The Arctic is increasingly under pressure from intensifying anthropogenic forces, particularly the expansion of extractive industries and associated infrastructure into previously inaccessible maritime zones, including along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). These developments are accelerating a shift from the Arctic as a largely remote cryospheric system to a strategically integrated corridor of shipping, resource extraction, and geopolitical competition. The rapid and uneven expansion of industrial activity in these waters reflect a broader problem of providing agency to territories beyond the Westphalian system.

Methodologically, the Arctic was conceptually established as a territory beyond Westphalianism through the concept of territoriality by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. From there the material and expressive components of the territorial assemblage were investigated. A biophysically-based counter-force to the anthropogenic intrusion of the NRS was then configured through existing offshore infrastructure.

The main design results from the transit field were 1) a nodal-based border could operate as an Arctic boundary in alignment with its non-Westphalian nature and in collaboration with Westphalian governance systems, 2) a the most effective means of responding to the intrusion of NRS is by confining it close to shore, 3) the establishment of an anti-EEZ from the nodal positions would strengthen the balance along the marine-terrestrial (eco)nomical transect.

These findings open up broader questions regarding the reconceptualization of territory beyond Westphalian sovereignty, and suggest directions for further research into governance models capable of addressing overlapping and multi-scalar territorial regimes across nation states and environmental systems.

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The Netherlands is facing a structural housing shortage, which in 2024 has risen to approximately 410,000 dwellings. To address this issue, the government has set the ambitious goal of realizing one million new homes by 2030. However, the feasibility of this target is under pressure due to the lengthy lead times associated with real estate development. Research indicates that the average project takes approximately 120 months from initiation to completion, of which only 30 months are allocated to actual construction. This thesis focuses on reducing the lead time of so-called greenfield real estate projects, developments situated on undeveloped land at outskirts. The research scope spans the period from project initiation to the commencement of construction. Through a combination of literature review, four case studies, and expert interviews, this study identifies the development phases that are most time-consuming, the factors that contribute to these delays, and potential strategies for improving process efficiency. The study yields both theoretical and practice-based insights that are relevant to policymakers, project developers, and other stakeholders involved in housing development. Accelerating the development process is shown to be essential for achieving national housing goals and effectively addressing the housing shortage in the Netherlands. ... Read more

On January 1st 2024, the Environment and Planning Act (EPA) took effect in the Netherlands. This legislation aims to simplify existing environmental legislation for spatial projects by combining them into one. An important pillar of the EPA, specifically of the environmental permit, is public participation. However, the safeguarding of this in the law is limited since its organization is not regulated. In general, the methods for involving the public in environmental decision-making remain contentious, which has previously led to research into principles that define good public participation processes. The majority of the literature assumes that all parties involved in a process share the same principles, while it may be the case that stakeholders hold differing views on what constitutes a good process. In the EPA, a conscious choice was made to prohibit municipalities from imposing requirements on initiators on how they implement participation, the reason for this being enabling local customization. Yet, this uncertainty regarding the best practices for public participation can make it difficult for an initiator to set up participation for their project. This research aimed to gain insight into what constitutes a good public participation process by determining if and how stakeholders characterize this differently, specifically for real estate construction in residential areas. Therefore, the research question was as follows: What perspectives exist on what constitutes a good public participation process for real estate construction projects in residential areas and what characterizes the stakeholders within these perspectives?

Q-methodology was used to extract stakeholders' views on successful participation from the results of a survey. This resulted in the identification of four perspectives, representing four different collective views on good participation shared by several stakeholders. Perspective one, a trusted process leading to influence by the right people, considers participation to be good if trust is created and the input provided actually influences the initiative. The second perspective, a clearly defined process resulting in greater support, has a positive opinion about participation as long as the organized process is very clear, professional, and properly followed, and results in greater support for the initiative. The third perspective, achieving satisfaction with a tailor-made process, believes that participation is good if the process is situation-specific, followed well and there is satisfaction with how it went down, regardless of whether it resulted in adjustments to the design of the initiative. Lastly, perspective four, as long as everyone is heard, feels that participation is good when the design of the initiative is changed according to the input provided by participants who were involved from the start and whose expertise is valued. After the identification of these perspectives, it was investigated whether a relationship could be observed between a stakeholder's characteristic and their perspective. Here, it was observed that civil servants relatively adhere to perspective three more than the other groups.

This research has provided new scientific insights by showing that there are different views on what constitutes 'good' public participation. These perspectives have unique aspects but they also have some similarities. It is recommended that project initiators incorporate important aspects of all four perspectives when designing a participation process for an initiative, to ensure that it is as 'good' as possible. To aid initiators in doing so, a one-pager has been drafted which contains an overview of the important aspects of each of the perspectives. With this, the practical aim of the research - which was to provide support to project initiators for the setup of participation processes - was achieved. ... Read more

This study explores the potential application of architectural considerations from three Dominican priories—St. Dominic Church, Sainte-Marie de La Tourette, and the Dominican Motherhouse— emphasising their reflection of divine transcendence as a design narrative for the adaptive reuse of St. Dominic Church to multifunctional Art Complex Het Steiger. St. Dominic Churchʼs introverted design offers opportunities for reinterpretation, emphasising hierarchy and contemplative qualities. Sainte-Marie de La Touretteʼs mystical themes suggest diverse lighting interventions and preserving a mystical atmosphere in Het Steiger. The Dominican Motherhouse poses challenges regarding user groups, spatial hierarchies, and integrating circulation and exhibition spaces in Het Steigerʼs redesign. These priories contribute nuanced design strategies, offering valuable considerations for Het Steigerʼs transformation into a harmonious coexistence of existing and new architectural layers. ... Read more

Local referendums are part of the local democracy and give citizens more direct discission power by their votes.The instrument can be used by the citizens to express their resistance towards the municipal plans or used by the municipality to consult their citizens about their plans. In the Netherlands, local referendums are despite their non-binding character still used nowadays. This instrument is also used for Urban Area Development plans, such as Amsterdam IJburg (1997) whereby citizens and special interest groups were concerned about the loss of nature in the area due to the large-scale land reclamation project. Another example is Arnhem Stadsblokken-Meinerswijk (2016), whereby a group of citizens expressed their concerns about building in the floodplains after the national policy ‘ruimte voor de rivier’ was introduced to make more space for the river instead of building in these areas. Until now, studies have been done about local referendums in general, the topics, about voting behaviour and the frequency of it. In addition, some research has been done on local referendums in urban development areas in Europe and America. However, studies about the added value of a local referendum in the Netherlands specifically about Urban Area Developments are missing. The report answers the following research question: How can a local referendum for urban area development contribute to the design and decision-making? The goal of the research is to gain a better understanding of the added value of a local referendum used for larger urban area development topics and how this influences design and decision-making. The research question will be answered by a literature review and the use of qualitative data, including interviews and archive documents on the case studies of IJburg and Stadsblokken-Meinerswijk. The research output is a list of recommendations for municipalities, on how the local referendum process can be improved specifically for UAD topics. The added value of local referendums for urban area development topics is mainly the contribution to legitimate decision-making. Also, citizens have more decision power next to the regular voting moments. In addition, the arguments on how this plan will support the city become clearer. Besides, the counter arguments and doubts about the plan are better heard than without a referendum. This research shows that conflicting public values, such as environmental values and development values, can by using a referendum create more awareness and could even turn into a positive outcome. However, from the analysis of the interviews, it became clear that there is a desire for an alternative form of referendums for UAD due to its more complex character wherein many interests are involved. The recommendations are mainly focused on the implementation of communication in the process. A participation process included in the referendum process is regarded as an essential part for municipalities and citizens to produce a coherent and feasible solution. This could even avoid conflict and thus corrective referendums. ... Read more

Traditionally, municipalities in the Netherlands have been taking a dominant and leading role in the urban area development. Currently, the municipalities pursue more often a facilitating and passive role, and prefer to utilize market resources and capabilities. The lack of municipal resources, stacking complexity of the objectives and insufficient municipal capacity, makes the shift both preferable and necessary. Unsolicited proposals are emerging along this shift to more market and networked practices. These informal proposals are original, SMART, feasible, complete, value-adding plans for exclusively municipal lands that aim to get the land directly awarded. The creativeness and smaller reliance on municipal resources makes the proposals attractive for municipalities. However, the societal desirability and legal feasibility of this instrument are ambiguous as little about the phenomenon is documented and the Didam-judgement from late 2021 bars the direct award of land.

This research aims to investigate whether the instrument is still available for Dutch municipalities and how municipalities may improve their management of these proposals. A literature study, 2 case study projects and an expert panel have covered the topics of unsolicited proposals, urban area management, public values and the legislative context. These research methods and topics have been the main components for the delivery of a process model to improve the municipal management.

The process model entails a phased model of preparatory policy design stage by the municipality to steer the market and set out the legal basis for the Didam selection procedure. The latter is complied with through a first-come first-serve open selection procedure which meets the Didam-criteria of being measurable, objective and reasonable. The process continues with a parallel Ambitioning phase by the municipality and a Design iteration phase of the private party, during which communication and process management are important. Follow up by a feasibility and elaboration phase the collaboration and project management becomes more important. Concludingly, Unsolicited proposals are still feasible and through proper employment of all management tools and activities desirable outcomes can be achieved. ... Read more

Public participation is often regarded as something of an obstacle in urban development. However, it can be beneficial for project developers and other initatiors of projects in urban development and can potentially lead to economic gain for the developer. To research if there is any economic gain in the eventual results of a project, and to what extent public participation has an impact on this, costs and value are the focus points of this research. Economic gain does not mean more profit, but decreased costs as well. More specific, one of the largest cost factors in project development are the costs that come with delay. Often, this delay is caused by opposition and litigation in the permit-application phase of a development. To research this, the following main question will be used: ‘’To what extent can project developers benefit economically from engaging public participation in complex urban development projects?’’ This research will take several financial factors into account: (1) primary costs of public participation, (2) secondary costs of public participation, (3) primary costs of legal processes and (4) secondary costs of legal procdures. The primary costs are the costs that are directly coming from an activity and the secondary costs are the costs that originate indirectly from these activities. To research this, two phases of case studies are used. The first phase of case studies is done to gain insight in the direct and indirect costs of public participation and legal processes, afore determining in the second round of case studies if public participation decreased the chances of (non)participants starting legal procedures or caused any other forms of delay. The first round of case studies is done through a financial analysis of multiple cases, the second round is one in-depth casestudy complimented by interviews with developers, legal advisors, and (non)participants themselves. A cross-analysis is done of the results to determine to what extent public participation helps to smoothen the process and decrease the chances of legal processes, and if so, how it financially contributed to the financial result of the project. The research is rounded off with practical recommendations for developers on how to include public participation in their development process to maximize the potential of public participation initatiated by developers. ... Read more

The European Union’s incentives to make a shift from a linear towards a circular economy has pushed researchers to come up with tools that will facilitate this transition. A material passport is a digital tool that stores data regarding general information, the composition of the material and its properties. The passport is deemed as active at different stages and data regarding the condition of the material should be updated accordingly. The scope of the research is to investigate the division of tasks amongst stakeholders that have a responsibility in collecting and storing the data throughout different project delivery methods for the Infrastructure and the Real Estate sectors in the Netherlands. The aim of the research is to come up with a new setting of arrangements that shows a clear division of the responsibilities, hence promoting the safeguarding of data in a material passport.

Responsibilities have been assigned to actors and stakeholders throughout different project phases based on the tasks at hand to cover the full spectrum: from Producer to Demolition and Recycling phase. Literature studies and explorative interviews allowed for the framework to be developed under a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed) matrix. Mainly, two approaches have been developed:
• The Centralized approach to store the data centrally within the organization/party ensures that each organization comes up with its tailor-made passports according to their own goals and needs for re-use.
• The Supplier approach that entails keeping the data with the Supplier. Each supplier will be able to determine what information is necessary to collect for their own production and hence promoting the potential re-use of the material.

According to several criteria and limitations assessed, results have shown that the Centralized approach is incentivized to be used in the infrastructure sector. The end responsibility lies with the most profitable party, the party that has the best interest in keeping the information centrally in accordance with their way of working, which remains with the Lease holder/ Asset owner. Moreover, the Supplier approach was deduced to be best applicable in the real estate Sector. End responsibilities is best with financial parties (banks, insurance companies) in order to maintain the value of the asset as a collateral (Onderpand) until the building is eventually decomposed. Recommendations for the application of the framework is through contractual agreements. Special agreements could pave the way for the initial setting of the division of responsibilities, however, changes are recommended to the procurement law for the long-term applicability of passports. ... Read more

Problem definition: There is a gap in the literature on co-location: no literature is found on the use of co-location between third parties and governmental organizations (external co-location). Co-location is already being implemented within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). However, co-location has remained as a vague concept within MFA ever since its introduction. There is no strategy backing the concept; only some guidelines have been developed for more clarity from an operational perspective. Besides, the policy takes an opposing stance: a no, unless.. policy. Due to this concept's vagueness, co-location adds limited value to MFA. On the other hand, the number of co-locations indicates there is a clear need for the concept. Research objective: The objective of this thesis is to help the primary process of MFA achieve their goals and add more value with a better implementation of co-location by using the step-by-step plan developed in this research. The step-by-step plan with best actions/practices can be used to select the most suitable co-location alternative (with the decision tree and SWOT analysis) and improve the implementation of co-location as a CRE intervention (with the success formula); Consequently, more value is added to the organization. The main research question central in this thesis is: How can co-location be used as a tool within the CRE strategy and as part of the CRE portfolio that adds more value to the organization, specifically in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Research method: With the use of a hybrid research method, in which elements of operational, theoretical, and empirical research are incorporated, the answer to the main research question was obtained. The first part of the research method used was establishing the theoretical background on co-location and adding value. This knowledge establishment formed the basis of the following parts of the thesis. For the second part, an analysis of the current situation within the Ministry of Foreign affairs completed: strategic analysis of the general situation (stakeholder demands, corporate strategy, CRE strategy, Etc.) and an assessment of the current co-location cases (incorporates the empirical elements of the research). This assessment was completed using surveys (to assess the performance and perception) and interviews to develop an anecdotal success formula. The final part of this thesis incorporates the operational elements of the hybrid research method. The obtained information from the previous parts was combined for the development of a step-by-step plan to improve the current situation of co-location within MFA. Findings and conclusion: The developed step-by-step plan consists of the following products: a decision tree and SWOT analysis that both can be used to select the best co-location alternatives of a particular co-location embassy/consulate, based on the demands and objectives of MFA and the embassy/consulate. After selecting an alternative, the step-by-step plan's success formula can then be used as a tool to manage the implementation process. The last part of the step-by-step plan is needed to assess and, if needed, readjust the co-location after the implementation: the check and act phase. For assessing the co-location cases, a recommendation list of possible KPI's per demand (including the objectives) and the related adding value parameters are provided. ... Read more

It is projected by the United Nations that the population of Addis Ababa will increase to almost double the size as it has by the day today. Due to political, as well as geographical circumstances, there is very little vacant space left to accommodate this growth. To tackle this growth, the Ethiopian government established the Integrated Housing Development Project (IHDP), a large scale and top-down, mass housing project. Inherent to the design of the condominiums of the IHDP are problems, varying from imposing a new lifestyle which does not correspond to the current lifestyle of the new residents, to the allocation of current residents to other parts of the city and thereby breaking up their social and economic network. Alongside the formal developments of housing we see in Addis the rapid formation of informal settlements, commonly referred to as slums. This too causes problems. First of all, the living condition inside these informal settlements can be considered as poor. Second, it is a bad allocation of valuable and scarce resources like land, labour, materials and energy. However, they do offer urban conditions which is one of the primary reasons why people move the cities: the accessibility to high economic activity. The project proposed in this report tries to find a synthesis between these two developments by answering the following question: How can a large scale affordable and progressively built housing scheme, incorporate the needs of different social classes while accommodating and maintaining different kinds of (informal) economic urban activities and being at the same time adaptive to future social changes?
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This project seeks for an alternative low-cost housing strategy for the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Currently, the condominium housing scheme is implemented everywhere throughout the city. Despite the impressive amount of newly constructed dwelling units, shortcomings of this housing strategy have drastic consequences within the social and environmental domain. It disperses communities, is not inclusive for the very poor and does not respond to environmental issues. This while the natural environment, and in particular the waterbodies of the city, is already under great pressure after years of uncontrolled urban sprawl. It has led to massive decline of urban green spaces and extremely polluted rivers having a huge negative impact on the liveability of the city. Therefore, this graduation report presents a design proposal that tries to reconnect the inhabitants with the waterbodies of the city in order to create a river culture. The vision of a river culture is the guiding principle throughout the whole design and emerges on all different scales. It connects the water linked ecosystem with the urban fabric and ensures that the waterbodies once again play a vital role within the environmental, social, economic and technical domain. In this way it is interwoven in the daily patterns of life of Addis Ababa’s inhabitants. Blurring the boundaries between people and nature, and thereby contributing to a synergetic environment between the urban dwellers and the rivers of the city. ... Read more

The conditions that determine when and why individuals can be forced to contribute to collective services are part of an ongoing debate in the spatial planning and urban governance domain. In this thesis the problem of and a solution to free-ridership in area developments with existing property owners alongside incoming real estate developers, where private and societal actors want to invest in adding extra quality to the area through collective services or amenities, is discussed. The goal of the research is to design an instrument that helps private and societal parties in achieving this addition of extra quality, whilst at the same time giving public parties the handles to deal with these processes. This instrument is called the Area Improvement District, or AID. The research consists out of a literature review and case studies. These techniques yield a theoretical framework, empirical insights and legislative proposition. The results have been synthesised in a proposal law for the AID, based on extension of the existing Dutch BIZ law. The instrument now seems predominantly applicable in the exploitation phase, as there is a lack of knowledge with regards to what investments in collective services result in increased real estate value. However, once more knowledge is acquired regarding this, the instrument could add significantly more quality to both new and existing areas. ... Read more

Design studio: a vacant church building burns down in Heijplaat. An ignition of reactions, emotions and processes are the start of a posed solution for the ruins and outhouse that are left. The possible interventions on this specific site are a possibility to restore a (former) social monumentality that was present, specifically in its former social center: the Julianakerk. Heijplaat, such as many other ‘company-towns’ went through a phase of heavy (classic) de-industrialization which brought the evident unemployment. Consequences are that the obviousness of the former social structures are no more. In an area such as Heijplaat this is amplified by its small scale and lack of the resilience as the garden city is completely dependent on the ‘company’ (RDM). There are no valuable events taking place on this site anymore.

Research studio: At the moment two churches close their doors per week in the Netherlands alone. These former places of social and spatial centrality left a hole in our cities and neighborhoods. How should these be filled up? Private laws and public laws do not make it easy to make sustainable plans for such objects, which is part of the reason that 600 churches are vacant in the Netherlands at the moment. ... Read more

In this project, the design of a contemporary version of the historic khan for new arrivals in present-day Istanbul is explored through architectural research. The research for this project focused on three aspects: (1) Istanbul, a tumultuous city between the east and west as the context. (2) The migrant trying to make his way in the city as the user. (3) The Khan, or han in Turkish, an architectural legacy specific to old Istanbul as the building type.

The khan is the urban variant of the caravanserai: a roadside-inn for merchants and travellers along long-distance trade routes in the Middle East and Asia. As khans are no longer in use for lodging of merchants, these mystique historical buildings are in threat of deterioration.

The project explores how the khans concepts can be transformed to a contemporary reinterpretation. In this reinterpretation, the khan is a place for arrivals: migrants who recently came to Istanbul in search of work, drawing parallels with the past use of khans. The contemporary khan offers temporary housing and a base for finding work in order for migrants to build up a future in Istanbul. The architectural design does not only play with the architectural legacy of the khan typology, but also with the existing urban fabric of Istanbul as well of the ruins of a former flour factory.
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Context – Within the Netherlands, an urgent mismatch between supply and demand in the residential sector results in adverse effects such as high house prices and reduced affordability. This mismatch is anticipated to grow further due to an increasing number of households (between 300,000 and 1,000,000 until 2040) and the many barriers in the development process of inner city locations. The Dutch residential development sector stands for a great challenge.
Objective – The objective of this thesis is to explore the functioning and possibilities of revolving funds for inner city development. The hypothesis of the research is therefore that a revolving fund provides a solution towards overcoming (some of) the barriers in urban development, particularly in the inner city.
Methods – The research is divided in three components: literature review, empirical study through a comparative case study, and the translation from the case study towards a revolving fund design for residential development in inner city locations.
Results – The case study has established that there are six structural elements that characterize revolving funds: goal focus, goal limitation, size of the fund organisation, distance to the responsible governmental body, risk acceptance and steering ability. A variant study shows different possibilities of the design of a revolving fund with different characteristics in regard to the six structural elements.
Conclusion - In general, the results imply that the use of a revolving fund can stimulate certain residential development projects that experience financing issues. The study has also established that there is a support base for a revolving fund in inner city development, both from a public and private of view. A revolving fund for inner city development should have an equal focus on societal and financial yield (goal focus) and should have a medium goal limitation. In terms of organisation, the fund should have a rather small organisation in relation to the fund volume and should be sufficiently distanced from the responsible governmental body. Regarding the financial structure, the risk acceptance should be relatively high to carry out the predefined tasks of the revolving fund. This results in a revolving fund through which governmental objectives can be carried out with high steering ability.
Keywords: inner city development, revolving fund, planning instruments, comparative case study ... Read more

This graduation report studies the facilitating role of the municipality in the urban area development process in the Netherlands. Though this role is often mentioned in articles, it has not been defined due to a gap in literature and a gap in practical knowledge on the subject. This research tries to reduce that gap, by understanding the municipal roles, goals, measures and means to steer urban area development projects better and by conceptualising the facilitating role. This is done by answering the main research question: ‘What does the role of a facilitating municipality in the urban area development process in the Netherlands entail?’. An extensive literature study and a case study with five embedded cases provide valuable information to answer that question. The facilitating role is part of a framework of four municipal roles to steer urban area development projects: shaping plans, regulating markets, stimulating markets and facilitating the process. The facilitating role is supported by three measures: acquiring market information and knowledge, managing market rooted networks and organising the municipal project team. These measures are supported by a set of means and pre-conditions. The facilitating role is about facilitating the process of urban area development and does not mean ‘letting go’, ‘laissez-fair’ or facilitate only market party stakeholders. The facilitating role can be played by the municipality in all phases of the life-cycle of an urban area and regardless of the form of public-private co-operation. ... Read more