## 2 Methodology (Research Area and Data Collection)
### Research Area and Context  
Our research area consisted of 11 faculties that are located in the city center of Maribor (Figure 2). The maximal walking distance from the farthest faculty to the old city center is 25 min. Additionally, 15 min more of walking is required from the city center to the main train and bus station. Roughly 20% of all students of the University of Maribor stay in student dormitories, where 4 are located in the student campus (Figure 1, position 2) and 12 are scattered around the city center (always within 3 km of the center.) A share of students live in private units that are located throughout the city of Maribor. In addition, almost 80% of the whole city population lives within the 3 km radius from the city center (Figure 3) and near key institutions, so it is not surprising that in general students are also close to the center/faculties. Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia, with approximately 100,000 inhabitants. In the second half of the 20 th century, the city had a strong focus on the car, metal, and textile industries, whereas most of it ceased to operate at the beginning of 1990, causing high unemployment among the citizens--up to 17.5% [31]. Maribor is nowadays developing into a dynamic, green, touristic-cultural, and economic center of northeastern Slovenia. Interestingly, cycling was a popular transport means for citizens of Maribor at the beginning of the 20 th century, but afterward with the rise of motorization, it fell into complete decline. This can be explained by the low status of cyclists compared to the societal importance of owning and riding a car in the before mentioned industrial city. The period can historically be understood as the first development cycle. Figure 2: Research area, including locations of faculties in city center of Maribor. Note: 11 faculties are located on 7 different locations (legend: 1—Faculty of Medicine (MF); 2—Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (FNM); 2—Faculty of Education (PeF); 2—Faculty of Arts (FF); 3—Faculty of Law (PF); 4—Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, and Architecture (FGPA); 4—Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (FKKT); 4—Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FS); 5—Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (FERI); 6—Faculty of Economics and Business (EPF); 7—Faculty of Health Sciences (FZV)). According to the internationally recognized methodology PRESTO (Promoting Cycling for Everyone as a Daily Transport Mode), which measures the development of cycling in urban areas, Maribor was in 2013 ranked among the cities that are at the initial stage of cycling development [4], related to the second development cycle and according to the different parameters (e.g., share of cyclists in traffic, level of development of cycling network, quality of cycling infrastructure, funding for cycling development). On the other hand, Maribor has quite good preconditions for cycling, including good climate, flat topography, and rather short distances within the city. Once again, we emphasize that 80% of all of the inhabitants live in a radius of 3 km from the city center (Figure 3). The cycling network (in the length of approximately 86 km) in Maribor consists mainly of a network of one-way cycle tracks on sidewalks and occasionally (on less busy roads/streets) together with motor vehicle traffic on the carriageway. Furthermore, the cycling network consists of bicycle lanes on the carriageway--in some cases as advanced cycle lanes. The map (Figure 4) shows the existing cycling network in the city of Maribor. Figure 4: Cycling network in Maribor [4]. Figure 3: Population density according to the distance to the city center per 1 km (within 1 st km—17,402 inhabitants; within 2 nd km—30,441 inhabitants, within 3 rd km—29,856 inhabitants, etc.) [32]. The current situation in the field of cycling infrastructure in Maribor--despite improvements established in the past 15 years--is still not at the desired level.