In my graduation project I have researched the relation between built space and open space in the urban context. With the current densification challenge in Utrecht much more built volume is added to the city, increasing the pressure on open space. Open space is of great importance in securing urban liveability and has in particular many environmental values. By proposing redesigns in the neighborhood of Rivierenwijk, both the quantity and quality of open space is improved, enabling a sustainable densification potential. Central in these redesigns are environmental aspects regarding climate resilience and biodiversity and how they can be reinforced in the urban open space. Therefore contributing in the transition of Utrecht to become a more climate resilient and nature-inclusive city.

The last decades in the spatial development of the cities in Eastern Europe can be described as a complex outcome of the institutional and societal changes after the era change in 1989. During this time the economy of these countries was transformed from a central-planning-controlled system based on state ownership to a neoliberal one, where capitalist principles rule. Besides, the political structure also changed entirely because the socialist regimes were transformed into democracies. Through these complex transitions, everybody’s life was affected because regulations, employment and services were reorganised. These processes also had a great effect on the urban fabric and continue to affect the current development of these cities. In my thesis, I collect the post-socialist consequences of the era change to specifically address them through creativity-led regeneration. This type of regeneration can be a catalyst to achieve an integrated design process to positively affect local communities and to reach a larger social impact through which the social and spatial consequences of the post-socialist transition can be addressed at the same time. This is demonstrated through a detailed creativity-led regeneration process in the XXIst district of Budapest, in the underused industrial area of the Csepel Works.

Cities around the world constitute complex systems, as sets of sub-components that are connected and interact with each other. Due to this inherent complexity, there are numerous emerging challenges that need to be tackled. In those complex environments, various-interest groups collaborate and compete to achieve their goals and interests, constituting a vital part of urban planning. The advancement of technology and ICT, and the abiding need to keep citizens engaged, marked a critical shift in the way that urban planning confronts the increasingly contemporary complex issues. This advancement has offered citizens a way to digitally participate in urban planning procedures, overcoming certain limitations, while posing, also, challenges related to the level of its effectiveness. While many methods and tools have been developed over the years, for enhancing citizen engagement and the effectiveness of public participation, there seems to be an evident gap in substantial and two-way collaboration among the (relevant) urban stakeholders. This thesis project aims to hark the perspectives and needs of the urban stakeholders, translating them into a conceptual design of a digital public participation platform. Next to that, except for the importance of the platform itself, as a tool, the focus was also given to participation, as a process, considering that such a platform could and should act as a promoter of effective public participation rather than a stand-alone solution. Consequently, the main research question of this study is: Which characteristics need to be included in designing a public participation platform so that it can enhance citizen engagement and facilitate more effective public participation in urban planning? For this research, a design science research approach was chosen. A theoretical background was developed on existing theories, methods and frameworks related to public participation and digital platforms. Data collection was conducted using multiple methods, including workshops, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires, while data analysis was conducted inductively, to identify all the emerging patterns and their interrelations. From the data analysis, five core themes emerged: General findings; (De)Motivational factors for public participation; Characteristics; Technical requirements; Technological features. Retaining these themes, the analyzed results were then critically synthesized, both in qualitative and quantitative terms, to provide a holistic overview. Combing the obtained results, the main research outputs were developed, providing an overall answer to the main research question. First, a trifold validation of the results, related to the past, present, and future, was conducted, fulfilling the rigor and design cycle of the design science research, and attaining a continuous assessment. Building upon the evaluation results, for the platform as a tool, a conceptual design was developed, based on the different views of the urban stakeholders. For the process of public participation in general, a set of guidelines was developed, providing recommendations on how to enhance citizen engagement and the effectiveness of public participation, based on the different views of the urban stakeholders. This thesis concludes with some important final remarks, including limitations, recommendations for future research, research relevance, and the author’s final reflections on the research.

Semarang City is located in the northern part of Java Island, Indonesia. As an important port city, Semarang’s urban fabric is closely related to its infrastructure: water and traffic networks. However, since the 1980s, the acceleration of Semarang urban growth has not been supported by proper foundations. The characteristics of the coastal area were hardly taken into account in urban development. Consequently, flood risk and, in particular, rob phenomena or tidal flood became the chronic problem of Semarang City. Consequently, environmental degradation and infrastructure destruction have continued to occur in the Semarang coastal area. Moreover, community life is always threatened by inundation risks. With Semarang as a backdrop, this research aims to address the gap on soft and hard approach in urban mitigation resilience planning in concept from both social and ecological resilience perspective and positioning urban design (both from architecture, landscape, and planning) by exploring the local adaptive mechanism in the chosen coastal Kampung Kemijen, in Semarang, Indonesia. This research derived from the socio-cultural perspective, trying to explore more on the local level and how it can be translated and integrated into the larger scale urban mitigation planning. The objective of the strategic framework, which is based on the socio-ecological principles, the actions which try to integrate the soft and hard approach in urban planning, and both of the design framework and strategies outcomes will be implemented on the design elaboration. The Strategic Framework’s goal is to develop a general understanding and possibilities of balancing the soft and hard approach in urban mitigation planning from the human scale through to the city scale. The project tries to read the relationships between three scales of planning: the city of Semarang, the coastal area (on the district scale), the kampung, and most importantly, to the human scale. The projects at some point are very site, time, and contextually specific. Therefore, the people’s participation and the high concern of climate and ecological-based planning are very important. In the end, This research demonstrates the strength and quality of the soft approach through local adaptive mechanisms in urban planning. Public participation is an important aspect when dealing with the urban planning issue in the Indonesian context. The normative urban planning in Indonesia tends to exclude public participation, whereas utilizing the local adaptive mechanism might contrive a new way of urban mitigation planning, which can be enforced for longterm planning.

Chengdu, is a megacity in the west of China with a long history and a population of almost 20 million. It is one of the largest cities in China where the socio-cultural identity stands out with a unique local lifestyle. Also, it is a city facing overall urban regeneration since 2020, when the establishment of an urban regeneration system at the city level was just started. In the past decade, the TOD redevelopment including the fast construction of metro lines and stations has been one of the core strategies taken in this city. Soon, this will cause a possible rush of urban regeneration in terms of demolishing and rebuilding around the metro stations in the inner city of Chengdu. The local public lifestyle could be threatened not only because of the absence of tools to maintain it in the incomplete urban regeneration system but also because the values of socio-cultural identity can be always easily compromised in the decision-making process for its “less urgent” position. This project aims to build an integrated strategic framework for extending and flourishing the local public lifestyle in future urban regeneration in Chengdu in the long term, strengthening the socio-cultural sustainability of the city. In this project, the research consists of four sessions. Firstly, the research about understanding the local public lifestyle, including representative scenes and the supporting factors, has been done. Secondly, the research about the possible influence on the scenes of lifestyle from the business as usual of demolishing and rebuilding has been conducted. Thirdly, the exploration about strategy development to extend and flourish the local public lifestyle in the selected site has been done. At last, the research about how to make those strategies feasible by institutional planning has been done. It was found that there can be three groups of supporting factors categorized by “people”, “space” and “service” for the local public lifestyle, and eighteen representative scenes have been concluded. Also, the business as usual can generate much more threats than opportunities on the existing scenes identified in the design testing. To avoid the threats and fully use the opportunities, in urban design, to identify the scenes in status quo, analyze how to extend and flourish the scenes and assess the performance of design strategies are important. This can help to inform what needs to be done in demolishing and rebuilding projects. However, to really make sure the intention of extending and flourishing the local public lifestyle can be integrated into the realistic project process, planning tools are also demanded. Therefore, a toolbox containing eight tools has been carried out. At last, institutionalization is demanded to regulate the project process and plug the tools developed into the conventional project process. To provide better and more practical support in the decision-making process of demolishing and rebuilding projects, further research about the lifestyle model is needed both at the theoretical level and in practice.

Cradle to Church is a project that explores the possibilities of circular heritage as a way of approaching the topic of sustainability for the future of heritage. Focusing on the revitalizing of the Jacobuskerk in Winterswijk, the project forms of a sustainable response on the increasing vacancy rates of Catholic churches through integrating the concept of Cradle to Cradle. Vacancy rates are an ongoing problem on a large scale and include highly valued and important building typologies for the development of our history, such as religious objects like Catholic churches. Such heritage has an influential position in the communication of the building environment with society, which is valuable to be maintained. This influential position offers possibilities for other relevant topics to be communicated in addition. The agenda of sustainability is a topic that architects are increasingly taking responsibility in, as the ecological problems and the influence of the current building environment for the future is clear. The revitalization of vacant buildings is important for a sustainable future building environment as vacant buildings form a sensitive part of the aspects that make our current building environment unsustainable. This unique position of heritage therefore forms a relevant sector for architects to respond on. Currently the potentials of sustainability in heritage are mostly understood to essentially lie in the extension of the lifetime of a building retaining the important and valued character of the building. But can it be more? In terms of circular economy an object of heritage and the values it features are initially not at all designed to be circular. Initially designed with specific status and values or gained over time, these objects are designed to become waste eventually. The postponing of becoming waste by the extension of the lifetime is typically considered as a less-bad approach of dealing with sustainability as it is not solving the source of the ecological problem but merely delaying and minimizing the effect. This graduation project focuses on the question if heritage being an existing cradle to grave product can form a solution to the root of the ecological problem, as according the concept of Cradle to Cradle this solution would essentially rely on a new way of designing. Since heritage is designed as linear product in a significantly less advanced linear economical system that is eco-effective and less bad at best, can it become a circular and eco-efficient cradle to cradle product in a building environment, economy and society slowly but surely shifting towards a circular model? Or is less bad the maximal sustainable potential reachable in heritage? In response to this question Cradle to Church approached the Jacobuskerk in Winterswijk as an education center through the formation of a set of interventions that translate the circular principles as proposed by the concept of Cradle to Cradle into the existing framework of values that compose the monumental character of the Jacobuskerk. Through the interventions and the circular statements behind them, this project aims to form a reference for the typology of Catholic churches and other objects of heritage. Furthermore, the project hopes to form a point of discussion regarding the exclusive position of Heritage in the formation of a sustainable future building environment.

Metropolitan regions are the most urbanized and globalized areas as the concentration of population and economy in the world, which makes them exposed to various global emergency risks like pandemics. And the COVID-19 outbroke from Wuhan (China) at the end of 2019, offered an up-to-date perspective as an opportunity to investigate and improve the vulnerability of metropolitan regions in highly contagious global diseases. Metropolitan Region Amsterdam, is one of the most developed regions in the Netherlands and the world, who is playing a significant role in globalization. However, in this emerging public health crisis, MRA has been the most vulnerable region as the current epidemic hotspot. The concentration of corona cases in the region has resulted in various negative impacts, both directly and indirectly. Considering these problems, this project is a research-oriented design in MRA for the post-pandemic vision. Firstly, through a series of theoretical, political, and spatial analysis, the main problem of MRA is that it is vulnerable to the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic due to a vicious cycle of urban vulnerability which has been exposed and intensified by the hazard of COVID-19. And the basic reason is related to its attachment to continuous economic growth. The government of MRA has also paid attention to this problem and attempted to transfer its development from a pro-financial model to a pro-well-being model with a theoretical underpinning called “Doughnut Economics”. However, like many other experimental tests, this transformation follows the traditional planning method which is not suitable for dynamic risks like the pandemic. Therefore, this research is aiming at spatial and political strategies based on the methodology of dynamic planning to improve urban resilience facing the pandemic in the post-COVID MRA. And the final concrete outcomes will be on different scales. There will be a vision of post-COVID MRA through a set of strategies of municipalities and institutions to improve urban resilience. And on a local scale, there will be a resilient design for different pandemic vulnerabilities for an equal and sustainable community.

Rapid urbanization, governmental neglect, socio-spatial segregation, and a widening societal gap has led to São Paulo’s nickname as the ‘City of Walls’ (Caldiera, 2000). These processes continue to shape the sprawling city today, contributing to the formation of a society characterized by multi-dimensional inequality and deeply isolated marginalized communities. In addition, global pressures resulting from climate change and the degradation of ecological systems within the region further expose these marginalized communities to increasing risks. Consequently, leading parts of the city to live in the of face extreme exposure, especially as these communities lack the resilience to withstand these socio-ecological pressures. Addressing these socio-environmental inequalities requires the establishment of a foundation of ecological integrity, ensuring a high standard of liveability and an environment of inclusivity for marginalized communities. This research proposes the reconfiguration of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo through socio-ecological strategies aimed at restoring ecological integrity, promoting social inclusivity, and empowering local communities. By examining the vulnerabilities, barriers, and opportunities present in Brazilian society, this project seeks to promote the restructuring of São Paulo for socio-ecological resilience, embracing principles of nature-based urbanism, sustainable urban development, and adaptive governance capacities.

Chennai, a historical seaside city on the southern coast of India, has undergone extensive urbanisation ever since the postcolonial economic reform of the nineties. Mismanaged urban growth that predominantly prioritises economic development has led to a situation of congestion, lack of public space and forgotten ecological networks in the city. These issues, over time, have amounted to a living environment that is negligent of the pedestrian, and lacks many opportunities for social interactions, opportunities to sit, walk or just wander in the city. The recently redefined building codes stand to further exacerbate the situation, due to the lack of an integrated perspective of densification in the city. This project aims to find potentials in the ever changing and densifying city, to facilitate liveable and vibrant environments for those who inhabit it. The process of densification and urban growth is redefined in Chennai, through the evaluation of its synergies and conflicts with the mobility network and the ecological systems in the city. This results in a trans-scalar design and planning strategy that facilitates urban transformation in a holistic manner, taking into account ecological impacts, mobility patterns and local daily use patterns of public space by the people in the city.

More and more frequently, the streamflow of the Rhine becomes dangerously low. Drought is exacerbated by climate change, glaciers are melting at rapid rates. These problems affect the functions and ecosystems around the Rhine. The Rhine accounts for two-thirds of all inland waterway transports across Europe and thus experiences severe economic consequences when the streamflow gets low. Goods can no longer be shipped, and industries and agriculture depend on this water supply. More importantly, the Rhine also serves as a source of clean drinking water. With growing urbanisation, industries and agriculture along the Rhine, the pressure on the drinking water supply grows. The chances of periods of drought are increasing. Problems like salinisation, water pollution, damage to ecosystems and rising water temperatures will only become more apparent in the future. In Every Drop Counts, the vision for the Rhine is to become a connected green-blue infrastructure. This proposal combines nature-based solutions that form a coherent system on a small scale and a green-blue infrastructure that works in a cross-border approach. Together they provide habitat diversity, mitigate drought, and human-nature interactions. The riverscape of the Rhine has to deal with more extreme fluctuations in water levels and more intense periods of drought and flooding. To battle the problems the Rhine faces, this thesis attempts to create a pattern catalogue focussing on drought-mitigating design strategies. These strategies are implemented around the Rhine to create a riverscape able to deal with streamflow fluctuations. The design strategy will have other positive benefits besides a drought-resilient riverscape. Flooding of urbanised areas can be avoided, and living and recreational spaces will stay functional during periods of drought. Industries, agriculture and thus the economy around the Rhine will remain stable during periods of drought, as water retention capacity will be increased and buffers can be implemented. Habitat diversity will develop and improve biodiversity. The implemented green-blue infrastructure creates a connected structure of habitats where species can flourish. Part of this strategy will be restoring historic riverscapes, creating more space for the Rhine and bringing back old habitats that got lost during the reconstruction of the Rhine. To create a functional riverscape during streamflow drought, the Rhine will have to use all available water throughout the seasons. To mitigate the drought problems, the urban and rural areas have to create a synergy where strategies are combined, and land is optimally used to develop a drought-mitigating strategy. For this, it is essential to know what each area around the Rhine offers and what type of drought-mitigating measures are most suitable to implement. The nature-based solutions embedded in the green-blue infrastructure are combined into a drought-mitigating pattern catalogue. This multiscalar pattern catalogue can be filtered for different types of landscapes, land uses, and more requirements. This approach is tested on other design locations and leads to a selection of measures that apply to different landscapes. By implementing the green-blue infrastructure approach with nature-based drought-mitigating solutions in rural and urban areas, a functional riverscape during streamflow drought can be created.

A masterplan, commissioned by the Municipality of Dar es Salaam aims to redevelop the Lower Msimbazi River Basin with new urban development. In the context of rapid urbanisation and sustainable development, uncovering the relationship between public space and resiliency as mediated by urban form is essential to contribute to resilient master planning in developing environments and in this context, a more resilient public space in the redevelopment masterplan in Dar es Salaam. The research departs from an ongoing tension in master planning – how to assess and determine optimal qualities of urban form to enhance resiliency of public spaces. The research aims to define, spatially assess, and explore the relationships of factors influencing public space resiliency in central Dar es Salaam using a combination of a transdisciplinary literature review, geospatial quantitative analysis, ethnographic observations, and in-depth interviews. To inform a more resilient public space in the redevelopment masterplan, the research urges approaching resiliency in terms of ward-based identities and typologies. It recommends improving resiliency through the creation of space by enabling polycentricity, designing for wider conceptions of public space and strategically densifying through the creation of new urban forms. The research opens up possibilities for strategic interventions given further local investigation and site-specific acceptability by residents in Dar es Salaam.

The climate crisis will require far-stretching changes to our urban systems, also called a transition. However, the direction in which our society will transition is still deeply uncertain. To become less vulnerable, cities and urban areas need to increase their adaptive capacity, establishing an evolutionarily resilient region. Delta cities in the Netherlands are governed through a decentralised and neo-liberal governance model, giving responsibilities for the long-term to local actors. As a result, climate adaptation relies on being integrated in local urban redevelopment projects to produce the necessary innovations that are needed for the transition. In the Netherlands, post-industrial port sites are redeveloped into mixed-use residential areas which should have an innovative and adaptive character to function as pilots for the regional transition towards a climate adaptive system. Nevertheless, in many cases short-term responsiveness and econmic values get the overhand, reducing the innovative value of experiments and the contribution pilot projects make for the essential transition. This leaves redeveloped neighbourhoods and the delta region vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis and is predicted to result in a chaotic transition from the existing to the climate adaptive system (Rotmans, 2021). This urbanism graduation project therefore studies the following question: how can post-industrial port redevelopments contribute to the transition towards climate adaptive delta cities? Comparative case study research of cases in the Rhine-Meuse delta is used first to compose an understanding of mechanisms behind the integration of climate adaptation and industrial and societal transitions in post-industrial port redevelopment projects. Next, the case study lessons for adaptation are integrated with transition principles in a redevelopment strategy for a representative case and regional pilot for climate adaptation: de Staart in Dordrecht. Here, the Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways framework (Haasnoot et al., 2013) proves to be a promising methodolgy for making the complex and interdisciplinary transitions more insightful. An urban design simulation for a section of de Staart shows how the policy pathways should be used in combination with an inclusive process, a spatial framework and a set of dynamic rules to esure that short-term actions contribute to the long-term transition pathway and adaptation under uncertain future contexts remains possible. The strategy for climate adaptive redevelopment of post-industrial sites shows that it can improve local liveability through its inclusive process and accellerate the regional transition by being connected in a regional network. The project shows promising qualities for bridging the gap between ambitions towards realising climate adaptive delta cities and it can be a valuable design and redevelopment strategy for application in practice. Nevertheless, applicability in different context than the Rhine-Meuse delta can be evaluated by performing similar research under different cultural contexts.

The Jacobuskerk is currently the Catholic church of Winterswijk. Because of the outflow of churchgoers, there is a high probability it will lose this function in the future. Therefore, the challenge is to find a new purpose. There is an opportunity to create a public space in the church which can act as a meeting place for the whole community. The function that has been chosen is a library and community center. This communal function continues the social aspect of church buildings. As the new function requires a more open appearance, several transformations will be made. The values ​​of the church serve as a starting point for these transformations. Firstly, the front and the back of the church are better connected to the surroundings. The church is located in between a shopping street and a park. At the front of the church this is done through a colonnade, connecting the shopping street with the entrance of the church. At the back of the church an extension is made in the form of a public stairs and tribune looking over the park. The roof of the extension forms an elevated walkway, connecting the park and the shopping street. Secondly, the nave is transformed into a library space. The existing building is adapted to meet the new requirements. A bookcase with three floors is placed in the aisle of the church. A curtain is applied as a room dividing and acoustic element to transform the space into an event space. Thirdly, an element is placed in the transept of the church. This will create an interior garden inside the church space. The facade of this element is inspired by stained glass windows. The colored glass creates an interesting play with colors in the interior of the church. The interior garden is accessible from the elevated walkway. Underneath the element, a sheltered reading room is created.

Chennai, one of the largest metropolitan cities on the Eastern coast of South India, has seen massive growth over the last few decades, accompanied by a majorly infrastructure-led development that has put economic prosperity over environmental value and social inclusion. The effects of this process have been witnessed during the intense climatic events that the city has borne the brunt of, particularly affecting the socio-economically poor living in ecologically sensitive areas. The response measures that have been taken following such events have led to further marginalisation of these communities. The project proposes an integrated planning and design framework for the vulnerable areas in Chennai, in order to address climate adaptation in a more inclusive, just and humane manner.

The survival and development of the city of Maastricht are facing enormous threats from the increasingly frequent and severe fluvial floods, while the leisure industry is the most vulnerable to flood damage as a crucial segment of the economy, accounting for about 50% of the total economic damage. However, flooding is essentially just a natural process with numerous ecological benefits, and can even stimulate diverse recreational activities under certain conditions. Therefore, this report aims to explore integrated transformation from an urban design perspective for the city of Maastricht to adapt to river flooding and to promote sustainable leisure industry. It implies a transformed urban fabric that prevents the damage caused by river flooding and converts floods into a resource for sustainable leisure industry development through a series of spatial interventions and programs that cross three scales (regional scale, city scale, and neighborhood scale).

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.

With the climate change and energy transition becoming evident and ever so relevant, industrialised regions focussed on fossil fuels need to rethink their socio-economic plan. Furthermore, urban designers are obliged to rethink the energy paradigm. This report combines energy landscape and resilient region theory and applies it on the peri-urban and industrialised polycentric metropolitan region of the Ruhr, Germany. The present structure of the metropolitan region is analysed and linked - using existing literature - to energy consumption and potential energy production. Using scenario building, design exploration is applied to strenghen ecosystem services as a way to adapt to the climate and implement sustainable energy landscapes. These sustainable energy landscapes are the spatial element of the energy transition and the new energy system. Furthermore, these landscapes facilitate climate adaptation. This report is a research-based design experiment, proposing an alternate energy transition strategy, focussing on ecosystem services, while improving the spatial quality of the peri-urban Ruhr area.

Exchanges between China and Africa involving political, economic, scientific and cultural aspects have a long history and are constantly updated according to the practical needs of both sides. The high degree of complementarity has led to China-Africa deepening cooperation, which has been accompanied by the emergence of new industrial clusters, the shift in the interest of new investors, and the movement of new immigrant groups. Nevertheless, differences in historical traditions, social culture, and religious beliefs between immigrant groups and native groups, as well as the possible inequalities in economic power and international discourse between the two sides, often lead to controversial ways of cooperation and negative interactions. According to the current mode of China-Africa capacity cooperation, industrial parks, as the main spatial carrier, have become the main platform for cooperation between China and African countries. The volume of industrial parks and the impact they bring to the host countries are no longer limited to affecting local economic development as the scale of investment continues to expand, but in most studies, such foreign co-built industrial parks are still treated as an instrument, and the focus of relevant studies is mainly on their promotion of local industrialization. As an entity with economic, social, spatial, and governance attributes that occupies a large area, has a high construction intensity, and has intensive flows of elements, the integration, and interaction between industrial parks and local cities is a direction that can be explored with many new perspectives and strategies. So the aim of this study is, to use the China Eastern Industry Zone(EIZ) in Ethiopia as a case, to explore integrated strategies to foster regional vitalization in Dukem, Ethiopia via an incremental approach. Firstly, through literature research, mapping and comparative analysis, it is found that the impact of the Eastern Industry Zone on local urbanization and industrialization has penetrated into various aspects of socio-economic, spatial and governance. And the challenges and difficulties at the current stage are complex and intertwined. Therefore on-site surveys and questionnaires were used to analyze the demands of different local groups for the construction and operation of the Eastern Industry Zone, thus establishing the core position of this study to consider industrial park projects as an external opportunity to promote endogenous local development. Then, based on literature research, comparative analysis and statistical analysis, the local capacity is assessed in three dimensions: spatial, socioeconomic and governance. Through scenario analysis, a vision is proposed, followed by the planning process to delve further into four cross-scale strategic action plans for industrial parks as an active medium for local vitalization. Finally, by analyzing the bottom-up spatial patterns, local activities, and stakeholders in local industrial communities in Dukem, focusing on the interaction and interface between industrial space and urban space, design guidelines for industrial communities are proposed, which is applied to the unbuilt Phase Two area of the Eastern Industry Zone for design testing.

As of today, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we might feel ever more dependent on technologies to keep the world connected. Nonetheless the term technology includes more than our boundary blurring gadgets and prosthetics. With architecture as one of the first technologies (among language and writing) they shape us mutualistically as we have shaped them. The role of architecture is being revised in this research by means of how we style life and the way we style death, reflected on a projective digital future existence. The definition of ‘what is means to be human’ is one of many centuries whereby theories of the Posthumanities enrich the 21st century discussion through its inclusion of technology. This research assists the trajectory of the architectural design for the purpose of exteriorization and materialisation of abstract terms such as experience, consciousness, memories, empathy, grief, embeddedness and so on. While trying to map human characteristics informed by Posthuman theory, the process of becoming digitally embodied investigates the effects and affects on future human life and human death.

Golden Horn, the centrally located inlet of Bosphorus, Istanbul, used to occupy a substantial position for the industry and was perceived as a poor-quality area regarding the emergence of slum neighborhoods and the environmental pollution caused by industrialization. The 1980s marked a turning point with the deindustrialization process, where the urban regeneration of the Golden Horn waterfront was seen as a major opportunity for representing the globalizing Istanbul through culture-led attraction zones and privatization of industrial heritage facilities. Such an approach failed to establish a context with their broader urban environment and promoted gentrification and segregation and Istanbul’s identity evolved exclusively towards culture and its government to a profit-based agent of the private market through the adopted neoliberal economic policies. Rather than a structural economic change and organized urban renewal, the culture-led urban transformations through the heritage industry overshadowed the current urban urgencies such as urban poverty and limited the accessibility of the locals to heritage values. In this direction, the research aim promotes a challenge on how the transformation of industrial heritage areas can extend beyond their cultural and historical values by (re)establishing a broader urban context while providing an emphasis on the shifting role of heritage management in urban transformation strategies. The integration with the broader urban context aims for a productive linkage with present-day values and place identity, and the anticipated urban transformation prioritizes the urgent needs of locals for socio-economic development. Through the analysis of the Golden Horn, the thesis emphasizes the transformation of the urban fabric in relation to the waterfront area, to understand the dynamics of the urban morphology and the place identity as delineated by (and with) post-industrial areas. Driven by the multi-layered study on Golden Horn, the main focus shifts toward neighborhood scale with the profound analysis and transformation of the Unkapanı Flour Mill in the Unkapanı district as an illustrative industrial heritage area characterized by urban poverty. Additionally, the analysis includes the Süleymaniye district and the world heritage site, exhibiting a multi-layered study of urban morphology, signifying an emphasis on existing problems and values, intensified through a distinctive narration with photos from the fieldwork. Furthermore, the anticipated productive transformation refers to a bottom-up approach, contextualized through components of urban integration, and design principles that are characterized by specific actions for Unkapanı’s transformation. In the end, the thesis finalizes with a brief conclusion by reflecting on the implementation of the design approach and the principles through their applicability and further developability for other industrial heritage areas along Golden Horn.