Coping with increasing tides: Evolving agglomeration dynamics and technological change under exacerbating hazards

By 2050 about 70% of the world's population is expected to live in cities. Cities offer spatial economic advantages that boost agglomeration forces and innovation, fostering further concentration of economic activities. For historic reasons urban centers cluster along coasts, which are prone to climate-induced flooding and sea level rise. To...

On the linkage between hydrology and society—learning from history about two-way interactions for sustainable development

The challenge of sustainable development is enshrined in the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations. The 17 goals and its various targets are unique with water being one of the cross cutting themes. Taking examples of past water dependent societies in a comparative setting, this paper challenges the new field of...

Rethinking the Absorption Capacity of Urban Space: How to better organise migration in the city?

This thesis project examined theories and practices of migration in Dutch urban space and observed that two tensions can be recognised. First, there is the tension between the dynamic nature of migration – migration as ongoing flow - and the rigid institutional and governmental practices offered as solutions. Second, a tension can be noticed...