The article explores the role public space plays in providing care for fluidly housed youth. These young adults are experiencing fluctuating conditions of homelessness, moving between couch‐surfing, staying in overcrowded or informally occupied spaces, and sometimes experiencing periods of rooflessness. Using an adapted typology of homelessness and building on fundamental human needs and the process of homemaking in public, the article identifies three overarching socio‐spatial needs of fluidly housed youth. Through a mixed‐methods approach, the article uncovers three spatial potentials that enable fluidly housed youth to activate and adapt urban space through processes of radical care, and identifies urban spaces suitable for building infrastructures of care that meet needs along a gradient of privacy. This way, it links socio‐spatial needs, socio‐spatial affordances, and the processes of care that connect both. Understanding this logic provides examples of careful planning that create urban space affordances that activate and adapt to shifting needs. While this article does not claim to solve the housing crisis, it offers a starting point for how we can centre the everyday practices of fluidly housed youth and create infrastructures of care that better meet shifting needs in urban space. ... Read more

This is the full report of Work Package 1 of the InPUT project. In this report, we analyse the challenges and potentials for the implementation of 15-minute city principles in four peri-urban regions in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal. Alongside that, we learn from lived experiences and expressed priorities to understand what matters to peri-urban societies and what accessibility, proximity and liveability actually mean in these locations. Our research includes a spatial analysis based on a newly-developed typology of peri-urban areas, a socio-spatial analysis based on focus groups, and a governance analysis based on document analysis and discussions with policymakers. ... Read more

A fundamental challenge in urban scholarship is bridging theories of spatial justice with material reality. This paper critiques static concepts of ‘spatial capital’ for obscuring the dynamic social production of spatial advantage. We reconceptualize spatial capital as a dynamic capacity and introduce the A.U.R.A. framework–a heuristic enacted through the practices of Access, Utilise, Resist, and Adapt. Synthesizing insights from Bourdieu, Lefebvre, and intersectionality, A.U.R.A. offers a rigorous methodology for diagnosing injustice and a foundation for transforming the conditions that reproduce spatial inequality in cities. ... Read more

Dit rapport is opgesteld in het kader van het InPUT-project (Engaging Places and Communities for Inclusive Peri-Urban Transitions), mede mogelijk gemaakt door het Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Partnership, een Europees partnerschap onder het R&I-frameworkprogramma Horizon Europe mede gefinancierd door de Europese Unie. De content van dit rapport is allen geproduceerd door de auteurs van het InPUT team. Uitspraken in dit rapport zijn die van de auteurs en reflecteren niet de riving Urban Transitions (DUT) Partnership en de Europese Unie. ... Read more

The increasing recognition of the health benefits of blue spaces highlights their crucial role in constructing Healthy Cities and advancing Sustainable Development Goals. Given that promoting recreational running represents a fundamental pathway to harnessing these benefits, integrating it into spatial planning and design is imperative. Nevertheless, this integration process necessitates substantiated evidence, especially concerning variances among population groups. To address this gap, utilising crowdsourced data and a machine learning approach, this study investigates heterogeneous spatial distributions of recreational running across various age demographics in Rotterdam, with a specific emphasis on visual perceptions and built environments. The mapping results illustrate the varied allure of blue spaces for recreational running, exhibiting a trend of increased clustering in running activities with age, extending beyond the city centre. The outcomes of GWR and spatial regression models indicate significant associations between various visual perception factors and built environment indicators with individual running preferences. Crucially, disparities and spatial heterogeneity are evident in the impacts of different environmental factors on running across age groups. Accordingly, tailored planning strategies and patterns are proposed, informed by age-specific environmental perceptions and preferences, contributing to a deeper understanding of the blue-health mechanism and offering practical insights for creating health-promoting blue spaces. ... Read more

In an age marked by converging global crises—climate change, growing inequality, democratic erosion, and increasing socio-spatial inequality and fragmentation—the search for justice has become a definitive imperative for urban planning. One way to explore these issues is through an exercise of collective imagination we call The Manifesto for the Just City. [...] ... Read more

In the Anthropocene era, marked by significant human impact on Earth, the Global South faces deep spatial inequalities that necessitate rethinking urban planning. This study critiques capitalist urban development models that perpetuate “Accumulation by Dispossession” aggravating inequalities and depriving marginalised communities of essential rights and resources. Focusing on M-Ward East in Mumbai, India, where slum resettlement coexists with hazardous industries and inadequate infrastructure, this research examines collective spatial resistance as a survival strategy for marginalised communities.

Utilising Lefebvre's “right to the city”, the chapter explores how collective actions, despite lacking institutional support, emerge as resilience mechanisms against top-down approaches. Through preliminary fieldwork and secondary literature, this study discusses the challenges faced by marginalised communities in the Anthropocene and the transformative potential of collective resistance for achieving spatial justice. ... Read more

Urban inequality, epitomized by the systemic marginalization and precarious conditions of informal settlements and areas characterized by spatial disparities, continues to be a significant barrier to achieving equitable urban environments across the globe. Such spaces are frequently neglected by formal planning systems, manifesting pronounced spatial injustices that not only mirror existing socio-economic and political disparities but also exacerbate them. Yet, they also function as sites of resilience and agency, where residents engage in ongoing negotiations to claim their right to the city (Lefebvre, 1968), even amid instability and fragmented governance (Roy, 2011). [...] ... Read more

Just like the rebels in Star Wars fighting for freedom against oppressive forces, urban planner, architect and political scientist Caroline Newton was drawnto the struggles over space and rights around the world. This fascination grew into an inquiry into the entanglements of spatial organisation and structures of power. Over the years, her work has been driven by a desire to understand – and intervene in – the spatial conditions that shape human lives and social relations. In 2019, the Van Eesteren Fellowship enabled her to deepen her exploration of ways to reimagine urban environments that foster equity, care, and inclusivity, especially in response to today’s environmental and political urgencies.

Envisioning Spatial Justice is both a reflection and a proposition. It synthesises insights accumulated through research and teaching and from years of collaborating with students whose graduation projects placed justice at the core of their spatial investigations. Structured around theory, reflection, and design, the book explores what it means to design with justice in mind. Challenging neoliberal paradigms and drawing on feminist, post-colonial, and radical urban theory, it insists on the political power of imagination. It calls for developing new ethical foundations for spatial practice. Part provocation, part toolkit, part manifesto, Envisioning Spatial Justice speaks to urbanists, designers, educators, and activists committed to co-creating more just and inclusive futures. ... Read more

COVID-19 has made working from home routine for many. People who have had to maintain their productivity, particularly in physically and/or socially unacceptable home-working situations, experienced one of the pandemic’s disadvantages. The experience can vary substantially among individuals as well as by country. This study presents the results of a comparative study of the Netherlands and Korea. Working from home was not uncommon in the Netherlands before the pandemic; however, in Korea, employers adopted working from home from its start, and that increased rapidly. An online survey enabled us to compare the physical and social conditions of current home workspaces in both countries, to understand how well-equipped they were to support people who had to work from home. We studied the changes in productivity and physical/mental health before and during COVID-19, to learn how people coped with working from home in both countries. Contrary to expectations, Koreans showed better scores than people in the Netherlands, in terms of changes in health and productivity. This article discusses various aspects of that result, such as satisfaction with home workspace, housing type, job position and prior experience, compulsoriness, and frequency of working from home. Relieving stress and concentration appeared to be the most important dimensions of telecommuters’ satisfaction with working from home environments in both countries. The results are the basis for suggesting the development of strategies for a desirable WFH environment, considering different background contexts, experiences and cultures. ... Read more

In light of rapid urbanisation and the accelerating threats of climate change, scale and multitude are what set the Global North and South apart. Yet, as this course exposes, the issues faced by urban areas have resembling themes and characteristics, regardless of economic status or geographic location. Therefore, in the context of sustainable urban development, the binary dichotomy of the terms ‘Global North’ and ‘Global South’ must be contested. While a focus on Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and the MENA region, Rethink the City attempts to understand the transboundary nature of urban issues and provide a platform to gather insights beyond borders. It is only by learning from other narratives that we can collectively address the complex challenges ahead. ... Read more

Understanding the dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) change in today’s context of rapid urbanization is critical for sustainable urban planning and environmental conservation. Therefore, the research aim is to understand the LULC changes in the Chattogram Metropolitan Area and to assess the policy implications of these changes for sustainable urban development. Through a comparative analysis of LULC maps for two periods (1997–2007; 2007–2017), we investigated the transformation of a detailed planning zone before and after Detailed Area Plan (DAP) approval. Using quantitative data analysis and policy review, we elucidated the impacts of urbanization trends on local ecosystems—specifically the conversion of forest cover and waterscape use. The findings reveal a significant conversion of forested and waterscape areas to urban and peri-urban landscapes, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable planning interventions that focus on these peri-urban areas. The study further critiques the DAP’s effectiveness, revealing a disconnect between regional policy implementation and local outcomes. This research proposes a validated, scalable framework for urban master plans that adapts to the complex socioecological contexts of rapidly urbanizing regions. ... Read more

Rethink the City supports the co-production of knowledge through collaborative efforts of the global community. Its ambition to broaden the academic study of urban challenges to underrepresented geographies is reflected in its form: A free, online course inclusive to all, regardless of location or background. However, despite its benefits, online education has evident setbacks. This chapter seeks to shine a light on various issues faced by this unconventional academic curriculum and what kind of measures were taken to overcome them. ... Read more

Urban blue space offers substantial health benefits by encouraging population physical activity. Despite much evidence on the nature-health nexus, the relationship between blue space and recreational exercises remains under-studied, limiting the realisation of health benefits in blue space design. Using crowdsourced data, including volunteered geographic information and street view image data, this study investigates the associations of blue space quality with recreational running and cycling in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Results show that recreational exercise levels on street segments vary based on the blue space type and design. Compared to inland canals and rivers, small-scale recreational waterbodies are more conducive to running but not cycling, while both activities tend to cluster around the Nieuwe Maas River. Interestingly, the Water View Index shows a general negative association with both activities after adjusting for the blue space type. Besides the waterbody characteristics, eye-level environmental factors, including higher Green View Index, lower building density, more diverse land use, greater connected street network and fewer traffic elements, are associated with more running and cycling exercises. Results for visual complexity and neighbourhood population composition are mixed depending on the exercise type. These findings are further translated into spatial design patterns for developing exercise-supportive and health-promoting blue spaces. ... Read more

[Objective] Water could be regarded as a vital element for human existence, which has shaped cities for centuries. Blue spaces, centred around water bodies, play a pivotal role in urban development by delivering various ecosystem services and influencing the design and planning of urban environments. In addition to the numerous benefits and services provided by water, recent research indicates that blue space exposure and perception could also enhance human health and well-being, especially in urban contexts. However, health benefits are often not or implicitly taken into account in design practices. While an increasing number of researchers acknowledge the importance of applying current health evidence to practice, there is currently a lack of specific methodological support to bridge the gap between evidence and actions. Furthermore, given the growing focus on healthy urban living, the demand for the development of healthy cities, and the requirements of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing this gap is of utmost importance at present. Based on the analysis and synthesis of existing evidence, this research aims to propose a conceptual framework that links the health benefits derived from blue space exposure and perception with spatial design practices. The framework attempts to address the current gap and encourage ongoing exploration in future research and practice. [Methods] This research first searches relevant publications on blue space and human health included in the Web of Science Core Collection and Google Scholar during the past five years, and selects the representative ones for detailed analysis and summary. Based on the analysis results, the key pathways linking blue space exposure and perception with human health are identified. Next, a tailored methodological, conceptual framework linking health evidence and design practices is proposed according to the frameworks and evidence in existing studies. Meanwhile, the results of the literature analysis and several Rotterdam cases at different scales are used to demonstrate the application of the framework and illustrate its feasibility.

[Results] Based on the results of the literature analysis, three main blue space exposure and perception types are summarized, including indirect perception and exposure, accidental perception and exposure, and intentional perception and exposure. Next, four main pathways linking the exposure to or perception of blue space and human health are identified and briefly discussed, including enhancing physical activities, reducing harmful exposure, benefiting psychological outcomes, and promoting social interactions. Subsequently, a four-step conceptual framework that translates the health evidence into practical design knowledge is proposed. The steps comprise extracting critical health evidence, summarizing key design concepts, categorizing core design elements, and translating into design principles, spatial patterns, and evaluation methods. At first, the research extracts key evidence from 57 representative literature. And then, the research summarizes 42 key design concepts. Next, through an analysis of the similarities and differences between the design concepts, five core design elements are identified, including the quantity, accessibility, visibility, spatial quality, and design process of blue space. […] ... Read more

Based on the understanding of the built environment as result of competing claims on space that must be resolved via recognition, fair distribution of burdens and benefits of our human association, respect and care for the planet and just procedures to decide on those claims, Spatial Planning and Strategy is a chair in the Department of Urbanism within the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of the Delft University of Technology, committed to helping create sustainability, resilience and spatial justice through the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement and the European New Deal, among other frameworks. This commitment is reflected in activities, events, and courses. We are concerned with knowledge about the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of strategic and urban planning tools – visions, strategies, plans and programmes. ... Read more

Following Cambodia's independence from France, the country became a hub for progressive ideas in architecture during the 1950s and 1960s, a period of peace and prosperity as described by Ross (2015). This era, driven by Prince Norodom Sihanouk's Sangkum regime, was marked by a blend of national pride and unity. The symbiotic relationship between Sihanouk and architect Molyvann was pivotal, leading to significant advancements in architectural design and urban planning. Their collaboration drew inspiration from Cambodia's heroic history and ancient Khmer architecture. This paper focuses on two aspects: the influence of utopian thinking on Cambodian architecture and urban planning during the Sangkum era; and architect Molyvann's societal role in modernising Cambodia. Molyvann's work, a fusion of European modernist and traditional Cambodian elements, was possible due to the era's stability. This study underscores the importance of utopian ideals in shaping society and highlights Molyvann's architectural contributions in envisioning a just and sustainable future. ... Read more

The sudden adoption of working from home (WFH) during the COVID-19 pandemic has required the reconfiguration of home spaces to fit space for remote work into existing spaces already filled with other domestic functions. This resulted in blurring of home and work boundaries, the potential lack of space for telecommuting from home, and telecommuters’ feelings of crowding. Numerous studies have shown the negative effects of crowding feelings on workers’ responses. This study focused on the issue of crowding in the residential workspace. An online survey was conducted to investigate how features of the home workspace correlate with telecommuters’ feelings of crowding and how these feelings affect satisfaction, health, and productivity. As a result, we found that various environmental features of home workspaces (e.g., house size, purpose of workspace, accessible balcony, lighting, noise, etc.), as well as psychological aspects (e.g., individual control over space use), had significant effects on telecommuters’ feelings of crowdedness. It was also found that feelings of crowding in the WFH environment can directly and indirectly affect teleworkers’ satisfaction with work environments, well-being, and work performance. Based on the results, we offered various potential ways to alleviate overcrowding issues in the WFH context. ... Read more