BikeNetKit launches to help cities build safer, smarter bicycle networks
The open-source toolkit BikeNetKit from the IT University of Copenhagen gives urban planners and citizens free data-driven tools to improve bicycle infrastructure across hundreds of cities.
Michael SzellResearchalgorithms
Written 9 November, 2026 10:01 by Theis Duelund Jensen
The new open-source software toolkit BikeNetKit developed at the IT University of Copenhagen, is set to help cities worldwide design better cycling infrastructure and accelerate the transition to healthier, more sustainable urban mobility.
Led by Associate Professor Michael Szell, BikeNetKit combines a suite of free Python-based planning tools with a new interactive visualisation platform, enabling urban planners, policymakers, cycling advocates and citizens to explore how bicycle networks can be expanded, repaired, and improved using data-driven insights.
Developed over eight years of research and now available through GitHub, BikeNetKit builds on the emerging field of the Science of Bicycle Networks, translating academic research into practical tools that support real-world decision-making.
“Most cities still do not provide safe, functional cycling infrastructure, despite the fact that many people would like to cycle if the conditions allowed it,” says Associate Professor Michael Szell of the IT University of Copenhagen, NERDS research group, and external faculty at Complexity Science Hub.
“BikeNetKit was created to bridge the gap between research and practice. We have spent years developing algorithms that can identify the most impactful improvements to bicycle networks. Now we are making those methods accessible as open-source tools that cities and citizens can use directly.”
From research prototypes to practical planning tools
BikeNetKit brings together a collection of software tools designed to address different bicycle planning challenges. The toolkit can identify missing links in cycling infrastructure, pinpoint critical network gaps, connect fragmented bicycle routes and identify opportunities for creating superblocks that reduce through-traffic by cars.
The accompanying visualisation platform at https://bikenetkit.org showcases results from analyses conducted across more than 400 European cities with populations exceeding 100,000 people, allowing users to explore how different interventions could strengthen local cycling networks.
The software uses OpenStreetMap as its main data source, and it can also be customised with city-specific datasets, including traffic collisions, mobility patterns and transport infrastructure data.
“Urban planners often have to make difficult decisions about where limited resources will have the greatest impact,” says Szell. “BikeNetKit helps answer those questions. Cities can use their own data to prioritise investments, whether the goal is improving safety around schools, connecting public transport hubs, addressing collision hotspots or filling critical gaps in the network.”
An open-source alternative for cities
The initiative has received support through Denmark’s Innovation Fund and is also connected to the European Horizon project JUST STREETS which focuses on creating more liveable and equitable urban environments.
According to Szell, maintaining openness has been a core principle throughout the project.
“Public infrastructure should benefit from public knowledge,” he says. “We want to provide cities with tools they can adapt, improve and reuse, rather than locking them into a dependency on proprietary systems. By making the methods transparent and reproducible, we hope to strengthen local capacity and support better long-term planning.”
The BikeNetKit toolkit is available through GitHub, while the new visualisation platform at https://bikenetkit.org demonstrates how data and computational methods can help cities develop safer and more connected cycling networks.
As cities around the world seek solutions to congestion, emissions and public health challenges, the project aims to make advanced bicycle network planning accessible to everyone, from professional planners to engaged citizens working to create more liveable streets.
Theis Duelund Jensen, Press Officer, phone +45 2555 0447, email thej@itu.dk