.

Cities need to have regular conferences on cycling to discuss the big questions about their future transport development, according to Dr Glaser.

“To activate local communities and to bridge the gaps between science, policy, and practice, we need more convenings like the Socio-Cycle Symposium,” she said. “An open space to explore, debate, and to be courageously curious – not about what needs to be done, but about how. This is the big question many cities face today.” 

The conference comes at a time when cities in Ireland show low cycling levels in comparison to other European countries. Car dependency is seen as ‘normal’ in Irish society and there is significant resistance to properly developing alternative modes of travel, organisers say.

The conference is devised by Dr Eileen Hogan and Rebecca Jeffers from the School of Applied Social Studies, and developed in collaboration with Cork City Council, the Cork Cycling Campaign and Cork Environmental Forum, who are partners in a bigger research project called ‘Socio-Cycle’, which is funded by the Irish Research Council.

Today, events take place from 2pm in the Council Chambers in Cork City Council where Lord Mayor Councillor Deirdre Forde opens the programme, which includes several policy-focused activities.

On Saturday, participants meet in The Hub Building in UCC at 9am and enjoy presentations by academics and community-based representatives from An Taisce, Love 30 Campaign, Green School/Safe Routes to School, Cycling UK, Republic of Bike, the Transport and Mobility Forum, and cyclist.ie.

Conference presentations address a myriad of topics, including cargo bike ownership for a progressive society, cycleway opposition, safe cycling infrastructures, cycling and poetry, child activism, cycling without age, gender gaps in cycling practices, cycling vulnerability, and mobility justice.

Dr Hogan said, “as enthusiastic cyclists, we are thrilled to produce the first ever academic cycling conference in Cork, which is intended to be an open and inclusive event, with academic and activist contributors sharing the stage.” Conn Donovan, Chair of the Cork Cycling Campaign, said “the event will be of interest to anyone who is interested in urban mobility and investigating ways to unlock the enormous climate action and public health benefits that active travel brings. Members of the Cork Cycling Campaign are thrilled that UCC are bringing some of the leading national and international experts on active travel and urban mobility to Cork for this event”.

Frank Fitzgerald, Sustainable Travel Awareness Officer in Cork City Council said, “over recent times we have seen the growth of cycling in Cork City and it is beginning to change the city and how we get around. This change is continuing to happen with more projects coming online, as we all adapt to a more sustainable travel future”.

Tickets for the event are available at here.