Course Dates
Second edition of the new course from the Urban Cycling Institute
Change doesn’t always go smoothly. Around the world, efforts to create safer, healthier and more liveable streets face resistance. Community opposition, political pushback, and media storms can derail even your best plans.
This five-day leadership program in Amsterdam gives you the engagement tools, language, and confidence to navigate conversations about change in your city.
Do you work in or study city design, public health, mobility, communications, stakeholder engagement or similar? Whether you’re in Government, a not-for-profit, academia or industry, this leadership program is for you!
About the Program
Transform Conversations. Transform Streets. Transform Cities.
Grounded in academic research, real-world case studies, and critical immersion in the Amsterdam experience, you’ll learn how to engage, communicate, and collaborate more effectively. You’ll discover:
- Amsterdam’s long history of resistance to change, and the surprising story of how it became a cycling city.
- Pushing against: why people resist change, and how to frame messages that invite understanding, not outrage.
- Pushing for: capturing unheard voices in consultation, including children.
- Innovative stakeholder engagement methods: including street interviews, influence mapping and collaborative design. Practice on Amsterdam’s streets!
- Global examples (including Amsterdam’s own successes and setbacks) and how to apply them to your city’s context.
Why Amsterdam?
Amsterdam continuously changes its streets – but not always with success. Visit:
- A road which enraged a riot
- A trial traffic 'cut' overturned by public pressure, and
- A neighbourhood where on-street parking disappeared
You’ll study at the Urban Cycling Institute – the global leaders in research and education transforming urban cycling environments. Amsterdam, with its remarkable public spaces, transport network, and cycling culture, will become your living lab.
Explore the city through a critical lens, translate theoretical concepts into the real world, and experience sessions both in classrooms and in the streets.
Alongside your global peers and industry experts, you’ll cycle, observe, record and reflect – and learn to balance technical ambition with social permission.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for professionals, researchers, activists, and decision-makers in:
- Urban planning design
- Transport and mobility
- Public health and sustainability
- Local government or city administration
- Academia and research
- Community organising and NGOs
Whether you’re launching bike lanes or reclaiming public space, this course will give you a deep understanding of the engagement landscape needed to succeed.
Learn with, and from, others.
Course Program
Program Structure and Schedule
- In person in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- 5 full days, Monday to Friday
- Field and classroom-based learning
- Includes guest speakers, group work, site visits, and optional social activities
- Certificate of completion issued by the Urban Cycling Institute
Course Cost
UCI Member Fee: 995€
UCI Non-Member Fee: 1295€
*Fee includes lectures, course materials, bike hire, site visits, and a course certificate upon completion.
Travel, accommodation and insurance not included.
Subscribe to the Urban Cycling Institute on Substack and unlock exclusive discounts on our courses and training programs.
Spaces are limited. Secure your place with a €250 deposit by completing the form below.
For groups of more than 5 people, please write to [email protected] for special offer
Course limited to 25 people. No scholarships currently available.
What our Alumni say?
In collaboration with:
Course leader: Mark Ames (Strategic Cities)
Mark helps cities build public support for complex change through strategic engagement and communication. He has worked with clients in Australia, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK, leading workshops, designing engagement strategies and training teams. He’s an alum of the Urban Cycling Institute’s inaugural Planning the Cycling City course, and holds a postgraduate certificate in Communication (Engagement) from the University of Canberra.
Coordinator: Marina Gentil
Marina Gentil is a political scientist (MSc in Sustainability Science, Policy and Society, Maastricht University) specialising in active mobility policy and urban equity. At the Urban Cycling Institute, she researches international projects and coordinates training programmes and study visits, bringing European best practices in mobility to the Spanish context with a hands-on, municipal focus.
