· · · Institutional Repository

To regenerate neighbourhoods of North Tower Hamlets by improving living environment and public space with child-friendly concept

Actual practice shows that the sales or lease out of a residential tower in the urban centre of Rotterdam is often very difficult. The goal of this research is to gain insight into the factors that provide a successful or unsuccessful sale or lease out of a residential tower. In an exploratory research an image has been formed of the factors that contribute to the success. This leads to four factors: product attributes, promotion, economic climate and competitive supply. In order to study the factors ‘product attributes’ and ‘promotion’ in depth, three case studies have been conducted to residential towers in the urban centre of Rotterdam. The findings have been translated in an advice to a developer. This advice has the outline of a step-by-step plan, which describes how a developer should deal with developing a residential tower in order to reduce the high risk. The step-by-step plan consists of 9 steps: Step 1: Analyze the location on: view and distance to amenities Step 2: Form a design team with high-rise expertise Step 3: Make a temporary design and focus attention on the view Step 4: Get public parties involved in the project Step 5: Determine which should be rental and which owner-occupied apartments, but be flexible Step 6: Launch an exhaustive promotion Step 7: Make an inventory of feedback on the design and actual interest Step 8: Start construction and sale or postpone it Step 9: Continue the promotion after sold out This step-by-step plan concentrates on the aspects that are different in developing residential towers with respect to low-rise residential buildings. It creates the possibility to reduce the risk on interest loss and the risk on poor sale and lease out.

The graduation project is called “City, catch the time! Rediscovering socialist neighbourhoods in a new capitalist society”. The study case is Vilnius, capital of Lithuania. Focus of the project is socialist housing estates, known as microdistricts. In the beginning of the year I have stated that those housing estates constructed until 1990s in all cities of the former USSR are declined, unattractive, and unsafe. However after analysis of the study case city Vilnius I have found that the city has more problems than the housing estates. There is a big threat of sprawl, and all developments go away from sustainability. While housing estates are popular among citizens, have public transportation, green space, room for development. Although still have a threat of decline and stigmatization. Considering threats of the city and advantages of housing estates I have developed vision for the city: instead of mono centric sprawling city it has to become a polycentric city with network of centralities, connected by public transportation. A huge socialist housing area in the north of the city supposed to become one of the centralities. Now the site is in a complete city periphery, big sleeping district with 150 000 residents. Strategy goal was to change that periphery into a centrality. According to study of modernist city was defined rules how it could be changed into a compact and diverse city. This part of the project is named concept rules for the strategy. Applying these rules, transport oriented development principles and advantages of the site was designed strategy how revitalize housing estates area and create a lively centrality. The strategy is divided into phases and projects like: developing three main axes with public transportation and creating an urban centre in between them. The centre is connected with the microdistricts. This connection is a tool to revitalize housing estates by changing their public space system and adding functions on the nodes. The strategy also defines links from microdistricts to the surrounding landscapes. In the design part was elaborated one of the routes linking housing areas and the centre. The route project has main intervention areas: the centre – conversion of shopping malls into urban blocks, pedestrian shopping street, station area and urban square; in Fabijoniskes microdistrict – forming urban street, designing new houses along the route, moving public and commercial functions to the route, designing urban square and park avenue; in Pasilaiciai microdistrict is formed route with a cultural and sports program, is designed community square and leisure and entertainment park. The approach of the project is to have less open space, but high quality and make space for new low rise housing. The effect of the interventions is - lively integrated housing areas, created centrality and a polycentric city.

This research gives a new approach for the transformation of the 'bloemkoolwijken' in the Netherlands. Whereby a set of spatial interventions is developed to update the 'bloemkoolwijken' on the neighbourhood and street scale level.

Implementing the program of the planned extension Westergouwe to contribute to the urban regeneration of different neighbourhoods in Gouda.

With renewed urban expansion focused on alternative ‘greenfield’ growth centres within Dublin, the research question seek to find if it is possible to consider the re-activation (urban recycling) of existing areas such as Rowlagh. Through an endogenous approach informing the critical design tasks, consider the regeneration and re-activation of areas that were intended growth centres within the Dublin new towns. The study focuses on Rowlagh with its associated social and physical infrastructure, which were an intended growth centre but have subsequently been abandoned resulting in high levels of vulnerability and deprivation.

Searching for potentials to the consequences of shrinkage within the Alblasserwaard region as part of the Green Heart.

This thesis holds a study on infrastructural residual space, space that is residual to the development of big scale infrastructure. By a desire to place these infrastructure as efficient as possible, meaning the trough flow and the building cost/time, these are constructed (location and dimension) without any concern to its adjacent context. The regulations and the dimension of big scale infrastructure make the direct adjacent area difficult to be developing by urban planners and designers. As a result these spaces develop by private initiatives and are developed without the supervision of a spatial organisation or concept. By this an urban fabric formed that mainly is oriented on the car users and hold great obstacles for pedestrian and bicyclist (to gather, travel and hold activities). By this they function as a gap within the urban life of a city, lacking the vitality, connectivity and attractiveness to function as a proper part within the city. This thesis researches the area residual to the A20 and the railroads between Rotterdam central, Schiedam central and Rotterdam Alexander. The area is located between the social-economic weak neighbourhoods of Spangen, Oud Mathenesse, Overschie and Nieuwe Westen. By their location adjacent to infrastructure these hold an autonomous structures, making these isolated island within the city. Within the research six spatial criteria for vitality, attractiveness and connectivity are implemented to show the spatial frailties causing the gap in urban life. This thesis provides spatial strategies and urban design interventions that can integrate this area within its urban fabric, aiming to provide social or economic benefits for the residents within the adjacent neighbourhoods, Urban Regeneration.

The graduation project concerns the Brainport region, located in the southwest of the Netherlands, around the city of Eindhoven. The aim of the graduation project is to strengthen the position of the Brainport region in the knowledge economy. Hereby the attraction of creative and innovative companies and the stimulation of their development plays a crucial role. The development of these creative and innovative companies have therefore been divided into four phases of development, with each a different supportive urban environment. This graduation project is an alternative strategy to the current policy of developing new work and live environments on the outskirts of the city. This project pleads for the locating of starting companies on more centrally located sites, where they benefit from the proximity of knowledge sources and facilities. Therefore small-scale industrial sites will be transformed for the facilitating of these starting entrepreneurs. Together with knowledge sources and business and science parcs, the starter environments form a network through the city of Eindhoven. These hotspots will be mutually connected through a Bus Rapit Transport network. The spatial interpretation of such a starter environment is presented in an urban design of the Hoogstraat, in the southwest of Eindhoven.

The place where you live is a part of your life. The perception of the living environment partly determines the perception of overall life. This graduation project tries to contribute to a better urban living environment and therefore to a better urban life. The key solution to this is urban green. The graduation project can be split in three parts. The first part of the graduation project is an overview of the benefits of urban green. This theoretical part is based on a literature study. The second part of the graduation project focuses on the design: an urban regeneration. This practical part is based on the results of the process of research by design. The location is set by two pre-war neighbourhoods in Utrecht Noordwest: Elinkwijk and Zuilen. The third part of the graduation project puts the urban design in a wider perspective. The design solutions can be used in other situations.

This master thesis is the result of a graduation project for the MSc program in Urbanism at the faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology. It aims at making a strategy to use the Olympic Games as a catalyst for urban regeneration in Rotterdam. Although the Games in itself are a short-term event, the impact on the host city and surrounding region can be of great extent in the long run. Increasingly, mega-events like the Olympic Games are considered a tool for urban regeneration with the intention to bring about longterm development for the city and its region. This phenomenon is called the mega-event strategy.

The land-in-between. A spatial investigation on the future transformation of the rural-urban fringe, (using the case of) the A4/Vlietzone, The Hague.

The concentration of humans – in some cases judged as too high, in others not high enough – and the problems connected to this, have resulted in discussions on density. Prior to the 20th century, density in European cities was merely an outcome of complex circumstances. During the second half of the 19th century, high densities in industrializing cities were argued to be one of the major causes of fires, diseases and social turmoil. In this period, density was introduced as a tool to analyse and diagnose the quickly growing and often overcrowded cities. In a following period of increased state intervention, the concept expanded into an instrument used to propagate alternatives and prescribe maximum densities in order to guarantee certain physiological and social qualities of urban environments (such as air, light and privacy). We can observe a shift from urban density as a mere result of city development and migration to a tool used to analyse problems; and, later on, to an instrument applied to offer improved solutions. More recently, minimum densities are argued for to support amenities and public transport, and as part of the solution to produce more sustainable urban environments with potential for vital human interaction (‘urbanity’). In spite of the practical advantages of the concept of urban density in urban planning, critics have argued that the use of density for anything but statistical purposes is questionable, as it is perceived as a too elastic concept. Many professionals, as well as researchers, hold the opinion that measured density and other physical properties are independent of each other. Besides the argued lack of relationship between density and form, density is also considered with suspicion because of the confusion regarding the definition of plan boundaries and the scale at which these are measured. There is no one accepted measure of density in or shared by different countries. This research takes off with a critical review of the origin, content and practical usefulness of the concept of urban density, and aims at revising and reviving the concept to the benefit of both the planning and design process, and scientific research. This doesn’t mean that an old instrument is just taken out of the basement, dusted off and reignited. No, the shortcomings of the existing density measurements methods in conveying information about urban form and performance are certainly very real, as others have pointed out. Those shortcomings, however, have led many to the conclusion that the concept as such is flawed and even dangerous. We insist, though, that the problem with the most commonly used density measurements methods is one of representation and resolution, and not of the concept itself. The development of the Spacematrix method to measure density and identify a series of associated properties is the main result of this research. We have redefined density as a multivariable and multi-scalar phenomenon to counter the existing Babel-like confusion in the terminology currently being used by those working in the urban field. Further, through the use of this multivariable and multi-scalar approach, density can be related to potential urban form and other performances. This makes it possible to reposition the concept of density in the field of urban planning and design, and research. From an instrument to prescribe the programme of a given area, density can become a tool to guide both quantitative and qualitative ambitions, and thus fuse urban planning and design into true urbanism.

Het bewijs leveren dat binnen het stedelijk gebied van Nijmegen voldoende ruimte aanwezig is voor de woningvraag van de stad, teneinde een alternatief te bieden voor de Vinex-opgave die in de Waalsprong gerealiseerd wordt. Door middel van stedebouwkundig onderzoek is gekozen het antwoord te zoeken in inbreidingslocaties in de naoorlogse wijk Dukenburg. Dit resulteert in een stedebouwkundig ontwerp op verschillende schaalniveaus van de wijk.

When it comes to user-friendliness and the relations to the city centre, a lot of station areas need improvement. The aim of this graduation project was to transform the station area of Zwolle into an inviting, user-friendly and well-connected part of the city. The result is a design (based on research) that shows the potential for the inviting, user-friendly and well-connected station area that Zwolle could have.

The site Dashilan is the most sever UHI area of Beijing currently. Located in the center of Old Beijing, it is consist of historical courtyards with flourish old brand commercial and many cultural heritages. High density (15m2/house), almost fully covered by concrete without enough green space, make this area really have a bad living quality and climate quality. The historical courtyards were used as much as possible, shared by as many as possible families that make these heritage decaying. In this report above complex urban problems will be researched in 2 axis: the climate adaptive urban design and sustainable urban regeneration. A summary of urban geometry and microclimate theory will be provided firstly to clarify what aspects in urban form could we control to improve microclimate. After that several topics will be explained clear during design. • Density, • Context-respecting housing type and infrastructure, • Climate strategy in district, courtyard, and building element aspects; • Community identity and public space quality. A master plan will be given for this 130 hectare area. And finally a 300*300 area will be elaborate designed to show how the planning guild lines in 1km scale being used and adjusted.

Connecting, among university campuses & between campuses and the city of Shanghai.

It's an urbanism and architecture comined graduation project. It consists about an urban plan for the "Zeeburgerpad" in Amsterdam and a design for a building within this urban plan. Major theme of the urban plan is the "Strip" and the building design is 'flexible/adaptible' housing/working building,