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A city street filled with lots of traffic next to tall buildings.
A city street filled with lots of traffic next to tall buildings.
A city street filled with lots of traffic next to tall buildings.
A city street filled with lots of traffic next to tall buildings.

Traffic Infrastructure, Safety and Planning

6 credits
Do you want to help shape how we move around in the cities of the future? In this course, you will learn how traffic, people, and places are connected, and how smart planning can lead to travel that is safer, smoother, and more sustainable.

Traffic Infrastructure, Safety and Planning, 6 credits

Spring 2026, One-quarter-time, Distance

Closed for late application

The way we plan roads and transport systems affects our everyday lives more than we often realise. It influences how easy it is to get to work, how our cities sound and feel, and the quality of the air we breathe. A sustainable road transport system aims to enable smooth movement of people and goods without creating problems such as accidents, noise, or congestion. In this course, you gain a clear understanding of how these trade-offs are made, and why they matter.

Traffic planning grounded in reality

The course introduces traffic planning, traffic management, and road infrastructure, with a strong focus on real-world application. You will explore the types of challenges faced daily by urban planners, traffic engineers, and decision-makers. Through practical examples, you will practise analysing traffic-related problems and identifying solutions that work in real environments.

Knowledge you can use right away

During the course, you build a foundational understanding of how traffic system infrastructure is designed and functions. You learn how planning roads and transport systems affects traffic safety, the environment and people’s mobility in cities. While the focus is on road traffic and personal transport, the course also addresses how public transport, walking and cycling can be planned in a sustainable way.

You will work with key concepts and methods in traffic planning, such as traffic flow and density calculations and how different planning stages are connected. The course also covers road design and how smart, well-designed solutions can make traffic both safer and more efficient. Through traffic analysis and risk assessment, theory is closely linked to real-world examples.

Course content

The course introduces urban and traffic planning as well as traffic engineering concepts. You will work with traffic safety, traffic calming measures, traffic analysis, and risk assessment. Other key elements include evaluation of traffic systems, traffic forecasting, and the development of sustainable transport systems for the future.

Course format

The course is delivered digitally and mainly consists of lectures, including guest lectures from professionals with experience from real projects. A central part of the course is three project assignments completed during the term, partly using commercial software. The course is fully online and runs throughout the spring semester.

For those who want to make an impact

This course is well suited for students who want an introduction and deeper understanding of how traffic systems are developed and used. It is particularly relevant if you are interested in urban planning, traffic management, or future infrastructure – and if you want to contribute to safer, more sustainable, and better-functioning environments.

Course syllabus

Meet course coordinator Ghazwan

What is the course about?

The course focuses on how traffic systems and infrastructure are planned and function in practice in urban environments. You will learn about roads, intersections, and roundabouts, and how these are designed in a safe and efficient way for different types of road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, trucks, public transport, and electric scooters.
During the course, you will work with traffic data, including traffic flows, speeds, accident statistics, and travel patterns (origin–destination matrices, OD). We cover traffic calming measures, sight triangles, and methods for traffic risk assessment.
The course content is closely linked to Swedish guidelines and policy documents, such as Roads and Streets Design (VGU), Traffic for an Attractive City (TRAST), as well as various technical handbooks and reports produced by Swedish municipalities. The main focus is on road traffic and on how different road users move and interact in urban settings.
The course includes both theoretical content and real-world practical examples. We study both successful and less successful cases from Sweden and internationally to understand what works — and what does not. In addition, the course addresses sustainable transport, national transport policy and strategies, and smart solutions within infrastructure planning.

What is the best part of the course, and why should students take it?

One of the strongest aspects of the course is that, in the later stages, students work with real cases and challenges from Swedish cities. By that point, they have already developed a solid foundation in traffic systems, road safety, traffic planning, and infrastructure through the first part of the course.
Students learn how VGU is applied to design safe roads, and how TRAST or the EU’s SUMP framework can be used to create attractive and sustainable urban environments, for example in and around school areas. The course also provides a clear understanding of traffic calming measures and how streets can be designed in a safe way.
The course combines theory with practical methods and analysis. Students get hands-on experience with traffic analysis, infrastructure planning, and traffic risk assessment in real-world situations, making the course highly relevant for future professional roles.
An important part of the course is also that several professionals take part and contribute by bringing current challenges from their own working lives. These experiences are shared with other students through discussions and group project presentations, creating a strong link between academic studies and practical work.

What opportunities do you see after completing the course?

The course is particularly well suited for students with an interest in infrastructure, road safety, and urban development. After completing the course, there are opportunities to work in traffic and infrastructure planning, for example as a traffic planner, traffic engineer, or urban planner.
The knowledge gained is relevant for positions within municipalities, public authorities, and consultancy firms. Graduates may work with designing safe and efficient traffic environments and contributing to the development of sustainable cities, as well as with traffic analysis and evaluation of different solutions.
The course also provides a solid foundation for further studies within traffic, planning, and infrastructure.
A man in a suit and tie standing at a podium.

“By combining theory with real-world cases, analysis, and traffic risk assessment, the course becomes directly relevant for future careers.”

Ghazwan Al-Haji, course coordinator

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