Metaverse for advancing government: Prospects, challenges and a research agenda

A number of government agencies have started deploying the Metaverse to connect better with their constituents. The Metaverse provides a rich interaction environment and has the potential to engage with, especially, the younger generation. However, the Metaverse's potential impact on the government sector has been given limited attention....

Understanding people-centered planning practice in Europe: An institutionalist comparison between urban development projects in Vienna and Helsingborg

Pursuing people-centered planning practices (PCPs) such as participatory approaches demands a better understanding of how their operationalization relates to contextual structures and conditions in urban governance. By comparing two cases of social sustainability operationalization in Austrian and Swedish urban development projects based on...

Developing places for human capabilities: Understanding how social sustainability goals are governed into urban development projects

Although social objectives are frequently part of the pursuit of sustainable urban development, how such social sustainability goals can be achieved in urban development practices remains a largely unsolved puzzle. While scholars increasingly acknowledge that urban social sustainability is a plural concept that needs to be specified in...

BresDefender: An experimental study on an emergency response measure for levee breaches

The dissertation explores the use of emergency measures, particularly the BresDefender, to prevent or delay levee failure and mitigate the impacts of floods, focusing on the Netherlands' flood protection systems. Levees are vital for protecting low-lying areas, but there's always a risk of failure, leading to significant societal and material...