Rachel Aldred

Rachel Aldred is a Professor of Transport and Director of the University of Westminster’s Active Travel Academy. Her research focuses on sustainable mobilities, particularly active transport modes like cycling and walking, emphasizing equity, governance, and policy impacts. She has led the MSc Transport Planning and Management program and currently supervises five PhD students, with extensive experience examining infrastructure interventions such as Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and School Streets schemes.

Her work bridges academic research with policy application, addressing issues like health equity, gender dynamics, and marginalized communities’ mobility challenges. Notable contributions include analyzing traffic safety, modal shifts, and the socio-cultural dimensions of cycling through critical discourse analysis and mixed-methods approaches. Aldred has secured funding from NIHR, ESRC, and DfT, among others, and her 2016 ESRC Outstanding Impact Prize recognized her work’s influence on public policy.

Aldred’s research portfolio spans over 25 years, producing influential studies on cycling cultures, urban infrastructure, and transport justice. She frequently engages with policy stakeholders through keynote talks and media commentary, advocating for evidence-based transport planning that prioritizes human-centered mobility solutions.