Juliana is a sustainable mobility researcher and project coordinator with experience across Latin America and Europe. With a background in Civil Engineering and a master’s degree in Urban Studies, she has spent the past eight years working across multiple sectors in the field of sustainable mobility.
She is currently a researcher with Mobilise Mobility & Logistics Research Group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and coordinates the Swifft Collective (VUB/ULB), a research project focused on just decarbonisation.
Her work bridges practice and research, drawing on experience designing and delivering active mobility infrastructure in Colombia and France, alongside cycling advocacy and research in Belgium. Her research interests include inclusive mobility, cycling uptake, gender and mobility, and queer mobilities, with a particular focus on women’s participation in urban cycling and the barriers that shape everyday mobility experiences.
As a daily and passionate cyclist, she is also active in advocacy and teaching, supporting adult bike school associations in Brussels and contributing to local initiatives such as Kidical Mass and the Brussels Women’s Bike Ride.
Selected publications or texts
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Scerri, K., Martinez, L., Betancur Arenas, J., Keserü, I., & Attard, M. (2025). Understanding the barriers and facilitators of planning and implementing active mobility interventions in Brussels and Malta. Cities & Health, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2025.2494888
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Betancur Arenas, J., Lebeau, P., & Macharis, C. (2025). From Regular Cyclist to Cargo Bike User? A Step Closer to Enhancing Cargo Bike Culture. Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable and Inclusive Mobility (pp. 134–139). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-85578-8_18
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Tori, F., Van Vessem, C., Betancur Arenas, J., & Ginis, V. (2024). Assessing Mobility
Policy with AI-Driven Analysis of User-Generated Content. In Strengthening European Mobility Policy (pp. 103–113). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67936-0_8 -
Betancur Arenas, J. (2023). Les femmes et le cyclisme urbain à Molenbeek: Quelles motivations et quelles barrières? Université des Femmes. https://www.universitedesfemmes.be/se-documenter/telechargement-des-etudes-et-analyses/product/511-les-femmes-et-le-cyclisme-urbain-a-molenbeek-quelles-motivations-et-quelles-barrieres-juliana-betancur-arenas
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Betancur Arenas, J. (2023). Mujeres y ciclismo urbano más allá del canal de Bruselas: Un estudio sobre motivadores y barreras. 19o Congreso Ibérico «La Bicicleta y la Ciudad» Comunicaciones y contenidos. Zikloteca & ConBici. Coslada, Espana. https://conbici.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/19-Congreso-Iberico-La-Bicicleta-y-la-ciudad.pdf
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Betancur Arenas, J. (2022). Women’s Participation in Urban Cycling beyond the Brussels Canal: A study on Motivators and Deterrents [Vrije Universiteti Brussel & Université Libre de Bruxelles]. https://urbanstudies.brussels/sites/default/files/2022-10/2022_Betancur%20Arenas.pdf
Selected speaking engagements
- “Movilidades Queer en Bruselas: Mapeando Experiencias Espaciales y Posibles Futuros” for the webinar series: Ciudades que se mueven con equidad: Claves para entender los retos de la movilidad con enfoque de género (2025). MobiliseYourCity (Online)
- “Women’s on Bikes in Brussels” (2025) Interview for the Brussels Women’s Bike Ride initiative (Online).
- “Género, Clase y Ciclismo Urbano” lecture at the Spanish masterclass of the Urban Cycling Institute: Planeando la ciudad segura y saludable – Programa de Liderazgo University of Amsterdam (Aug 2022/Sep 2023/Sep 2024/ Sep 2025). Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- “Women’s Participation in Urban Cycling Beyond the Brussels Canal: A study on motivators and deterrents”. Carin-PT Conference (2025). Brussels, Belgium.
- “Breaking Barriers: Investigating Women’s Cycling Participation Beyond the Brussels Canal”. Velo-city Conference (2024). Ghent, Belgium.
- “From Regular Cyclist to Cargo Bike User? A Step Closer to Enhancing Cargo Bike Culture”. TRA Conference (2024). Dublin, Ireland.
- “Unlocking Cargo Bikes’ Potential for Sustainable Mobility and Logistics in the Brussels Capital Region” Poster Presentation. Mobil.TUM (2024). Munich, Germany.
- Chair and co-organizer of the FARI – Hackathon ‘AI and Mobility’ for students. (2024) Brussels, Belgium.
- “Monitoring et évaluation : mesurer les succès du projet CAIRGO BIKE” – Project Closure Event presentation (2023). Brussels, Belgium.
- “Potential of Cargo Bikes among Entrepreneurs: Exploring their adoption process” – Nectar Cluster 3: Logistics and Freight workshop presentation (2023). Madrid, Spain.
- “Mujeres y ciclismo urbano más allá del canal de Bruselas: Un estudio sobre motivadores y barreras.” Plenary presentation at the 19th Iberian Congress, “The Bicycle and the City” (2022), Coslada, Spain.
Awards and recognitions
2024 – Best Poster Award, Mobil.TUM 2024 (Munich, Germany), for the poster presentation: “Unlocking Cargo Bikes’ Potential for Sustainable Mobility and Logistics in the Brussels Capital Region.”
2023 – Third Prize, Women’s University Master Thesis Award (Brussels, Belgium), for the thesis: “Women’s Participation in Urban Cycling beyond the Brussels Canal: A Study on Motivators and Deterrents.”
2020 – VUB Master Scholarship based on academic merit (Brussels, Belgium).
2018 – Best Results Award, Colombian Saber Pro 2017 National Test (Engineering reference group), awarded by the National Ministry of Education (Medellín, Colombia).