Big Shifts in Spatial Planning in The Netherlands

Based on the understanding of the built environment as result of competing claims on space that must be resolved via recognition, fair distribution of burdens and benefits of our human association, respect and care for the planet and just procedures to decide on those claims, Spatial Planning and Strategy is a chair in the Department of Urbanism...

Balancing water rights in metropolitan water conservation areas: The case of Chengdu, China

Water justice can be a delicate balancing act. Conservation regulations ensure urban areas’ water demands are met, but these may conflict with the water rights of local people living in catchment areas. No metropolis wants to face water shortages, yet prioritising municipalities’ rights over those of local people can result in water injustice....

Critical cartographies for assessing and designing with planning legacies: The case of Jaap Bakema’s Open Society in ‘t Hool, the Netherlands

The Open Society appeared as a concept in planning discourse at the Congrès <br/>International d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM XI). It attempted to create urban <br/>conditions which would allow society to prosper. Despite its good theoretical <br/>intentions, the project did not always translate well into practice. We observe that <br/>historic...

Reactivating Public Life through Water. Lessons from the Forgotten Historical Canals in Guangzhou

In the heart of the Pearl River Delta, the city of Guangzhou is fast-growing and prone to flooding. In history, people constructed canals based on natural waterways to deal with water problems. The canal system not only served as an important infrastructure but was also as the backbone of urban life. The city was built around its canals; they...

Learning from Agri-Aquaculture for Multiscale Water-Sensitive Design in the Pearl River Delta

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) is a river dominated floodplain in southeast China. Decreasing space for water, through dike-ring construction, channelization, and urbanization, has led to increased flood risk from river, rain, and sea. To protect from flood risk, a more adaptive urbanization strategy is required; one takes into account a multiscale...

Briefing: Professor Vincent Nadin’s decade of spatial planning and strategy at TU Delft

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is the leading institution in the Netherlands for research and education in urbanism. Planning, design and technology traditionally form the key pillars of ‘Dutch urbanism’. The year 2008 marked the beginning of a new section with a new professor at the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built...

World Elephant Centre

In toenemende mate worden olifanten geconfronteerd met tal van bedreigingen, variërend van stroperij en illegale ivoorhandel tot het verlies van hun leefgebied. Om dit te veranderen moeten we de dieren niet alleen beschermen, maar ook met ze samenleven, door onze houding te veranderen via onderwijs en informatie. Het World Elephant Center in...

Future Publics: Politics and Space in East Asia’s Cities

The Shanghai Alleyway House: A Threatened Typology

Mapping urban complexity in an Asian context