George Liu, PhD in the NWO Smart Cycling Futures (2016-2020), on the topic of Urban Forms with the Urbanism and Urban Architecture Group at Eindhoven University of Technology, received his BA in Economics and Political Sciences at the University of Toronto and his MS in Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto. He has worked as a Research Manager with the Toronto Cycling Think and Do Tank. His TUe PhD research is carried out in collaboration with University of Amsterdam and completed October 2022.

George’s PhD explores the experience of cycling and its relationship to urban design. This research is based on two approaches that focus on how the experience of cycling can be shaped by urban design: cycling as embodied experience from the discipline of mobilities studies, and cycling as interpretation of space from the discipline of environmental psychology. On the neighborhood scale, researchers have mapped cyclists’ positive and negative experiences in association with environments such as retail districts, bus stops, heavy traffic, and nature environments. On the regional scale, understanding the experience of cycling provide insights into the desired layout of cities and inter-urban connections. This research uses qualitative methods to expand the focus of cycling research beyond the functional analysis of speed, distance and travel time, and towards a discourse about designing more pleasurable, coherent, and attractive urban environments for cycling.

Publication
Georg Liu, “Designing the Cycling City: Towards a User Perspective of Cycling Space.” Dissertation: TU Eindhoven, 2022.