Since the 90's, Vilnius region (Lithuania) has been experiencing rapid and poorly managed market-driven development of urban sprawl - a result of institutional, economic and societal shifts in the post-communist European context. This has resulted in extensive car-dependent residential areas which lack infrastructure, services and quality public spaces, creating major accessibility and social cohesion challenges. This thesis explores how and why these accessibility and social cohesion challenges manifest themselves in residential urban sprawl areas in Vilnius region, and how spatial, governance and policy interventions in both dimensions can mutually reinforce each other to create more inclusive and sustainable living environments.

Analysis revealed that a lack of daily amenities and public spaces, as well as a lack (and poor organization) of appropriate mobility infrastructure in urban sprawl areas drives people away from local public spaces through a lack of local meeting places, dependence on the inner city, as well as hostile and car-centric streets. Furthermore, insights showed that urban sprawl and its associated challenges in Vilnius region are the result of a set of systemic failures and dysfunctions, including missing governance scales, flawed financial systems and legal structures, as well as mismatches between formal and real spatial planning tool powers.

This thesis proposes an integrated exploratory framework of spatial, governance and policy interventions which directly responds to these findings. Utilizing SE Vilnius as a case study, the spatial design proposes the development of a network of walkable, mixed-use compact centralities, while the policy and governance interventions directly target the structural fail points. Together, these create a framework to improve accessibility and social cohesion in urban sprawl areas, transforming them towards more sustainable and inclusive living environments. ... Read more

Over the last years, the energy transition has caused a series of challenges that affect low-income households in The Netherlands, such as grid congestion and increased energy poverty. These challenges are particularly detrimental for low-income households which currently rely on gas for heating and cooking. With the inevitability of the energy transition and its financial incentives for the phasing-out of gas, it is of utmost urgency to investigate ways to avoid widespread energy poverty in gas-dependent households. This study investigated ways and options for doing so on a local level before being scaled up to the regional level of North-Holland.

Previous research has attempted to solve this challenge largely through top-down policymaking and solely objective analyses, however lacking incentive for local residents to partake and manage in the proposed solutions. This raises the question: How can a spatial planning strategy enable a just energy transition in Noord-Holland in which the energy grid is optimized for the empowerment and welfare of low-income communities? A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods was used, mainly GIS mappings and informal interviews. Research by design method was applied to form the strategies and to develop a regional vision for North-Holland, based on communal values partially through a qualitative media analysis. The analysis showed great potential for locally driven energy- and heating systems. Investigations into energy projects and opportunities in Den Helder, Egmond aan Zee, Hoorn and Middenmeer all showed the high importance of locally scaled approaches to larger challenges. The cases signified the crucialness of including not only residents but also businesses and other cross sectoral stakeholders. Values such as accessibility, inclusivity, and autonomy were synthesized from communal desires across all four cases, in combination with the media analysis. In conclusion, these four community values, alongside intersectoral cooperation, are critical to achieve realizable energy projects on scales that low-income households can partake in. The effect these projects could have in the long term, as for example with a changed socio-economic situation, could be explored in further research.
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