Public spaces in Indian metropolitan cities are often UNdesigned but regulated through universalized planning frameworks that inadequately account for socio-spatial diversity, informality, and lived experience. In Delhi, these limitations are intensified by extreme density, migration-driven heterogeneity, and layered histories of spatial control. This thesis examines public space not as a fixed physical entity but as a socially produced condition shaped through the interaction
of regulation and everyday use. Grounded in critical urban theory, including Lefebvre’s production of space, everyday urbanism, and theories of spatial and recognitional justice, the research adopts a qualitative, design-led methodology centered on mapping, drawing, and observation. Focusing on a neighbourhood-scale case within the National Capital Region, the study analyzes how public spaces are delimited through formal controls and informal practices, and how these
processes shape experiences of belonging and exclusion. Through layered analytical and interpretive drawings, the thesis reveals the relational, temporal, and negotiated nature of public space and proposes speculative design insights for engaging with hyper-diverse urban contexts. Rather than offering universal solutions, the research contributes a situated methodological approach for understanding and rethinking public space in cities like Delhi. ... Read more

Zeeland’s landscape is currently dominated by fossil fuel-based industries. Four big companies emit huge amounts of greenhouse gasses. As the energy transition progresses and stricter limitations to these polluters are set, they will have to drastically change their processes or phase out. Though necessary, this threatens the livelihood of these practically educated employees. To come to solutions that fit within a just transition, this research explores how spatial transformations can empower these workers.
The study uses spatial analysis, policy and plan review and stakeholder research to come to a vision of diversification of the labor market spaces and voices. This vision is worked out according to three spatial design principles: smart land use, multifunctionality, and evolving place identity. Smart land use prioritizes the redevelopment of brownfields and salinized farmland over using more unused land to develop. Multifunctionality means the use of large open spaces for more than one type of industry. An evolving place identity means that the future is built upon a past that is seen as a vital stepping stone instead of something to be ashamed of.
The results include the conclusion that for a just transition to take place, there is a need for worker-centered policies, retraining initiatives, and spatial strategies that allow individuals to choose their own pathway through the energy transition. This report presents a multisectoral and integrated strategy, working out the sectors of tourism, food production, and clean and green energy production. An expanded mobility network ties these changes together, allowing for better accessibility within and into Zeeland.
By positioning workers at the core of the transition, Zeeland can serve as an example for industrial regions navigating similar structural changes. A more diverse future will make Zeeland more resilient to both the current energy transition as well as other uncertainties and changes.
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