This thesis explores spatial strategies for achieving sustainable industry transition in the dispersed urbanised areas of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in China. Since 1978, urbanisation in the GBA has accelerated, significantly expanding beyond metropolitan regions. These dispersed areas, described as the Desakota by Terry McGee, encompass a patchwork landscape of urban and rural settlements, as well as industrial and agricultural lands. However, this region faces pressing issues, including unsustainable industrial activities, fragmented landscapes, inadequate public services, and a loss of identity. The existing urban-rural dichotomy planning system fails to address these challenges, leading to environmental degradation and a decline in quality of life. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a regional strategy to explore the potential for sustainable and liveable urbanisation in Desakota.

Hence, this thesis adopts the “Netzstadt” concept as a guiding methodology from a regional perspective. It leads to defining Desakota’s spatial and functional nodes and connections, identifying potential elements for sustainable industrial transformation, adapting structural features through reference projects, experimenting with a design project, and proposing an adapted planning system.

These assignments yield three significant outcomes. Firstly, the adapted structure plan proposes a decentralised development pattern of Desakota, envisioning a circular and symbiotic industry conversion, repurposing industrial redundancy for metropolitan publicness, and enhancing the green and public network. Secondly, a showcased design project incorporates industrial, open space, and residential elements, proposing a specific spatial morphology and physiological flow. It emphasises the local identity and demonstrates the importance of involving local actors in the transition. Thirdly, a more decentralised and flexible spatial planning system should be employed to materialise the proposed Desakota structure.

By implementing these strategies, the desakota of GBA can progress towards a sustainable and liveable future that integrates nature, supports diverse livelihoods and lifestyles, and optimises resource management. This thesis can also provide transferable knowledge to other similar dispersed areas on how the pattern, flow and policy could be synthesised into future urbanisation and contribute to ensuring the sustainable development of society and ecology.
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Nowadays, circular economy is of growing importance in the social, economic, and environmental fields. The realisation happens on different scales. First steps towards a circular economy have already been taken, but it will take time before a circular world is reached. Also, under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the bio-based concept raises more awareness.

This strengthens the aim to create a circular economy. The industry in the Port of Rotterdam is mainly based on fossil-based industries that follow the linear system. Therefore, high emissions and waste are caused. This contradicts the aims of the SDG and the idea of a circular system. Consequently, the port area should be transformed into a flexible system that can adapt to changing future situations. This will be realized by a circular system that contributes to the development of the bio-based industry.

This transition is triggered by the current oil- and plastic industries taking place within the Port. By treating the bio-plastic industry as a trigger industry, a strategy for the transition towards a bio-based system is created. This leads to a circular economy that depends on bio-based materials. Since the bio-based system might face future challenges, it is important to guarantee further adaptation and self-improvement over time. The final goal is to create a closed-loop within the Port region to reduce emissions and waste products using these bio-based materials.

To close this loop, the Bio-Loop ZH2050 is integrated into the Port area. A Green Belt strategy promotes the circular economy within the province of South Holland, and by implementing the Living Labs, knowledge and technologies are improved over time. The Bio-Loop ZH2050 influences the aim of the province to become 100% circular by 2050 and several SDG topics. Environmentally, this project supports the transition towards a circular bio-based system and to reduce the impact of pollution and climate change. Socially, the Bio-Loop ZH2050 creates the possibility to get society involved in the bio-based circularity. And finally, economically, the Port of Rotterdam will become the port of Europe based on the bio-based economy, which is the entrance connecting the global market and EU market.
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