This research project reimagines planning through a critically reflexive and decolonial perspective. It positions the Western planning tradition within the oppressive structures of coloniality and neoliberalism, shaping the role of planning in the marginalisation of vulnerable communities. Modern planning is largely a product of the Western knowledge system and culture. Through its focus on rational and ‘objective’ knowledge inherently excludes many Indigenous knowledges and the lived experiences of vulnerable citizens. Due to the normalised application and adulation of the Western knowledge system, the colonial inheritance of an unjust built environment, and the increasing domination of neoliberal policy, these dynamics of exclusion remain unchanged.

As the Western planning tradition continuously proves to be unfit to meaningfully address the structural injustices in our built environment and society, because it is situated within the oppressive societal structures that cause these injustices, this thesis explores alternative approaches to planning to create just outcomes, such as humanist urbanism, feminist urbanism, Indigenous knowledges, and traditional planning practices.

This research bridges the gap between theory and practice by continuously connecting decolonial planning theory with the case of Old Fadama, an informal settlement in Accra, Ghana. Through critical reflexivity on the role of the planner and planning methodology, and empirical research in Old Fadama, a decolonial planning meta-methodology is proposed. The meta-methodology centres embodied and experienced knowledge in the planning process, promotes community-led and autonomous planning, and regards critical reflexivity as a key planning activity for Western planners working in non-Western contexts. The research itself is an important body of self-reflexivity and displays the transformation in thinking and acting that is necessary for decolonial planning.

The planning practices and spatial outcomes of Old Fadama are reimagined through this decolonial planning meta-methodology. By viewing Old Fadama as an example of community-led planning and governance rooted in decoloniality, our understanding of urban informality and urban planning can be transformed. The thesis contains a set of radical imagination exercises that visualise possible spatial outcomes of a decolonial planning approach that goes beyond the formal-informal binary and towards a just and decolonial future for Old Fadama.

There is an imbalance in the nitrogen cycle, mainly caused by an increasingly intensive agricultural sector. This leads to the degradation of nature and the loss of biodiversity. Measures have been taken at European level to reduce the amount of nitrogen emitted by the agricultural sector, but this has caused a backlash as farmers in many European countries have protested strongly. Many farmers fear for their future and something must be done to safeguard their livelihoods and the quality of Europe's nature.
To address this, we propose a vision for 2150 in which the food system of north-west Europe shifts from intensive agriculture to a regenerative, small-scale and collective farming system. We envision diversified and rotational land use to close nitrogen cycles and thus reduce the burden on the climate, giving the soil space and time to regenerate so that nature can thrive. Food and bio-based materials will be produced locally and seasonally, making food and material consumption more transparent and integrated into the daily lives of communities, transforming peri-urban and rural structures and the way we live in them. This regenerative production system, coupled with new incentives, will provide affordable food for all, while being more circular, organic, sustainable and fit for the future world we envision.
To enable diversified farms, farmers will share facilities, tools and land to enable soil-based crop rotation. This will have an impact not only on the local diet, but also on the food and materials produced. Focusing on local production also means introducing other collective infrastructures that increase local and regional flows. It also means reducing some of our international infrastructure while increasing knowledge flows between countries to empower people in the Global South to process and produce food locally, thus ensuring a more equitable distribution of resources. Finally, at the heart of the strategy is the conservation of nature, which will shape the boundaries of the newly structured peri-urban rural agricultural landscape. The existing boundaries of the built environment will remain, with the emphasis on densifying and transforming our current structures rather than expanding them.
In order to visualise the vision, we selected three pilot projects based on three different typologies and existing infrastructure: Nijkerk (sand, rural, a practical school and a milk processing unit), Utrecht (clay, urban and distribution centres) and Bodegraven (peat, peri-urban and dairy related businesses). These pilot projects show the necessary landscape transformation over time with the introduction of regenerative agriculture, food and material hubs along with food production within city boundaries, working towards a sustainable landscape and local diet.