Young adults are essential in the future of rural municipalities. They can revive places in decline and create new opportunities. But what future dreams, plans and opportunities do they have? Embark on a journey through the Dutch countryside to uncover the future dreams of young adults. Delve into the dreams, plans, and obstacles shaping the future of rural municipalities. Through the vibrant tapestry of cultural festivals, witness the revitalization of once-declining communities. Additionally, examine the innovative re-use of vacant farm buildings, offering promising opportunities for regeneration, economic growth and entrepreneurship. However, amidst these prospects lies a challenge: the political landscape, where urban interests often overshadow rural needs. Shedding light on these dynamics and navigating its complexities, this research aims to empower rural communities. It suggests how to pave the way towards better policies for rural municipalities in the Netherlands. Where young adults can build their rural futures.@en

99.94% of scientists believe in the effect of CO2 emissions on climate change. To tackle this, many parts of society must become sustainable. In Dutch road projects this drive for a sustainable transition is noticed in the last few years. Currently, the actions for climate inclusive road projects have not been successful. Climate consideration are limitedly part of the scope of these projects. A lack of understanding on road planning system, and the existence of success and failure factors limits the sustainable transition in road projects. This research explores the existence and workings of critical success factors in Dutch road planning. The exploration and identification of factors is achieved by using a comparative case study approach. Three Dutch road infrastructure project were analysed. The research established three main findings (1) The lack of early (integral) inclusion of climate concerns impedes the success related to climate aspects of a project. (2) The existence of a project climate goal is essential in guaranteeing the constant inclusion of climate concerns and climate related consideration in the planning process. (3) The success of inclusion and translation of climate ambitions into goals depends on the sustainable mind-set of project organisations, political players, stakeholders and public. The findings of this research improve understanding of road planning processes and climate related transition processes. The research elaborates and corroborates critical success factors found in other disciplines. The main findings while only based on three case studies, correspond to the findings in other disciplines.

Social cohesion is perceived to be under pressure in the Netherlands, especially in its larger cities. The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced and deepened the socio-spatial divide between vulnerable urban areas and the rest of the city, which not only affects the residents of the area and of the city, but also starts to affect the cohesion of the society as a whole. In light of the large scale spatial transitions that will also need to take place in these vulnerable urban areas, the Dutch government has issued the National Programme for Liveability and Safety, a long term, integrated and multidisciplinary urban regeneration approach to tackle the liveability, safety and social issues within the vulnerable urban areas. To achieve the overall improvement of the quality of life of the residents, it is stated in the Programme that interventions in the spatial domain should reinforce policy objectives in the social domain and vice versa. The objective of this graduation project is to explore to what extent urban design of physical public spaces in urban areas can facilitate the formation of social cohesion. To do this, literature research was conducted to define social cohesion, and to translate the concept to the local community level into specific urban design objectives. For this, the Social Cohesion Radar of the Bertelsmann Stiftung was taken apart and operationalised into requirements and a description of the ideal situation. From this, it was concluded that the design objectives consist of certain types of social interactions with specific characteristics. Furthermore, using relevant theories from environmental psychology and sociology, it was researched how the environment affects human behaviour. Combined with urban design theories the findings from the theoretical exploration and the operationalisation were used to develop a framework to analyse a physical space from the lens of social cohesion. In this analytical framework, the central point through which urban design interventions connect to social cohesion is through social interactions. Through the design of specific elements the defined social interactions could be directly facilitated, or would be facilitated via the improvement of characteristics of the space. The type of space that is analysed sets the expectations for the interactions that are likely to occur, and sets expectations for the characteristics and elements to be found there. For the implementation of the framework a guideline was developed, as well as an overview of typical settings to be found in Dutch urban areas, and a set of possible design interventions for social cohesion. The use of the framework to analyse a physical public space in an urban area should provide an urban designer with a decent understanding of the potential of the space to facilitate social cohesion, and provide the designer with possible spatial improvements. The framework provides the urban designer with an instrument to develop explicit and specific hypotheses regarding the facilitation of social cohesion through urban design.

The Dutch housing market is currently dealing with a significant dwelling deficit, which results in the need to accelerate the development of large quantities of dwellings in the urban areas. This thesis studies the redevelopment of inner-city industrial sites into mixed work-residential areas, especially focussing on the collaboration process between the municipality, landowner-users and project developers in the initiation phase. A Q-methodology research is conducted to identify which empirical perspectives exist on which factors are important when accelerating the collaboration process. Twenty-eight respondents from municipalities, landowner-users and project developers from three Dutch redevelopment projects have been used for this research. The main research findings are: - The identification of four distinctive empirical perspectives on which organisational, process and instrument factors need to be incorporated into the collaboration process to accelerate it. - The insight into the determinants that show which type of parties have which perspective and in which type of cases which perspectives are likely to occur. - Practical recommendations to design the collaboration process in a way that its acceleration potential is enlarged. - The assembly of the building block approach conceptual model that uses the insights in the perspectives and the determinants to construct a case specific collaboration approach. By designing the collaboration process according to the preferences of the involved parties, expressed by the four perspectives, the parties are more committed to the process which results in a more effective and therefore faster initiation phase. Eventually this can help to accelerate the construction of the needed dwellings. So, you have to collaborate to accelerate.

The middle-income households in the Netherlands are currently disadvantaged in finding affordable housing, as they are pushed towards the private rental market in which affordable private rental housing is scarce. Together with participation trends, this gives opportunities for collective private commissioning (CPC) to add to the supply and make it more inclusive and stable, as different interests could come together and the housing is expected to stay affordable. Therefore, this study entails an explorative research into the possibilities of CPC and affordable private rental housing, focussing on the type of collaboration, the enablers and barriers in the collaborative process and the role division within the collaboration. A single case study of CPC for middle-segment owner-occupied housing was conducted, supplemented with a cross-sectional study, with interviewees currently involved in CPC for affordable private rental housing. The main findings show that the type of collaboration can be considered hybrid, as it can act in a commercial market while maintaining its social goal and it has a collaborative and innovative approach. Important enablers and barriers towards collaboration are in the initial phases of such a project, where expertise and political influence are crucial. During collaboration, a board providing connecting leadership, acknowledging power differences, trust and striving for a win-win situation by serving both social and commercial interests encourage collaboration. However, difficulties in the complex financial situation of such a development can cause barriers. Important roles for this type of development are defined as process responsible and executive, in order to guide the process. An enabler within the role division is making clear agreements at the beginning. Besides the previous implications, the role of the residents seems moderated compared to other forms of CPC, as they will only be in charge after the housing is realised. Implications for practice can be found and this type of development is considered to be an option, as the findings show that with the right conditions, this type of development can contribute to the supply of affordable private rental housing in the long-term.

Urban areas are the biggest consumers of electricity and energy consumption is only likely to increase with rapid urbanization. Out of the urban building stock residential buildings require continuous supply of energy for space heating and appliances. To answer to this demand in a sustainable way policy maker need to design energy efficiency strategies that must rely on accurate and traceable models. These models estimate energy demand based on a series of building features, out of which building age is of prime importance because it predicts the insulation properties of the building. To support the energy modelling process, we propose a method of automatically identifying building age from spatial data at a large scale. We identify features of buildings that are significant for age prediction and determine which set of features has best prediction power at national scale, in Germany. It is expected that the accuracy of classification will be strongly related to sampling design and data availability. The final results will be used to identify the impact of misclassification errors on estimating energy use in urban energy models, providing in this manner a measure of the reliability of such models.

Innovation districts are more and more seen as the answer of cities to the ever changing economy. They can as well be described as urban strategies for economic development and urban competitiveness. Around the world innovation districts pop up and seem to provide the perfect and required environment for an innovation ecosystem to which talent and businesses are attracted. Katz and Wagner define these districts as “geographic areas where leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start- ups, business incubators and accelerators” (2014, p.1). In theory, the success of urban innovation districts relies on the balance of three types of assets: physical (buildings, parks, plazas), networking (events, workshops) and economical (start-ups, businesses, shops) assets (Katz and Wagner, 2014). Research shows that dense, inner-city locations combine a critical mass of human capital, vital physical conditions, the right amenities and different sorts of proximity for knowledge exchange that enable businesses to innovate and grow (Morrison, 2014). It is in these districts that working, living and recreating fade off and that horizontal networking between a diversity of people is becoming increasingly important for innovation. Entrepreneurs and start-ups are considered economical assets in this respect and are crucial players in such districts as they tend to influence economic and job growth. Although they often lack the skills and experience, lack of finance, resources and means needed to do the job, they inhibit a great potential to drive and sustain innovation (Nguyen, 2016). To open up the benefits startups can provide, it is essential to understand how urban innovation districts can contribute to the development of startups. This research therefore focuses on the physical conditions innovation districts should provide and how these can facilitate and stimulate their development. This is investigated on in this research by a qualitative comparative case study within the planned Central Innovation District The Hague.

Based on a literature review and expert interviews, a conceptual model is drafted, explaining and visualising successful public-private partnership practice regarding spatial development. Five hypotheses were derived from this model, focussing at the flexibility of the building programmes and the project's phasing, clear project and actor performances as well as financial positions, and continuous monitoring processess. Based on case studies, of the development projects of Hoog Dalem, the Spoorzone 013 and the Schieveste which delivered during the financial and economic crises which started in 2008, it can be concluded that all aforementioned topics are relevant for successful PPP-practice, except for the aspect of clarity regarding actors' financial positions. Based on the case studies, the hypotheses and topics are further elaborated, resulting in recommendations for future PPP-practice.

Introduction, Scope and Aim: The objective of this research is to examine the influence of municipal spatial vision documents on the decision-making process of developers to participate in urban area developments. For this research a literature and case study as well as an expert meeting were used. With the case study methodology four urban area developments in the Netherlands were studied and included a desk research regarding the vision documents published and interviews with developers regarding their views of these documents and their reasons to invest. The results from the case studies were analysed and validated through an expert meeting. Main results: This research concluded that spatial policy documents play a crucial role in the urban development process since they create a first framework for the development. However, it was also noted that these documents can be unrealistic and fail to effectively persuade developers due to not considering the financial aspect of the development. It was furthermore concluded that these documents are important for the decision-making process of developers, as it is political statement from the municipality that it endorses housing development in a certain area. Developers furthermore look for clues in vision documents on what could be built since this greatly determines their development business case. However, such clues are of lacking in these documents and are therefore described by developers as vague. Furthermore, developers desire a balance of flexibility and certainty in spatial vision documents and the area development process. The internal decision-making process of developers regarding participation in an area development consists of creating a business case and conducting a risk analysis of the development, which are combined into an investment proposal. The decision whether to invest is not solely based on the business case being profitable and line with the internal goals of the developer, but also on having the 'belief' the development can be realised, which is based on the risk analysis as well as the developer's (gut) feeling about the development. Main conclusion and recommendations: Based on this research, it can be concluded that ultimately many factors influence the decision-making process of developers. Spatial vision documents contribute to this decision, but there is no direct cause-effect since other factors are also in play. Crucial are the shaping factors indicating what could be built that can be derived from the spatial vision document. Moreover, capacity building factors related to the reputation of and relationship with the municipality play a crucial role. These factors influence the 'belief' of a developer for successful area development. Additionally, factors related to developers' internal goals and modus operandi have a crucial impact on their decision of where to invest. It can be concluded that it is crucial that parties collaborate early in the process, that their relationship is good and, importantly, that there is mutual trust. Summarising, spatial vision documents, shaping instruments and capacity building tools are an important influence on the decision-making process of developers, but internal and external factors play an at least equally important role.

The global market for real estate has experienced a significant growth since the financial crisis in 2008. The current global value amounts to more than $200 trillion and comprises nearly 60% of the value of all global assets, including equities, bonds, and gold. Yet, the commercial real estate market is inefficient and opaque due to its complicated due diligence processes and strategic behavior in complex multi-actor environments. Blockchain technology is often suggested as a disruptive technology that could increase efficiency, transparency and minimize transaction costs in various markets. Studies on blockchain point out that the technology has enormous potentials in the financial and real estate sector, but obviously has to overcome obstacles both business-, technological-, and adoption-wise. Even though the technology is still nascent, potential disintermediation of intermediaries such as notaries, banks, escrows and in particular brokers is a significant threat for them as they might no longer be necessary, at least in the same way. A qualitative explorative case study research combined with the application of Transaction Cost Economics is used to construct a decision path that can be followed to assess the applicability of blockchain technology and subsequently determine its impact on the sources of transaction costs. Following this decision path, we found that as of now, blockchain appears not to be the most suitable technology to function as a real-time, up to date database during commercial real estate transactions. Future research is suggested to focus on identifying the potential application and implications of property-specific building passports using smart contracts.

The thesis aims to investigate the different flows of logistics particularly goods and people through urban mobility strategies and utilizing inland waterways to improve the efficiency of logistic lifecycles. The project also speculates about the ever-changing logistic infrastructures such as a terminal, warehouse and distribution center. The transformation of the typology allows it to be redefined considering the aims of Rotterdam Municipality. With the immense potential of the inland waterways that Rotterdam has, the connection between North and South will be improved and the introvert identity of port areas will be accessible for the public while changing the urban identity of the area.

The way we work and the demand for offices is changing in the Netherlands. This poses the question whether the traditional office park is still viable. However, the demand for housing provides an opportunity to transform these outdated office parks into new mixed-use areas. This way the quality of the area could be improved, and the area could be utilised better in a time when demand for is high and available land is scarce. The literature shows that the transformation of office buildings to mixed-use can be successful. However, there is a lack of research on how this transformation process of office parks into mixed-use works on an urban area level. There is a lack of insight into the landowners and other actors in the transformation process. The available literature shows that landowners can oppose this transformation. The research design used is triangulation, utilizing multiple research methods to arrive at a conclusive answer. The research commenced with conducting a literature review, supplemented by an exploratory interview with a private investor, in order to establish a basis for the research. Case studies were then conducted, followed by a cross-analysis. Finally, an expert panel was conducted to verify the findings and to gain further insight into the research topic. This research, limited to the context of the Netherlands, aims to identify where the transformation process of office parks is hindered and to gain insight into the process and the roles played by different stakeholders. The objective is to provide municipalities with recommendations on using policy and regulations to entice market parties, particularly landowners, to initiate the transformation process. The results show that it is possible to use the same strategy for transformation projects on a higher abstraction level, however it needs to be flexible to respond and adapt to the location characteristics.

Public services are an essential part of urban development projects. Usually, municipalities aim to recover the costs of these services from developers that initiate projects that benefit from these services. Many countries have implemented various value capturing instruments to be able to achieve this. However, only fragmented data is available about the use of financial contributions from developers in practice. This study focuses on the situation in the Netherlands and researches whether negotiated financial contributions are mentioned in municipal policy reports and if these are incorporated in development agreements. The research provides insight into the use of financial contributions and the results of its usage in practice. Although the legislation in the Spatial Planning Act on cost recovery is extensive, the practice of recovering above-plan costs is messy. Different types of above-plan costs are used inconsistently and interchangeably in various municipal policies. The policy analysis conducted for 50 municipalities shows that only few municipalities have stated a cost allocation for financial contributions and indicated explicit contribution sums. Municipalities can have different approaches towards the allocation of costs for off-site works, whereby some policies are more detailed than others. The contributions for above-plan costs that are mentioned have a broad bandwidth, in height and type of investments. With case studies, the implementation of these policies is analysed. The research shows that financial contributions are an important topic in negotiations in some municipalities, while others barely negotiate on it and incorporate the stated contributions from their policy in almost all development agreements. Municipalities are willing to lower contributions if developers can show their project becomes infeasible by them. It then depends on project characteristics if contributions or lowered or weaved entirely. Most municipalities do not expect that the new Environment and Planning Act, which introduces publicly enforceable financial contributions, will result in more received contributions, although they think the new legislation could potentially improve their negotiation position. This research has provided an overview of how municipalities deal with financial contributions in practice and has thereby contributed to the knowledge on the implementation of cost recovery policies in the Dutch context.

Availability of public sector (geo-)information is essential for effective and efficient government policy-making. In addition, it is also associated with realising other ambitions, such as a more transparent and accountable government, more citizens’ participation in democratic processes, (co-)generation of solutions to societal problems, and to increase economic value due to companies creating innovative and value-added products and services with public sector (geo-)information as a resource. Especially the latter ambition has been the subject of many publications stressing the enormous potential economic value of re-use of public sector (geo-)information by companies. Previous research indicated that re-users of public sector information encountered barriers related to technical, organisational, legal and financial aspects. These barriers were considered to be the main reason why in Europe, the economic value due to value added products appeared to be lagging. Especially restrictive licence conditions and high licence fees were often cited to be the main barriers for re-users in Europe compared to re-users in the United States. Fortunately, more public sector information becomes available as open data and a trickle of products and services based on public sector information can be witnessed. However, the predicted tsunami of value-added products and services has not quite eventuated yet. This dissertation aims to assess which barriers re-users of public sector information still face after the introduction of open data, and what can be done to alleviate these barriers to lift the maturity of open data to a higher level.@en

The rapid urban growth of Brazilian cities in the second half of the twentieth century produced an extremely unequal urban fabric with spatial discontinuities and left-over spaces. Spatial fragmentation in Brazilian metropolises is not only related to spatial discontinuities, but also to socioeconomic inequalities. Walls in Brazil are physical and social. This fragmentation undermines the resilience of the urban system, which depends on the cooperation capacity between actors in the face of unexpected changes. Since the physical connection of disconnected spaces does not necessarily create social connections between segregated groups, it is difficult to develop cooperation and thus resilience in fragmented cities. In this context, this thesis presents self-organised initiatives as potential actors to dismantle these invisible walls. Self-organised initiatives promote the creation of social connection between highly diverse groups in public spaces of cities with extreme socioeconomic inequalities, which has a positive impact on the resilience of the urban system. Aiming to establish a solid societal impact, the thesis puts forward recommendations on two fronts: education and practice. The author demonstrates, based on the experience of the massive open online course Rethink the City, the way how doctoral research can be used in open online education. Grounded on the findings in the cases of Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the thesis lays out a set of recommendations on how urban planning can work with self-organised initiatives in a collaborative manner in order to foster social connection in cities with patent socioeconomic inequalities. @en