New ideas and innovation are the fuel to the modern knowledge economy. The university has for centuries been part of the innovation system responsible for the development of new ideas. Today, the interdisciplinary character and complexity of societal issues makes that there is a need for new methods to support innovation development at university. This thesis has sought for these methods from two different perspectives: that of the urban design of the university city (Section 1) and that of the learning process of its students (Section 2). Section 1 aims at developing an urban design approach for creating innovation space in the university city by conducting design-based research. Section 2 uses critical reflection as a method to give insight in the integration of design and research in Section 1.