New York City is one of the most densely populated megacities in the world and specifically Manhattan one of the metropolitan areas with a constantly rocketing population growth. The delirious urbanization is mainly the result of mass migration both internal and international thus forming a society of diverse economic and cultural backgrounds. As climate change emerges, Manhattan constitutes one of the areas with great flood vulnerability due to coastal flooding and storm surge. According to IPCC statistics, New York will experience a sea level rise of about one meter by 2100.

The metropolitan area itself is the epicenter of patterns, from the Grid to the skyscraper. External forces such as the impending housing crisis, social segregation and the emergent flood risk will reconfigure the pattern image of the city in the future. The region has been altered extensively during the years by significant drivers which turned the primitive green paradise into an artificial world of skyscrapers. Natural elements of the past have been covered due to the increasing demand of building industry forming a compact environment. The Grid offered the fast and effective organization of the metropolitan area, however it did not take into account in a great extent the natural landscape.

The graduation thesis explores the possibilities of the Grid into the mitigation of Flood vulnerability while bolstering the Social Inclusion in an aim to reconfigure the pattern image of the city in the future through the unraveling of important elements of Palimpsest Landscape. The flood adaptation of the Grid will question the impact on housing densification strategies for the future of the island. The identity as well as the resilience of the metropolitan area will be reinforced and people will come closer to nature.
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The importance of the energy transition is an emergent issue on a global scale. The United Nations, the European Union, the Dutch National government and the Province of South-Holland all have set clear and urgent goals. But still, it seems very hard to find the right strategy to tackle this challenge, together with a desired circular economy and without letting people behind. The Province of South Holland envisions sustaining the region with the port of Rotterdam as an important energy node for Europe and the region itself. Now, the port still relies heavily on petrol, which will become obsolete in this transition. Therefore, the petrol dependency endangers a sustainable and secure future for the port of Rotterdam region. The energy transition will be achieved through three phases from 2020, to 2030 and 2050 in an aim to gradually phase-out fossil fuels and phase-in renewable alternatives, together with increasing levels of circularity and social inclusion. Hence, this process revolves around the integration and intertwining of three main pillars that shape the framework of this project: Energy transition, Spatial justice, Circular economy.

In the post-petrol era of 2050, the region of Zuid Holland will embody a dynamic and adaptive energy landscape. This new energy landscape will become more resilient and autonomous. The landscape will consist of an interdependent and just network of actors and relies entirely on renewable energy sources.

In the future, the port of Rotterdam will be an important node on the global and regional scale. The futural port will be the core of the decentralized energy network in the region, consisting of several energy nodes that connect autonomous and self-sufficient energy regions. Besides, these nodes are serving as hubs for energy storage, raising awareness, education and other social activities. The port and the energy network will be opened up to the public to establish a new cultural relation between use and production of energy. Pernis-Botlek will be the strategic location where this comes together. The development strategy will reveal how individuals from all origins and walks of life will be included and can adapt to this change. Since, not only public actors have high interest to make this transition happen, private actors and citizens that have to change their business models and daily activities have to be considered. Therefore, the strategy also reveals how different stakeholders can work collaboratively and what actions are needed to combat the energy transition together. This will be shown with casestudies in Brielle, Delft and Westland. To maintain the economic importance in the energy sector of the port on a global scale, an invert of energy flow will be purposed, , from the import of Petrol to the export of hydrogen.

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