The two urban challenges of the mobility shift and industrial redevelopment come together at the site of the Merwe-Vierhavens (M4H) in Rotterdam. The mobility shift consists of the transition from polluting vehicles towards sustainable alternatives, like electric vehicles, and the use of public transport and slow mobility. The industrial shift consists of sites where the industrial function is moving out, resulting in urban redevelopment. This research dives into the following research question: ‘How can sustainable mobility guide the redevelopment of post-industrial sites towards a sustainable environment’. In the research, the component of sustainable mobility is connected to development and environment. Strategies like TOD and S2N are used to find synergies in research and design. To answer the main question, research is applied to the M4H, resulting in a strategic spatial framework. In this framework, mobility is elaborated in detailed design interventions. The challenge of sustainable mobility is further elaborated and explained in infographics, and the shift to design principles is made in a development pattern box. So sustainable mobility can guide the development by defining the mobility transition, by a translation into development principles, and the implementation of sustainable mobility in the redevelopment process.

The province of South Holland is a key player in the global food economy. However, its agrifood sector is currently generating unwanted outputs. CO2 emissions are the largest and most problematic output flow of this sector, causing negative externalities such as climate change and sea-level rise. Actors producing the CO2 are interlocked into a system and do not have the resources to escape this. This report uses the concept of the circular economy to design out this polluting output flow, while also taking the financial position of the actors into account. The transition to a circular agrifood economy for CO2 has to happen spatially. The available space in the province of South Holland is already under pressure to solve other major challenges, such as land degradation, climate adaptation, decreasing biodiversity and a poor urban landscape relationship. Solving all these challenges separately is inefficient and impossible. This report explores the possible synergies between mitigating those challenges and the transition towards a CO2 circular (i.e. CO2 neutral) agrifood economy, while also taking spatial justice into account. A future is envisioned of an interconnected metropolitan landscape where CO2 is stored in the form of biomass and where knowledge about a biobased economy is gained and exported to the world. A cross-subsidy CO2 exchange policy based on creating synergies with other challenges is proposed as a catalyst policy for this transition. Furthermore, specific spatial interventions in the form of setting up knowledge parks are also contributing to the transition. The agrifood sector will become much more robust and sustainable by trading CO2 together. The production of biomass mitigates other spatial challenges too, and vulnerable farmers get an additional source of income. With the proposed strategies, the province of South Holland is ready for a sustainable and cooperating tomorrow.