Matthew Bruno, PhD in the NWO Smart Cycling Futures (2016-2022) at the Technology, Innovation and Society group at Eindhoven University of Technology and with the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University. His dissertation research “Cycling Innovations: The Challenges of Supporting People Who Cycle in a Transition to Sustainable Mobility” focuses on the topic of governance in relation to cycling innovations. He received his B.A. in Letters from the University of Oklahoma (summa cum laude); M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA (academic merit award); and M.Sc. in Geoinformatics (cum laude) from the University of Twente. He previous work experience includes improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists on and around the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex and working on transportation planning issues for various government agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“My research centers on the role of users in the governance of cycling. Through a series of four articles, my research will explore cycling governance practices behind Dutch bicycle infrastructure and policy and will examine how the knowledge of users can play a role in creating better policies and better infrastructure. My first article describes a case study in which non-users played a key role in the development of a bicycle street in a commercial area. For my second article, I hope to work with another member of the Smart Cycling Futures team in order to map out the various forms that cycling governance takes within the Netherlands. Our research will focus on the cooperation and collaboration between the local, provincial, and national governments. The increasing use of data to attempt to understand the needs of those who cycle will be the subject of my third article. The article will compare these new data based methods will the traditional role that bicycle advocacy organizations have played in representing cyclists and their needs. By researching a bicycle innovation oriented Living Lab in the Eindhoven region, my fourth article will examine Living Labs as a user-centered form of governance. The goal of my research project is to develop an improved understanding of the role that users play in the governance of the Dutch cycling system.”