Resource depletion, environmental degradation and rising water levels due to climate change are the main global concerns. The built environment is a tremendous contributor to these pressures. Buildings are currently responsible for 39% of global energy related carbon emissions: 28% from operational emissions, from energy needed to heat, cool and power them, and the remaining 11% from materials and construction (WorldGBC, 2019). It is therefore important to seek solutions that challenge the current way of living, and minimise impact from operational emissions and materials and construction.
Throughout history battling these environmental problems has been done by making things more ‘sustainable’. Sustainability is a rather ambiguous term. William Rees argues that in order for something to become sustainable it must be detached from all unsustainable systems (Rees, 2009).

In this spirit the main research question this research plan investigates is the following:
How to design a sustainable housing district in Midden-Delfland?

with subquestions:
How to be sustainable in materials & construction?
How to be sustainable in operational emissions?
How to have a sustainable water management?

In this research two case studies into Ecovillage Olst and Ecovillage Boekel have also been done, looking at what their approach is. The two examples were chosen based on their differing approach in managing their heat. Ecovillage Olst makes use of passive solar gain while the Ecovillage Boekel stores the heat from the sun in its CESAR-heat battery system. The report consists of a catalog for biobased building, a map and categorisation of second hand building material stores in Noord-Brabant & South-Holland. It reviews various energy storage systems and finally compares different modes of off-grid water sanitation.
... Read more

The future poses a major problem of feeding 9 billion people by 2050, while the current system of agriculture in itself is unsustainable and demands resources which exceed the planetary boundaries. Further continuing this trend of exploitation and destruction of ecology will only worsen the planetary stresses the Anthropocene has established. Hence emerges the urgent necessity to reorganize and reinvent our current food system towards a sustainable and circular one to sustain life on our planet. Accordingly, the primary goal of this project is to achieve sustainability in the food sector, thereby achieving circularity and food security. The Netherlands has an extraordinary position in the global market and is globally leading in agricultural research, technology and innovation. Therefore it could prove to be fruitful to develop a regional sustainable agricultural model that could become a role model for sustainable agriculture globally. The vision is to reduce the spatial impact of our food system while discontinuing the destruction of new habitats. To achieve this, a healthy diet must be embraced, which not only proves to significantly improve our health but also facilitate a transition towards a healthier planet. By evaluating the spatial, environmental and health impacts of the current model, the negative externalities at each stage of the food sector are investigated. The diversification of the crops to be grown within South Holland is crucial in order to facilitate the transition from a food exporter to a self-sufficient region with respect to the food sector. To encourage more sustainable food production and enhance the relationship between people and their food production, it is invaluable to invest more power in the producers. Finally, the various steps involved in the food systems and the gap between people and the source of their food are reduced by initiating big food retail corporations to focus on food production. Thus, the transformation of the food industry through the integration of a sustainable agriculture model and reshaping the public’s perception of food consumption and dietary needs, will ultimately create a more healthy and balanced landscape, while aiming towards the collective goal of mitigating climate change. ... Read more