Urban agriculture is increasingly recognized as a multifunctional lever for urban sustainability, yet the mechanisms through which planning policies enable or constrain its integration into city systems remain poorly understood. This gap limits the development of evidence-based frameworks that can bridge policy intent and implementation practice. This study develops a transparent, multilingual content-analysis pipeline and a landscape-informed coupling framework to evaluate urban agriculture policy–practice alignment across three contrasting governance contexts: Havana (Cuba), New York City (USA), and Chongming Island (China). Using a PRISMA-ScR literature synthesis (n = 3145), we construct a five-domain, 40-keyword evaluation matrix and apply it to official policy corpora and flagship project documentation. Results show that human-centered approaches effectively translate social equity and food-provisioning aims but exhibit limited spatial integration; nature-based approaches advance ecological and morphological targets but underperform on participation; and the landscape-informed model achieves more balanced alignment across all five domains, though gaps persist in inter-layer connectivity. Situating these findings within the broader discourse on urban sustainability governance, we propose a multi-layered landscape framework spanning ecological, institutional, social, and spatial dimensions. This framework offers planners a structured diagnostic and prescriptive tool for embedding urban agriculture into integrated urban transitions. ... Read more

Urban agriculture and farming (UAF) initiatives are recognised for their potential to enhance urban resilience, support local food systems, and deliver ecosystem services. However, current scholarship remains fragmented, treating UAF initiatives as isolated green interventions, rather than integrated components of urban fabric. This study examines how landscape-based approaches (LbAs) and systems thinking (ST) have been applied concurrently to analyse and design these initiatives. We argue that LbA is necessary to provide the spatial logic for physical integration, while ST provides the functional logic for metabolic efficiency. This systematic literature review screened 92 records across Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, resulting in a refined corpus of 12 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025. This reflects the nascent state of an interdisciplinary approach at this intersection. Utilising VOSviewer and Atlas.ti, the study identified four thematic clusters: urban green infrastructure, urban food systems, landscape planning, and socio-ecological systems. A cross-comparative analysis of these clusters and their underlying methodologies led to a new theoretical dual-lens systemic landscape framework to evaluate the sustainability outcomes of UAF. The findings reveal limited integration of spatial analysis with systems thinking across scales. This review contributes a novel multi-scale methodology that emphasises the need for integrated spatial and systemic interdependencies to achieve truly resilient urban food systems. ... Read more

Business districts currently lack the socio-ecologically inclusive standards of workscapes. This study addresses this gap through a comparative design analysis of international precedents, translating best practices into transferable spatial design knowledge for workscape development. The findings demonstrate that the transformation of business districts can be achieved by activating and reconfiguring existing spatial elements to generate ecological, social and spatial value. Five recurring spatial design patterns are identified as key drivers of this transition on the spatial district scale: zone-crossing corridors, mobility-driven green space, active cores, multitone environments and spatial enrichment. Together, these patterns foster biodiversity, climate adaptivity, spatial diversity, and improved everyday use. The research shows that these patterns are adaptable and scalable across contexts, offering a practical framework for policymakers and designers to transform monotonous business districts into more liveable and resilient workscapes. While the study primarily draws on Northwestern European cases and non-heavy industrial contexts, it establishes a foundation for further validation through research-by-design approaches and Living Lab setups. By linking spatial analysis with design synthesis, this study advances the methodological framework for evidence-based landscape architecture and contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable and socio-ecologically inclusive urban development. ... Read more

Population growth and urbanization are straining the limited space in the built environment. The business districts take up a great portion of this built space. These districts face climate change hazards and spatial emptiness due to their profit-driven foundation. Sustainable ambitions and strategic locations offer the potential to rethink business districts and integrate them into the living environment. Understanding business districts as potential workscapes, more socio-ecological inclusive business districts, is a new perspective. This research formulates a method to define the spatial quality of business districts through literature review and spatial analysis. A spatial analysis of forty cases in the Netherlands presents a higher spatial quality on more diverse landscapes. This indicates that diversification of the business districts’ landscape from monotone to multitone is needed to enable workscape development. Landscape-driven urbanism is needed to generate this desired level of quality. The research highlights the strategic location of edge-city business districts, situated between urban and rural areas, showing the potential to strengthen the urban-rural relationship. Further research on and by design is needed to enable workscape development. ... Read more

This research explores landscape-based solutions (LBS) as an integrated, transdisciplinary approach to address the interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and water insecurity. LBS aim to regenerate living landscapes by combining ecological science, indigenous knowledge, and spatial design. Rooted in local conditions—such as climate, ecology, water, and cultural history—LBS support inclusive, multifunctional landscapes that enhance both ecological resilience and social equity. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines global mapping of Indigenous and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (IEK/TEK), a survey of practical LBS applications, and engagement in real-time landscape projects in Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Germany. A cross-case analysis reveals diverse strategies and shared success factors, including grounding in local systems, strong community involvement, and adaptive, multi-scalar design. The ultimate goal is to influence global water governance by demonstrating the value of integrating ancestral knowledge into contemporary landscape strategies. In alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals—especially SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land)—this research promotes ecologically sound and culturally rooted solutions. It contributes to a transferable framework for sustainable landscape planning in both urban and rural contexts. ... Read more

Uncontrolled urban sprawl intensifies socio-ecological pressures, demanding planning strategies that measurably enhance urban ecosystem services. Urban agriculture is a promising lever, yet its long-term ecosystem services contributions remain insufficiently quantified. This study addresses two critical questions: (1) How can suitability analysis guide the spatial integration of urban agriculture to optimize long-term ecological benefits? and (2) How can a landscape approach-based urban agriculture planning strategy be designed to align with ecosystem services enhancement goals? We develop a transparent, reproducible pipeline linking machine-learning suitability modeling (XGBoost with SHAP), deep-learning land use simulation, and monetary ecosystem services valuation. Using Rotterdam as a case study, we simulate three development scenarios for 2030 and 2050: Business-as-Usual (BAU), Suitability-Based Autonomous Transformation, and Suitability-Based Landscape Approach Transformation. Suitability-guided scenarios outperform BAU, with the landscape-approach scenario delivering the most stable multi-decadal outcomes for regulating and cultural services. However, provisioning services can plateau or even decline when ecological protection constraints limit intensive production, revealing the limits of land allocation alone. We conclude by offering thresholds and rules that translate suitability and scenario outputs into a transferable urban agriculture planning model, enabling planners to embed urban agriculture within a landscape approach as part of broader sustainable urban transformation. ... Read more

This essay reports on a ‘living lab’ approach to develop a new understanding of below- and above-ground ecological processes as the foundation for robust urban forest habitats. This experimental approach includes a series of design and implementation projects in the city of The Hague, the Netherlands. In contrast to mainstream greening projects led by local governments, these experiments enable urban trees to form more robust forest-like systems by creating a symbiosis between soil (organisms), trees, plant communities, and species. As implemented reference projects are limited, a learning-by-doing methodology was adopted. A transdisciplinary team, consisting of landscape architects/designers, arborists, botanists, municipal and private green space maintenance organizations, has initiated, implemented, and monitored a series of pilot projects. Analysis of ten natural reference locations in the surrounding countryside has helped to define natural and forest-like soil conditions and plant communities for the three living lab locations in the city. Local residents have been engaged in the design, implementation and maintenance process. Sharing insights so far contributes to the transition of reconnecting soil, nature, and people in cities. ... Read more

The transition towards nature-based cities has increasingly become a central focus in political–environmental agendas and urban design practices, aiming to enhance climate adaptation, urban biodiversity, spatial equilibrium, and social well-being as part of the ongoing socio-ecological urban transition process. Climate adaptation in cities is a complex problem and one of the main collective challenges for society, but the relationships between city managers and citizens as to urban green care still face many challenges. Parks design guided by technical-expert and globalised criteria; inflexibility from bureaucratic inertia; and citizens’ demands to participate in the urban green transition, sometimes without the necessary knowledge or time, are some of the challenges that require further research. In this study, we examine four long-lasting approaches to green-space management in four cities in the Netherlands, ranging from municipality-driven to community-driven management forms, and encompassing diverse spatial configurations of greenery within the urban fabric. Utilising the theoretical lens of the Social–Ecological Systems Framework, we employ a multiple-case-study approach and ethnographic fieldwork analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the norms, collective-choice rules, and social conventions embodied in each urban green management arrangement. The purpose of this research is applied, that is, to provide urban managers and decision-makers with a deeper understanding of drivers to promote effective collaborative management approaches, focusing on specific organisational rules that may contribute to more sustained planning and maintenance pathways for urban green spaces, regardless of changes in political leadership or significant external funding sources. The results of the investigated cases show that long-lasting collaborative management of forests and parks has established a set of collective-choice rules for resource transfer between municipalities and citizens, including non-monetary resources (such as pruning-training courses or guided tours that attract tourists and researchers). Additionally, these arrangements have been favoured by the existence of legal norms that enable co-ownership of the land, and monitoring and sanctioning mechanisms that offer a slightly different interpretation from the evidence identified so far in the scientific literature on collective resource management and organisational studies. ... Read more

Urban agriculture is acknowledged as a multifunctional integrated concept capable of delivering various ecosystem services. Design-related empirical research which is regarded as crucial for introducing and exploring the transformation of design knowledge and practice. Despite the growing body of scientific evidence, operational guidelines for this topic are relatively scarce. The primary step in promoting practical value involves reviewing existing design knowledge and transformation status in empirical research. In conjunction with the existing design research findings, research through design is the only way to acquire and test design knowledge. Spatial design is acknowledged as a way to translate theoretical concepts into practical applications. This systematic literature review offers a comprehensive qualitative analysis of urban agriculture, ecosystem services, and design research. Additionally, it utilizes bibliometric visualization tools to clarify existing research gaps and propose reliable solutions. This paper reveals the imbalance of design research in delivering ecosystem services in urban agriculture through the review of 70 selected empirical research articles. The results suggest that the research for design approach is the most prevalent and offers abundant design knowledge. However, the relatively infrequent use of the research through design method obstructs the transition from implicit to explicit design knowledge, resulting in a shortage of available operational guidelines. Consequently, the study proposes a framework for systematic design knowledge of urban agriculture to catalyze the transformation of design knowledge. Finally, we outline the framework's composition and logic and elucidate its role in addressing research gaps. ... Read more

The relationship between humans and nature is in permanent change. Where the city and nature used to be seen as enemies that needed to be kept away from each other, the current paradigm looks at a more symbiotic relationship. In this, man is seen as part of nature, and the city is seen as a determining factor in providing conditions for a rich urban ecology. In this study, urban conditions are seen as the starting point for urban design, enabling biodiversity to thrive. The aim of the research is to distill design strategies that enhance nature in an urban context. These strategies are derived from existing theories, the typical relationship between the city and nature, and the understanding of the natural landscape, and are applied in the heated, dry, and rocky conditions in the metropolitan region of Monterrey, Mexico. The main finding is that the city contains ecologies with their own characteristics, often distinct from rural or natural ecologies. These specific conditions can be amplified using adequate design strategies, which may lead to a greater biodiversity. For improving urban biodiversity, the perspective on the city shall be transformed from seeing it as an enemy of nature towards a symbiotic relationship between the two. At the same time, this perspective requires additional research into two main aspects: the way the city is able to create its own climatic conditions, and how landscape-based design can enhance the urban conditions in a way nature occupies these novel ecological niches. ... Read more

Drylands, hyper arid to subhumid areas where rainfall is limited, are expected to expand due to climate change. Natural resources, such as water and food, are scarcer in these areas. Population growth and urbanization are putting even more pressure on communities living there, as well as on the urban fabric and ecosystems. How can nature based ecocities be created in these environments?

A pattern language, which is able to translate practical knowledge into substantiated spatial configurations that work in arid areas is missing in current theory and practice. The ´Urban Arid Green research by design project´ addresses a sustainable population growth and urbanization in arid regions via the case study in Tamansourt. Tamansourt is one of the 19 Moroccan new towns developed under the national Villes Nouvelles (New Towns) strategy. The city is still under construction, as the spatial analysis, site visit, and conducted interviews have revealed. The city has not reached its target population nor its desired level of urban activity yet. However, fundamental issues already manifest themselves.

The vision ‘Regreen to Rewild’ aims to counteract the pressures mentioned before, by developing a transformative framework towards an ecocity, taking the natural system as the basis (nature-driven urbanism). Tamansourt Ecocity gives purpose to the local community and a new identity to the city.

The transition described in this vision requires a systemic change, including environmental, policy and behavioral change. To support this shift, a common language amongst all future stakeholders has been created: the Urban Arid Green pattern language. This spatial language includes four pathways, of which each includes a group of development guidelines. One of the four pathways captures the original design guidelines for Moroccan new towns, as formulated by Al Omrane in 2010. The other guidelines focus on the biosphere, the urban fabric, and immaterial values.

The Urban Arid Green project shows how these generic patterns can be translated into a site-specific design which stakeholders can use in the city’s transition. This sets a precedent for other arid cities that aim to sustainably develop while under the pressure of scarce resources, climate change and population growth. Every landscape needs to adapt its own site-specific pathway based on the generic language, allowing unique dialects for different landscapes. ... Read more

De bedrijventerreinen in Nederland zijn een belangrijke drijfveer achter onze welvaart en ze vormen de werkomgeving van velen. Momenteel staan deze terreinen vol met ‘grote dozen’ en is er een gebrek aan groen. Hierdoor wordt het er warm, is er sprake van wateroverlast en is de openbare ruimte niet ingericht op verblijf en recreatie. Dit maakt de terreinen onaangenaam voor werknemers, bezoekers en omwonenden. Met het nationale Werklandschappen van de Toekomst programma wordt beoogd om de duizenden bedrijventerreinen in Nederland te transformeren in klimaatadaptieve, gezonde, natuur-inclusieve en multifunctionele bedrijventerreinen. Dit is een belangrijke conditie voor de innovatie van de terreinen en daar gevestigde bedrijven. Het transformeren van bedrijventerreinen is een complexe opgave. Een dergelijke transformatie kan leiden tot een verscheidenheid aan ruimtelijke, ecologische, sociale en economische voordelen zoals een aangenamer microklimaat, ruimte voor multifunctionaliteit, bevordering van de biodiversiteit en van de gezondheid van de werknemers. Door kwalitatieve omgevingen te bouwen versterken we de economie. Om te komen tot deze nieuwe generatie bedrijventerreinen zoeken we naar integrale ruimtelijke oplossingen en handelingsperspectieven. Dit vraagt om landschapsbewuste gebiedsontwikkeling en waar mogelijk met versterking van de economische en innovatieve waarde van bestaande bedrijventerreinen. De terreinen zullen dus hun economische karakter behouden, maar hun kille uitstraling inruilen voor een aantrekkelijk perspectief. Hoe ontwerpen we voor een dergelijke integrale gebiedsontwikkeling? Deze bijdrage pleit voor een co-creatieve aanpak waarbij generieke ruimtelijke patronen worden ontworpen die toepasbaar zijn op de duizenden bedrijventerreinen in Nederland. ... Read more

Duurzame verstedelijking, klimaatadaptatie en biodiversiteitsontwikkeling vragen om een ontwerpaanpak die het landschap als uitgangspunt neemt. In een dergelijke aanpak staat het ontwerpen met natuurlijke en sociaalculturele processen centraal. Naast natuur zijn mensen een belangrijk element van een landschappelijke aanpak. Het landschap verbindt mensen, thema’s en schaalniveaus met de natuurlijke context. Het is de drager van de stad en biedt structuur, ecologische samenhang en variatie, maar is ook flexibel en multifunctioneel. L'urbanisation durable, l'adaptation au climat et le développement de la biodiversité nécessitent une approche de conception qui prend le paysage comme point de départ. Dans une telle approche, la conception intégrant des processus naturels et socioculturels est centrale. Outre la nature, l'être humain est un élément important de l'approche paysagère. Le paysage relie les personnes, les thèmes et les niveaux d'échelle au contexte naturel. Il soutient la ville et assure structure, cohérence et variations écologiques, mais il est également flexible et multifonctionnel. ... Read more

Design explorations and ideas for a flooded future by Dariia Alieieva, Meric Altintas Kaptan, Lady Choque Olivares, Lara-Sophie Dejon, Gili Hofland, Eline Holtes, Masja Rietveld, Pieter van der Wel. ... Read more

Cities serve as both political and economic hubs. Sustainable development has long been acknowledged as crucial to the well-being of the environment, people, and society. In order to improve the current state of spatial affairs and attain long-term resilience, humanity is looking for reliable and sustainable urban planning approaches. Urban agriculture has received a lot of attention in recent years as an enduring and pervasive kind of landscape. Although the contribution of urban agriculture has been well documented in many studies on economic, social and ecological aspects, there has been little discussion of its practical value as a tool for spatial development. Additionally, the potential of urban agriculture as a landscape approach remains underdeveloped. In summary, current research and practice lacks a scientific framework for considering urban agriculture as a landscape approach to intervene in urban spaces. To this end, this paper explores the potential of urban agriculture as a landscape approach in sustainable urban planning and design through qualitative case study. Taking Songzhuang in Beijing as an example, we discuss and summarise the operational value and potential of urban agriculture from a design perspective. The findings suggest that landscape-based urbanism that includes urban agriculture can harmonise social, economic, environmental and ecological elements. Finally, in order to provide a generalised approach, this paper proposes a scientific framework for articulating a landscape approach to urban agriculture to guide future research and practice. ... Read more

Challenges and potential are embedded in peri-urban agriculture under metropolitan sprawl, which requires a future-oriented development to address major trends such as the climate crisis, metropolitan sprawl, autonomy in food production and environmental quality issues. Following a design exploration in Oosterwold, Almere, The Netherlands, a biophilic design framework was used to demonstrate the effective transformation of a symbiotic peri-urban agricultural interface. The results embody a sequence of principles based upon biophilic design, urban metabolism, and bottom-up governance mechanism. ... Read more

Om de waarde en potenties van stadsecologie beter te begrijpen is het van belang om het in het bredere perspectief van ecologie te plaatsen. Ecologie bestudeert de relatie tussen organismen onderling als ook de relatie met de niet-levende omgeving. Odum en Barrett hebben een interessante definitie die de link naar ons als mens in de stad wat makkelijker maakt, namelijk de studie van het ecologische ‘huis’ inclusief alle organismen daarin en alle functionele processen die het huis bewoonbaar maken, met de nadruk op het geheel of het patroon van relaties tussen organismen en hun omgeving.2 Volgens Forman is ‘stadsecologie’ het geheel van interacties tussen organismen, gebouwde structuren en de fysieke omgeving waar mensen geconcentreerd zijn.3 Een ecosysteem is een levend dynamisch iets; een ecosysteem op een bepaald moment, op een bepaalde plek is de uitkomst van allerlei condities en processen. Denk aan condities zoals de aanwezige bodem, of aanwezige soorten alsook aan de watercyclus, temperatuur of voedingsstoffen die al dan niet aanwezig zijn. […] ... Read more

De Kennisregio aan Zee 2070 is een ruimtelijk-economische samenwerking tussen de steden Den Haag, Zoetermeer, Delft en Leiden, de provincie Zuid Holland en kennisinstellingen TU Delft, Universiteit Leiden en de Haagse Hogeschool. De missie: laat de economie bijdragen aan oplossingen voor maatschappelijke problemen; waar schaarse ruimte onze kennis en praktijk uitdaagt tot innovatieve oplossingen voor een veilige, gezonde en inclusieve leefomgeving. De samenwerking heeft tot doel bouwstenen te ontwikkelen voor een toekomstperspectief dat richting geeft aan de maatschappelijke en ruimtelijk-economische regionale ontwikkeling; een verbindend verhaal dat de organisaties aanzet tot langdurige samenwerking als basis voor een duurzame kennisecologie en brede welvaart.

Maar hoe zit het kennisecosysteem van de Kennisregio aan Zee eigenlijk precies ruimtelijk in elkaar? En welke ruimtelijke condities zijn aanwezig en moeten verder ontwikkeld worden op de schaal van de regio? En wat betekent dit voor innovatiedistricten in bijv. Delft, Den Haag, Leiden en Zoetermeer? Hoe zit het met de regionale samenhang, diversiteit en complementariteit en waar zitten mogelijkheden voor verbetering? Hoe kan het landschap dienen als basis voor klimaat-adaptief en natuur-inclusieve ruimtelijke ontwikkeling gerelateerd aan bijvoorbeeld woningbouwopgave? Ondanks dat we hier nog niet alle antwoorden op hebben kunnen we wel een aantal ruimtelijke voorwaarden benoemen die de Kennisregio aan Zee 2070 productiever, sociaal en ecologisch inclusiever en toekomstbestendig maken; en slimme groei op de juiste plekken faciliteren.

Deze publicatie beoogt een aantal ruimtelijke bouwstenen te benoemen en uit te werken in een regionaal ruimtelijk-economisch perspectief. Het natuurlijke landschap en de stedelijke context zijn de basis voor een duurzame kennisecologie en brede welvaart op de lange termijn. Centraal staat een eerste ruimtelijke verkenning, een regionaal ontwerp waarin wonen, mobiliteit, economie, water, natuur en landschap integraal bekeken zijn. Dit lange termijn perspectief maakt het mogelijk middels backcasting terug te redeneren met welke strategische regionale projecten morgen begonnen kan worden. Een aantal verdiepende essays geven inzicht in hoe stad en landschap als condities dienen voor ruimtelijk-economische ontwikkeling van de Zuid-Hollandse kustregio. ... Read more

The current state of nature is concerning. The levels of biodiversity are rapidly decreasing; existing policies sketch ambitious objectives, but their effectiveness is relatively low. This is caused by a combination of three main elements: physical elements, planning processes, and psychological reasons. In dealing with these deeply rooted problems, following qualities are missing: attention to planning and design in nature-based solution policies, the gap between plan and execution of plans, and the transformation to eco-leadership of young people. In four consecutive years, research design studios have been executed, in which students collaboratively design eco-solutions for complex and urgent problems. The core subjects of each of these studios were four interlinked aspects of eco-design: (1) designing in parallel at master plan and concrete project level, (2) planning, designing and building within a short period, (3) the emergence and succession of ecosystems on site, and (4) ecological leadership practice. By investigating these aspects year after year, designing integrated and coherent solutions, and realizing these solutions in built form, an ecological spatial framework emerged within which smaller projects were and will be embedded. This way, the ecosystem on campus grows, matures, and develops as a self-regulating system. Moreover, new leadership emerged amongst the young participants in the research design studios ... Read more