Portland State University

Since 2011, Portland State University and the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation have offered a unique opportunity to students: a two-week study abroad course that introduces participants to cities with stellar bike cultures. In past years, classes have explored the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. This year’s class of eight students, led by Hau Hagedorn and Drusilla van Hengel, spent two weeks this summer traversing Denmark by public transportation, foot, and (of course) bike. Check out some photos from the trip.

Students came from all over the country—from Portland to Connecticut—to attend the course. What they all had in common was a desire to learn from a city that is renowned to have some of the best bike infrastructure in the world. The students wanted to bring their newfound knowledge back to their respective towns to make the world a safer, happier place for their loved ones and communities.

Ern Tan—the founder of Civic Cincinnati, a grassroots urbanism advocacy group in Ohio—said before the trip that she was looking forward to seeing the promise of a more bikeable future for Cincinnati reflected in...

This is a reprint of a news story originally published by the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning.

Congratulations to Toulan School Assistant Professor Dr. Ozcan Tunalilar, inaugural recipient of the Arthur C. and Monika Z. Nelson Endowed Scholar Award, and Urban Studies doctoral candidate Minju Kim, inaugural recipient of the Nelson Endowed Doctoral Award.

The awards were established by PSU alumni Dr. Arthur Christian “Chris” Nelson and his wife Monika to support emerging scholars in the College of Urban and Public Affairs (CUPA). Dr. Nelson was inspired to create these awards because he himself received financial aid at a critical moment as a graduate student.

The Scholar Award supports new and early career faculty, as determined by the Dean of CUPA. The fund will supplement university funding for the recruitment and retention of early career faculty. The Doctoral Award supports doctoral students enrolled in CUPA with an approved dissertation proposal.

About our Nelson Scholar

Dr. Ozcan "Ozzy" Tunalilar is an Assistant Professor at the...

Portland's Old Town neighborhood is getting a new skatepark, and a team of PSU transportation students were instrumental in bringing the project from idea to reality. 

Given the project of activating a vacant lot on the west side of the Steel Bridge by transforming it into a community skatepark, students in the Spring 2023 bike-pedestrian planning class created a set of design options, a weighted decision matrix, and a memorandum of existing conditions for the site. They also developed performance measures to determine how best to meet the project's objectives of activating the space, creating a welcoming environment, and stimulating local business activity.

Their work provided a basis for ongoing conversations with stakeholders around the project, which ultimately resulted in a green light: Funding for the new skatepark was announced in January by Commissioner Dan Ryan, who oversees Portland Parks & Recreation. Work is slated to begin this spring on property acquisition, community engagement and design of the 35,000 square foot facility.

"Getting to see this skatepark regularly...

Earlier this month, Portland State University’s Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning (ITE-STEP) group competed in the 32nd annual Bill Kloos Traffic Bowl Competition held by Oregon ITE.

It was a tight finish against University of Washington and Oregon Tech, but the PSU student team took first place and impressed the crowd with their knowledge of signs, MUTCD, roundabouts, factors, and all things transportation. They won a $600 cash prize to support STEP activities. Because of this win, the team will now have the opportunity to compete in the 2024 ITE Western District Traffic Bowl.

Portland State University 2023 Team

• STEP Community Service Officer Phil Armand, Undergraduate Student, B.S. Civil Engineering
• STEP VP of Communications Elias Peters, Graduate Student, M.S. Civil Engineering and Masters of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
• Head of STEP Committee to Fun Isa Swain, Undergraduate Student,  B.S. Civil Engineering
• STEP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Elizabeth Yates, Graduate Student, M.S. Civil Engineering

PSU Civil Engineering student Mouhamad (Moe) Taha was also a member of the team; he competed in the preliminary round and switched out with Elias Peters for the final round of competition.

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