Since 2020, when remote working became standard practice worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries, including the Caribbean Island Curaçao, have introduced remote working visas targeting digital nomads to boost their local economy. As a result, the phenomenon of digital nomadism has seen a rapid increase in the last few years. Digital nomads are mobile professionals who use digital technologies and leverage workplace flexibility to perform their work remotely, while travelling on a (semi-)permanent basis living a nomadic life. Two years after the introduction of these visas, local communities of popular digital nomad destinations are protesting the negative consequences in the socio-spatial context resulting from the unrestricted access given to digital nomads. Since the economy of Curaçao is partly dependent on tourism, this thesis aims to investigate what spatial interventions in Curaçao can facilitate mutually beneficial co-existence between digital nomads and local communities beyond the potential economic benefits.
Henri Lefebvre’s spatial triad theory was used to systematically investigate the social, economic, and spatial practices of digital nomads in juxtaposition with the social and material infrastructures of Curaçao. The analysis followed the structure of the model for planetary-scale computation The Stack by Benjamin Bratton. The results include an overview of the full spectrum of spatial externalities of digital nomadism as well as an evaluation of the affordances of the island’s infrastructures to support a multiplicity of mobilities. Furthermore, the juxtaposition uncovered ‘pursuit of knowledge’ as common ground between digital nomad and settled communities. The material expression of this common ground was then imagined as a civil (knowledge) campus. The civil campus as a concept is a vision for the conscious and active involvement of all citizens and visitors to adaptively shape social spaces together based on shared values of collaboration, purpose, and a mindset of continuous learning. As a material place, the civil campus is an inclusive and porous knowledge-focused hub. It is formed through bottom-up adaptive processes that serve both the locals and the digital nomads, thereby enabling local communities to benefit from knowledge exchange with this global community. The public library acts as central knowledge node and meeting place, and spatial interventions in the public realm on the micro (furniture), mezzo (architecture), and macro (neighbourhood) level activate and support social interaction and active knowledge exchange between digital nomads and settled locals.

The Netherlands has set the ambitious goal to have a fully circular economy by 2050. The Port of Rotterdam (PoR), the largest and busiest port in Europe, has strong potential to become a future circular hub. The PoR has been a major player in the seaport industry for centuries with, among others, a strong logistics sector and a robust shipbuilding industry. However, the Netherlands does not have a solid shipbreaking sector. During 2016 - 2020, an astounding 86% of the vessels that were serving Dutch beneficiaries were scrapped in the Global South. To achieve a circular maritime manufacturing sector in just under 30 years, collaboration between stakeholders is needed to realize innovative solutions. The research question is therefore how can cross-pollination between the shipbuilding industry, knowledge sector, and local makers lead to a circular ship manufacturing sector? A combination of literature review and research by design was applied to gain insight into the required changes in the material and waste flows, and the possible role of the Makers industry in realizing a Dutch circular maritime manufacturing sector. It is expected that the educational needs and skills required of the labor force will have to evolve to fit the circular economy, therefore, the requirements to ensure a just social transition were investigated. The results are a spatial vision for a circular maritime manufacturing sector anchored to the existing waterway networks of South Holland, and a road map to implement this vision. By 2050, South Holland is the leading creative maritime region, where stakeholders in the Randstad collaborate on innovative solutions based on a shared maritime identity, respect for nature, and accessible physical learning and working environments. With the projected sea level rise, achieving a circular ship manufacturing sector is poised to play a crucial role in realizing a resilient water-based future.