This thesis investigates the relationship between displacement and Rotterdam’s housing policies, focusing on their social mixing strategy, which has been integral to the city’s redevelopment of vulnerable neighborhoods. Through the lens of spatial justice, it addresses past displacement issues and evaluates the effectiveness of the new Housing Vision (2023) in counteracting these issues, amidst increasing national housing challenges. The primary aim is to provide practical and actionable design tools that can limit displacement in future redevelopment.

The research seeks to answer: How can Rotterdam’s new housing policy integrate spatial guidelines to address displacement more effectively in the future redevelopment of vulnerable neighborhoods?

Key findings indicate that government-enforced changes in the housing stock and social composition, central to the social mixing strategy, are primary drivers of displacement. Comparing these (direct, financial, social, and cultural) displacement issues to the new policy direction reveals that displacement is a persistent risk, as the new policy pressures the universal right to housing, includes a social mixing strategy that is unjust and insufficiently grounded in research, and lacks opportunities for a localized approach. In response, this thesis proposes objectives to ensure the provision of sufficient housing, develop a fair and inclusive social mixing strategy, and encourage policy adaptability based on local characteristics. Each objective has corresponding spatial guidelines, implemented in the Tweebosbuurt, illustrating how this strategy can help achieve Rotterdam’s broader development goals while mitigating displacement.

Policymakers can utilize these insights to revisit and adapt the new housing policy objectives. Moreover, the design guidelines developed through this study can assist urban planners and architects in structuring developments in a way that minimizes displacement, and ultimately, contribute to a more equitable and socially just resolution to Rotterdam’s housing challenges.
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This research offers an interpretive analysis of Frances Macdonald's artistic portrayal of women during the Art Nouveau movement, with a focus on the evolving societal roles and positions of women. Through a visual analysis of Macdonald's artwork and a review of relevant literature, this thesis argues that her works can be interpreted as an attempt to accurately represent the limitations and struggles faced by women, including herself, during the Art Nouveau era.

Macdonald's portrayal of women in her artwork was often ambiguous, challenging the prevalent archetypes of the Femme Nouvelle and Femme Fatale, which were commonly depicted by male artists during that time. Her artwork depicted women in roles such as lovers, mothers, or sexual beings, often portrayed as unattractive or sexually unavailable. This deviation from the conventional portrayal of women in Art Nouveau art was a deliberate attempt by Macdonald to present a more authentic representation of women's experiences during that era.

This thesis sheds light on the often overlooked position of female artists, like Macdonald, within the artistic world of Art Nouveau. By comparing Macdonald's iconography with the prevalent iconography of Art Nouveau, this research challenges the dominant narrative of Art Nouveau as a reflection of women's emancipation and liberation. The provocative nature of Macdonald’s art, influenced by her affinity with women's rights, highlights her effort to voice a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of women's roles and positions in society. ... Read more

With the growing world population and concerns about resource scarcity, environmental pressures, and social challenges more and more industries have a growing interest in transitioning towards a circular economy.

In South Holland, specifically in the port of Rotterdam, the ship manufacturing sector requires fundamental change. Circularity is currently hardly integrated into the ship manufacturing sector, as the lifecycle of most ships follows a linear path. The cycle starts with raw metals being extracted from the earth, ending with scrap steel being poorly recycled for other sectors in Asia. Because of the lack of a global regulatory framework, and the growing capacity and capability pressures on the ship recycling business in Europe, the business will not be able to process the increasing number of ships to be recycled in the future.

To generate a spatial vision and strategy to solve these issues, which helps transition to a more circular ship manufacturing sector, this research uses evidence-based design. Several methods are used including literature research, data analysis, site analysis, and research by design.

This is done to work towards the final goal: integrating spatial, technological, and regulatory solutions into the ship manufacturing business of South Holland, to build circularity into every stage of the ship’s lifecycle. Essential in reaching this goal, is safeguarding the ship manufacturing sector, which is in a vulnerable position, in symbiosis with resilience, innovation, collaboration, and transparency.

In the end, the province of South Holland will be a world-leading example demonstrating more circular ship manufacturing in the port of Rotterdam. Spatially, this will result in a better port-city relationship, where ship manufacturing is embedded and mixed with other activities where possible, creating a synergy between different stakeholders. In addition, flows are connected by sustainable water transport.

By transitioning to a more circular ship manufacturing sector, the port of Rotterdam can contribute to the mitigation of the negative effects of climate change and resource scarcity. Additionally, the port of Rotterdam and its shipbuilding sector is of great international importance, which means the implementation of circularity can stimulate change and benefit people from the local to the global scale.
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