The class takes a break while on a bike tour underneath a tree in a public park, listening to a guest speaker. 

After 2 weeks of a hands-on, in-person participatory exploration of a city with world-renowned multimodal infrastructure, the 2026 Portland State University (PSU) Sustainable Transportation Study Abroad class has concluded. 

“It’s really about giving them a real-life experience of riding in a world-class biking city,” PSU lead instructor John MacArthur said. 

The 2025 Portland State University (PSU) Sustainable Transportation Study Abroad class has returned from Denmark, after an immersive exploration of what it takes to build a city for people rather than cars. Through daily bike and transit tours, lectures, and firsthand observations, students learned that making transportation safe and convenient isn’t about one magic policy; it’s a system of integrated decisions—like Copenhagen’s Finger Plan, its cycle superhighways, and a deeply ingrained culture of biking—that together create a vibrant, livable city.

A group of nine transportation students traveled to Denmark and Sweden this past summer, to meet with planners and engineers and get a feel for on-the-ground transportation in Copenhagen and Stockholm. They explored the area by rail, foot, bike and boat, in between presentations and tours led by professionals.