Reykjavík is a coastal city in Iceland facing growing challenges from climate change, urbanization, and overwhelmed infrastructure. Throughout this research, the primary objective is to explore the potential of a landscape-based blue-green network to enhance climate resilience and serve as a foundational element for water management, ecological inclusivity, and sustainable urban development in Reykjavík’s historical center. Research questions were formulated to provide a framework for investigating the evolution of Reykjavík’s socio-ecological system, understanding the challenges and potentials associated with current dynamics, and exploring how landscape-based approaches can address these challenges effectively and become applicable spatial design. A comprehensive methodology is employed, encompassing an extensive research and literature review on the applied theories of landscape resilience, and landscape based urbanism with focus on Reykjavík’s historical center. Nature based solutions and sponge-city principles are used as a methodological approach to develop design interventions applicable to the urban context of Reykjavík. The findings indicate that by establishing a blue-green network with integrated hydro- and ecologically inclusive design principles, in- creased climate resiliency can be attained and such network contributes to the goals of the municipal plan of Reykjavík, the ambitious goals of gaining carbon neutrality before the year 2040 in Reykjavík, as well as it complies with tightened requirements on water management for all countries in the European Economic Area (EEA). In summary, this research underscores the significance of landscape-based design approaches for increased climate resilience by establishing a green-blue structure where nature, people and urban development provide a cornerstone for Reykjavík's future resilience. ... Read more

Tokyo has a long history dealing with water in the urban landscape. As early as the 6th century, canals have been dug for transport and drainage. Japanese people lived in a harmonious balance with the coastal landscape. This principle is called satoumi, ‘sato’ means people living and ‘umi’ means coastal landscape and describes a productive relationship where humans and nature benefit from the landscape. Due to heavy urbanisation, this principle has been forgotten, and Tokyo has implemented engineering solutions for their flooding problems, such as placing tetrapods in front of the coast, and reclaiming land for industry. By blocking natural processes, the risk of flooding only increased, especially in times of climate change. By studying precedence, such as case studies, this project aims to explore a design solution, using a landscape-based approach. Principles will be derived from literature research, and implemented into context by research through design, an iterative process. One strategy that emerges from this approach is the stimulation of sedimentation and erosion as a means of coastal protection. By allowing sediment to accumulate in certain areas and erode in others, we can create softer edges along the coastline that not only provide natural habitat for flora and fauna but also act as a buffer against wave energy. These places can provide opportunities for human activities such as seaweed farming, revitalising the principle of satoumi into the landscape. In the riverine landscape, softer edges mean a diversity in flow and a gradient for ecology to thrive. Humans and nature can share the landscape, there is no need for a hard border if both are treated with respect. In the urban landscape, cultural quality is increased by respecting the border of the land reclamation, visible in the urban fabric. This will be emphasized by Japanese garden elements, respecting the traditional values of Japan. It’s essential to recognize that the landscape is not something to be dominated and controlled by humans but rather a complex system that we can learn from and collaborate with. By embracing the principles of landscape-based design, which prioritize multifunctionality and the integration of human and natural processes, we can create landscapes that are not only resilient to environmental challenges but also rich in cultural and ecological significance.
This project can be an example on working with climate adaptation, cultural qualities, and ecological importance. Even so, I hope this project can be an inspiration to future generations, on how landscape can provide us the tools for a sustainable future. When enough projects take this approach, there will be lots of different outcomes, each representing a different part on the spectrum of landscape architecture. It is unreasonable to think that this project on its own will make much of a difference, but I like to think that it can spark a new approach towards climate resilience.
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In recent years, there has been a notable shift towards increased citizen participation in society, both globally and within the Netherlands. Concurrently, urban development has undergone a notable shift towards a more private-led orientation over the decades. This shift is evident in the expanding responsibilities of the private sector, particularly project developers, which now extend beyond traditional boundaries. One manifestation of this transformation is the increasing organization of citizen participation by private developers, referred to as private-led participation, highlighted by the new Environmental and Planning Act implemented in January 2024. As responsibilities evolve and the lines between the public and private sectors blur, there is a noticeable convergence of objectives and actions. This growing interdependence in private-led participation processes calls for greater collaboration across organizational boundaries between developers and municipalities. Despite these developments, limited academic research and practical tools address the evolving roles of public and private actors and their collaboration in private-led participation processes. Therefore, this study aims to explore the changing roles of private developers and municipalities in private-led citizen participation processes. Specifically, it seeks to investigate how these stakeholders can collaborate to facilitate private-led citizen participation. The primary method for this study will be qualitative research, involving a comprehensive literature review and multiple case studies within the Municipality of Amsterdam. This approach will include document analysis along with in-depth interviews with developers and municipalities. The study aims to provide practical recommendations for enhancing collaboration between private developers and municipalities in the context of shifting roles, ultimately facilitating private-led participation processes. The research concludes that with developers increasingly taking the lead in managing private-led participation processes, municipalities remain crucial roles in setting the stage, providing guidance, and offering strategic oversight. Collaboration between the two requires separate but also shared responsibilities, clear role definitions, early engagement, transparent communication, clear preconditions and capacity building to ensure private-led citizen participation.

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The Blue Heart is the deltaic territory composed of the IJssel Estuary, IJsselmeer-Markermeer, Wadden Sea, and the reclaimed polders of Flevoland and Wieringermeer. The Blue Heart is a globally important node of migration of aquatic species and birds due to its delta estuary geomorphology. However, the same deltaic conditions that allowed intense biodiversity were dangerous for local human settlements, constantly facing disasters due to storm surges from the North Sea. As an adaptation measure to minimize the probability of flooding, the
Zuiderzeewerken implemented new linear flooding defenses in the Blue Heart Delta, such as the Afsluitdijk and new dikes that surrounded the newly reclaimed polders. However, this adaptation measure had severe ecological trade-offs. It interrupted the migratory routes and completely changed the endogenous brackish water ecosystem of the Zuiderzee into a freshwater reservoir for the demand for agriculture and housing. In the process, the water infrastructure morphology eliminated most of the vital local species of the brackish water
habitat, degrading the ecological succession processes in the lakes. Currently, the lakes Markermeer and IJsselmeer have severe ecological challenges related to the lack of biodiversity, which not only impacts the global web-of-life of the Blue Heart but also the original local fishing activities. Furthermore, the Province of Flevoland was developed as an intensive agricultural land towards exportation, facilitated by favorable marine clay fertility conditions and advanced farming technologies. As new climate conditions appear in uncertain future horizons, the limits of the paradigms that maintain the current territorial conditions and
functions of the Blue Heart are increasingly urgent. The project starts by shifting the harmful conditional and functional paradigms by adopting a nexus of ecology, water infrastructure, food, and housing. Then it proposed a planned adaptation model that guides the territorial recomposition and regional deconstruction of the Blue Heart to achieve endogenous agrourban ecological interfaces. In that sense, proposing a socioeconomic system that can synergize
with the web of life. The new spatial possibilities allow a regional envisioning for Flevoland that is rooted in ecological reintegration and water infrastructure change considering the future socio-climate scenarios of Deltares. ... Read more

The Paraná River is the second longest in South America and has always been a corridor for the migration of flora and fauna across the continent. In recent decades, it became one of the most important economic axes of the continent, crossing some of its most populous areas. However, in 2019, a severe drought event in the Upper Paraná River basin (UPRB) exposed the watershed's structural vulnerabilities, with water flows steadily dropping and causing uncountable economic and ecological losses.

Looking at the basin's history, the changes in land cover are the most dramatic, together with the construction of dams and their impact on the landscape. Nowadays, the UPRB corresponds to the model of the Plantation posited by Donna Haraway (Haraway et al., 2015) and explored by authors such as Malcolm Ferdinand (2021). It is a production landscape, with most of the native Atlantic Forest replaced by hectares of monoculture fields or grazing fields for meat production. Workers were brought to newly inaugurated towns, and infrastructure was planned with the goal of exporting these commodities as efficiently as possible. While lucrative, these forms of land use have minimal water retention capacity. Furthermore, there are serious sequel issues with topsoil erosion, water eutrophication, and the silting up of rivers and springs. The hydrologic cycle, originally stable, has been disrupted: all rainwater that falls during the wet season immediately runs downstream, not being retained. The Guarani Aquifer is dropping, creating serious vulnerabilities for the dry season.

This project explored how Landscape Architecture as a discipline could help regenerate the water cycle in the Upper Paraná River basin, a proper production landscape. It departs from historical analysis, geographical datasets, literature review, and a field trip. A theoretical framework defines the lens through which the problem of hydrologic disruption is seen, building upon the non-equilibrium and resilience theories (Ahern, 2011); the idea of ubiquitous wetness (Da Cunha, 2018) and, consequently, multi-species approaches (Bellacasa, 2021; Escobar, 2018); and the Casco Concept (Sijmons, 1991). The resulting goal is to build a framework of performative spaces that can withstand disturbances while providing for the human and non-human living beings in the landscape.

Such a framework is approached by a series of operative principles, design strategies, for each of the topographic categories in this landscape: headwaters, slopes, and flatlands. These principles are tested through application in a group of watersheds along the Paraná River, chosen due to their representative land use, topography and soil composition, and their easy accessibility for the field trip. The outcomes of this contextual application are a regional landscape plan, plus three zoom-ins in spaces along the same tributary of the Paraná River. The zoom-ins show how the framework of operative spaces is experienced by humans and local fauna, and how water retention features can coexist with economic and cultural activities. The main conclusion is that, if not approached from a purely technical point of view, water retention can be a leverage to enhance a landscape’s resilience and ecological value as a whole.
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The River Nile has been a lifeline for northeastern Africa for thousands of years, supporting the growth of civilization, agriculture, and trade. The history of the Nile can be traced back to ancient times. The fertile banks of the Nile have supported the civilization of the ancient Egyptians. Since Egypt received almost no rain, the ancient Egyptians worshiped the river and considered the water from the Nile as the source of life. The Greek historian Herodotus has written, “Egypt is the gift of the Nile”. The ancient Egyptians developed ways to make perfect use of the gift of water, a complex system of irrigation to irrigate their fields to produce large amounts of crops to support the growing population. The Nile also played a crucial role in trading routes in the region, goods were transported to the Mediterranean Sea and then traded throughout the ancient world. The relationship between people and the Nile was symbiotic during these ancient times. A harmonious balance between men and nature. For five thousand years, nature has dominated the river’s constitution and functions, but from the mid-nineteenth century to today, different countries and regimes have increasingly influenced the Nile River system. Ambitious water management of big irrigation projects and the building of large dams has resulted in an imbalance in the relationship between the river, delta, sea, and people. The landscape of the Nile River Basin has changed from dynamic and natural, to a highly controlled and obstructed river.The Nile faces multiple threats, including pollution, climate change, and overuse. The highly controlling mentality is causing these threats to accelerate, and increasing the overall decline in the resilience of the basin. This graduation project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of landscape architecture design interventions in reintroducing natural dynamics in the Nile River Basin and assess their potential to enhance the basin's ecological, and socio-economic value, hydrological functioning, and overall resilience.
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Heavy precipitation results in high pressure on the urban water system. This leads to pluvial flooding and overflowing of the sewer system into the surface water. In order the mitigate the impact of these events, separate sewer systems and water storage facilities are implemented in cities. Surplus water overflowing from surface water or sewer system can be stored in a reservoir for a period of time and later slowly discharged back into the water system via pumping or infiltration. In most cases, the water is not harvested for reuse. However, rainwater has a high potential for reuse. Evaporation and aquathermia are two types of the use of water in systems to cool and heat buildings. Both offer a potential application for the reuse of harvested rainwater. This research paper aims to illustrate the position of rainwater storage and harvesting in the urban water system and investigates the possibility of reusing the harvested rainwater in systems cooling or heating buildings.

In the final project, the findings are implemented in a design for a new theatre in Gouda. The design aims to create a more open, attractive and efficient theatre that will attract a wide variety of audiences. All while dealing with the challenges of the location: subsidence, water nuisance and urban heating. The new building gives space to the theatre and the neighboring community centre. A large underground storage, roof ponds and rain-curtain facades all add to a resilient and characteristic new theatre building and a comfortable indoor and outdoor climate. ... Read more

Around 19BC the Romans established their military camps on the hills of Nijmegen in their conquest of Germania. After a huge defeat the Roman Empire decided that the great Rhine river would be the per-manent border of the empire. From that moment on The Lower Germanic Limes was fortified in stone to protect the border from the tribes north of the river. After 100 AD the Rhine tributary started flowing southwards, the Dutch constructed their dikes and urbanization sped up. Nowadays the historic knowledge of the Romans is protected in archaeological locations by UNESCO.

However above ground this archaeology isn’t experienced in the urban fabric and additionally the cul-tural memory of this history induces a local identity, but the locations don’t allow for place attachment or a representation of this identity. Therefore the challenge is how to translate this experience to the current locations as part of their heritage and the main question can be formulated as ‘’How can urban design sustainably develop the UNESCO sites in Nijmegen-Oost to create awareness and create place attachment for the cultural memory of Roman Nijmegen?’’

Nijmegen was chosen for this thesis, since it has the highest concentration of UNESCO sites within the Limes in the Netherlands, with 4 overlapping archaeological areas. These locations were analysed through the Dutch Layer Approach in Roman and current times, becoming a Diachronic Layer Approach that shows opportunities for transformation and Roman visualizations.

This research firstly aims to create an elaborate design for the Limes in Nijmegen by using methods to design with archaeology. Secondly it seeks to reflect on these methods by testing designs and using theory to develop a comprehensive method on designing with archaeological heritage, which is in its infancy at the moment. The report builds upon the Limes Atlas from 2005 and where Robert Broesi categorized 10 ways of doing this with references. Using these as design methods sparked creativity, but also showed that there are more elements to the process. The main findings were more ways of creating visibility, how interaction with senses and activities created awareness, but also that the site must have a sustainable impact to function in the community. Furthermore the incorporation of a ques-tionnaire, in cooperation with the municipality of Nijmegen, determined what the inhabitants view as heritage and opportunities of the sites. This research shows that solutions to current challenges are truly under the soil and that the two fields of archaeology and urban design should interact more in future developments.
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Arid regions throughout the world experience long periods of drought. Combined with a high temperature, this can lead to water shortage. Due to climate change, this is expected to worsen, as areas become drier and temperatures increase. One of the regions where this problem occurs is the region of North-East Africa. In this region, water stress is expected to increase in the (near) future due to an increase in demand for water and a decrease of the availability. While most of these countries depend on a shared water source, transboundary cooperation is lacking. A regional strategy, to create a common framework, is needed to cope with this regional problem which can strengthen long term resilience. This thesis tries to find which elements are crucial when creating a regional strategy for these regions.

North-East Africa has many regional differences: while the countries Sudan and Egypt are mainly dependent on water from the Nile, Libya lacks freshwater sources and depends on groundwater. Regional differences like this are why it is difficult to create one strategy which addresses the whole region at once. This is why it is important to zoom in and see what local cities or regions specifically need. By zooming in, these local differences can be, together with challenges on a larger scale, form a strategy with which the regional can tackle water shortage.

The strategy itself contains three main aspects; priorities, outcomes and outputs. The six main priorities can be used to set goals for both the larger and smaller scale for both present and future, and can help decisionmakers link other topics to this common goal. The outcomes are linked to both these priorities, as well as the SDG’s, to improve the connectivity to other future policies and action plans. Outputs in this strategy are directly linked to the outcomes to provide input about how these outcomes are achievable. These outputs, also known as actions, are either spatial or policies. To illustrate the effect and possibilities of spatial actions, the Greater Cairo region is investigated on a smaller scale. This is done by looking into four main types which illustrate the various forms of urban fabric in the city.

The main findings of this thesis are that a regional strategy in arid regions should take into account aspects on both small and large scale, as well as tackling issues in the present and future. Only by constantly switching between scales and time, a coherent and functioning strategy can be created.
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One of the many challenges facing the Netherlands is the government’s
goal of building one million homes by 2030, as a solution to the housing
deficiency that’s plaguing the Netherlands. The intended method is to densify current urban areas rather than continuously expand outward into green areas to keep the natural environment open for nature. Looking at one of the most extreme examples of inner-city densification (Japan) may provide answers for the Dutch context.

Most if not all Japanese cities are built with mechanical solutions for
everything. Climate change will stretch the normal functioning of these solutions to their breaking point. Climate adaptation as known in the Netherlands is exploring (and changing towards) nature-based solutions, which can alleviate pressure on and / or entirely negate the mechanical systems currently in place.

Can the combined effort of “Japanese style” urbanisation and “Dutch style”
climate adaptation lead to a form of high-density climate resilient urban
environments so that natural areas may remain as they are?
Exchanging ideas may be the way to find solutions together! ... Read more

To reduce the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect Green Infrastructure (GI) is seen as a key measure. Though, often the need for water to evaporate is neglected. This study focuses on showing the effects of irrigation and increased soil moisture contents on GI within urban areas to reduce the UHI-effect. ENVI-met, a micro-climate model, is used to model various scenarios for a tropical day and a heatwave in the Netherlands. For two Dutch urban areas, with different building typology and subsoil, the current situation, a greener scenario and various soil moisture profiles have been modelled to show the effects of increased soil moisture content on thermal comfort and the UHI-effect. ... Read more

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the evolution of Ilissos and Kifissos river basins in Athens, Greece and the ways this evolution was influenced by specific human factors. The dynamics of the human-water interactions have been studied in the frame of sociohydrology and the central key was to study the impact society had on the hydrological regime of the rivers and the rivers on society, at the basins of Ilissos and Kifissos. Athens is the capital city of Greece, where almost half of the country’s population is located and the most important financial center of the country, where about 70% of country’s financial activity takes place. The time frame of this thesis covers almost the last 200 years, from 1834, when Athens became the capital city of Greece, until 2019 and takes into account the most important political and social events of these years. The human factors used in this research and which have also been used in sociohydrological studies are the community’s sensitivity and memory, along with human parameters like the social and political regime. In this research, the case study research method was selected for exploring in depth the interventions applied at the two rivers and the relations of people with water resources during the study period, by paying attention at details and attempting to correlate conditions and events. In more details, for collecting information about the evolution of social and political regime and the interventions to the rivers, the historical analysis method was used and for exploring the evolution of community’s sensitivity and memory, the method of content analysis at newspaper articles and municipal acts was chosen. The study showed that according to the way the community’s sensitivity evolved, there has been a change at the way people face Ilissos and Kifissos, from economically exploiting the rivers, towards a more environmentally sustainable management attitude. However, throughout city’s political and social history there have been periods, where the prevailing way people faced the two rivers changed drastically due to severe political and social events like wars, change of political regime and severe flood events. Moreover, the memory of the rivers influenced the way people treat the rivers, since it was found that there had been positive and negative memories related to the rivers, concerning their historical value on Athens history, memories related to their good or bad environmental condition and memories related to flood events. Usually, memory mentions were used to criticize the government for the process of projects or were used as motivation for more protection measures. ... Read more

PROJECT

There are flood and drought problems in the Garden Cities of Amsterdam, which will get worse if nothing changes. On top of that, there is a problem with the quality of the open water. Therefore, an approach is needed to cope with these water problems. Besides this, 8000 new dwellings may need to be realised in Amsterdam Nieuw-West and many old dwellings need to be renovated. I propose to combine these topics and investigate the possibilities of creating more housing in the area while also resolving the water issues.

Accordingly, the aim of the project is to investigate the possibilities for improving the housing blocks in the Wildeman neighbourhood, and make them function in symbiose with water. Designing the dwellings and neighbourhood with a dynamic relation to water should lead to a habitat which is resilient for flood and drought,
maintaining good water quality and using the opportunities open/rain/ground/fresh/etc. -water provides.


RESEARCH PAPER

To find out what role architecture could play in future sustainable and climate proof water city (considering the Closed City concept) the following topics are investigated: (1) the urban water system in general, and the Closed City concept in specific, (2) architecture as water machine (WMA) in general, and WMA that can be applied to a Closed City in specific and (3) the post war neighbourhood and its water system in general, and with the Closed City concept applied in specific. The inquiry involves the spatial implications of technical systems applied, researched through literature study, case study and drawing as epistemic. The data is then tested against the characteristics and requirements of the Closed City concept. It is concluded that WMA could play a role in five out of six characteristics of the Closed City when the concept is applied to a post war neighbourhood. Twelve possible forms are identified, fulfilling the role of rainwater collection, water treatment, heating system, reducing water use and water storage. ... Read more

As a result of global warming sea levels have recently started to rise and pose threatening scenarios to increasingly densifying urban areas worldwide. As the low-lying Netherlands will be one of the first to witness the consequenses of rising sea levelsa and increasing river water discharge, alternatives for its built environment will have to be explored in order to be able to adapt in time. As the Netherlands has been successfully holding off the water for decades, the country is globally seen as a pioneer in water management solutions. Therefore the Dutch are in the position to lead by example. However, the phenomenon of rapidly accellerating sea level rise is something Dutch water management has never dealt with before. Uncertainty and rapidly changing predictions make it difficult to decide on drastic and costly measures in time. In order to facilitate a transition from the established defensive landscape towards living with water instead, a new flood resilient building type can facilitate in adapting to near future predictions, while also raising awareness for the urgency of rising water levels and contributing to the current housing shortage. In order to achieve this it is necessary to step away from the defensive landscape and outdated water management strategies. This research will elaborate on predictions regarding sea level rise and changing weather conditions in the densifying outer dike area of the urban center of Rotterdam. Contemporary approaches towards building dikes, the importance of engaging private parties in generating flood resilient solutions and the possibility to utilize water and flood defence barriers as a flexible building ground in densifying urban areas will be discussed. Ultimately leading to a novel mixed-use housing typology with the overarching goal to reduce the flood risk in densifying outer dike areas and contribute to a changing mindset towards living with the increasing risk of flooding. ... Read more

The phase “water, water everywhere but too much or too little” aptly explains the current situation of many global cities. Within the numerous challenges due to Climate change and Urbanisation, water ranks the highest as a risk to the society. This risk ranges from water related catastrophes like floods to availability of portable water to the growing population. There are many cities in the world that are threaten with this issue. One global city, that witnesses severe water related risks is Jakarta. Jakarta has been reported flooding as early as in the year of 1621 and since then there has various flood events over the years. In the olden times the kampungs and desakotas developed ways to live with the water forming a very sustainable and close relationship with their river system. But as Jakarta grew into a metropolis with problems and focus getting bigger and diverse, the focus shifted to an infrastructure-oriented development with which the perception of the river and kampungs began to change. A lot of alterations were and are still constantly being made to the physical morphology of both the river and the kampungs leaving them without an identity. At present the Kampungs are the “informal trouble” to the city and the rivers are canalized drains of water and waste.

The shift to a constant dependency on linear approaches of flood management and inequity in the planning policies leaves the Kampungs and river network vulnerable to the imbalance in the natural- built systems.

Therefore, the outcome of the project aims to look at an alternate perspective to approach the flood and water management structure of the city of Jakarta. It is done by looking at “urban poor not as a problem but as a part of the solution” to primarily address the issue of flooding. The project also aims to investigate ways to integrate them as a key component of the larger water management schemes. The urban poor in the Kampungs of Jakarta show a strong potential due to the deep engraved sense of community and affinity to the river and its cultural symbolism. These socio-cultural values of the people within the kampungs could be a key factor in bringing about a behavioral shift in the way they treat their rivers or immediate water systems. Bottom-up interventions within these Kampungs integrated with a top-down strategic plan could reduce a significant amount of stress on the river system and improve the socio-ecological values of the river
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With urbanization and climate change, the reliable water supply by centralized system is facing challenges. Research on the (re)use of the outflow from an urban area as an alternative water resource is increasing in recent years. This research requires spatial and temporal information on the status of components of urban water cycle. Several hydrological models exist for the purpose of urban water management. However, none of them considers modeling the total urban water cycle by a water balance approach in a spatial explicit manner. Distributed Urban Water Cycle Model (DUWCM) is developed in this thesis to investigate the benefit of a scalable and efficient water balance model that simulates the rainfall-runoff system and water supply-wastewater system in urban areas. Two case studies were carried out to verify the model and demonstrate the capability of modeling a large hydrological catchment respectively. DUWCM is developed as adaptable to a planning-support tool UrbanBEATS. Spatial representation of the second case study will be provided by it in squared and hexagonal tessellation. Hexagons have been applied in many spatial modeling fields, while rare applications can be found in water balance modeling. A comparison of model results from squared and hexagonal grids is done in this study. The comparison demonstrates that the difference in flow direction and sampling of the land cover ratio between square and hexagon blocks results in obvious differences in the location and the magnitude of peak flows. Since hexagonal grids perform better in flow path simulation (de Sousa et al.,2006), it is expected to be preferred over squared grids in distributed hydrological models. Thus, DUWCM, being scalable in the number of blocks and shapes, has the potential to be widely applied in sustainable water management. ... Read more

Disaster prevention and coastal protection of Otsuchi have affected the livelihood and the daily pattern of lifestyle of the regular Otsuchian. This work represents the alternative to a typical top down prefectural level demand for a line based infrastructural solution to disaster prevention and creates the required importance of livelihood, culture and identity of a place over the protection structure. While in the design of such critical areas it is important to place protection of the citizens at a high level, it is also a necessity to understand the situation of each city as different from each other. In this way, the genius loci of a place is founded. Along the San Riku coastline where the tsunami and earthquake hit the hardest due to the landscape features and the proximity to the epicenter the government has set a list of top down governed structures that have impacted the urban fabric of the city, This document looks at one of these towns “Otsuchi” and how alternate solutions based on the historical and landscape features of the district can help create landscapes of livelihood for the citizens. Otsuchi among many other Japanese cities faces the issue of a shrinking population due to a lack of economy, a lack of education in the rural areas and a lack of opportunities. The design document also looks at how Identity crisis in a Rias coastline/ Aditya Athreya Rao/ TU Delft 1 landscape can create a set of cyclical opportunities for the people to develop their town responsibly and sustain-ably as they see fit. Landscape design seeks to provide opportunity to the stakeholders to further create, it provides the platform for this creation and the thesis looks at ideas and solutions on ways this can be done. Keywords: Landscape Infrastructure, Identity, Contextual Design Genius Loci, Landscape Design, New landscapes ... Read more

Water is one of the most essential resources for the sustainable development. With the tendency of urbanization and population growth, a more sustainable urban water system becomes important to create harmonized environment between human and nature, thus it is necessary to discuss integrated urban water management in a holistic manner. In this research, starting from a water management model closed city, hybridity is identified as one character of urban water system and its contributions to improve closed city are studied by collaboration work between two disciplines, water management and urban design. A hypothesis of three components of hybridity of urban water systems is raised, which are spatial hybridity, environmental hybridity and governance hybridity. Each component consists of different elements that are involved and influence each other in urban water system. This report presents the results of spatial hybridity and environmental hybridity in a case study area Zevenkamp in Rotterdam city, the Netherlands. Methodology to analyze and evaluate spatial and environmental hybridity is developed in the perspective of urban design and water management respectively, and then be applied to assess current situation in Zevenkamp. Based on the current analysis results, five future visions are set up according to the concept of closed city and then collaborative design between two disciplines is carried out to clarify the urban layout for each vision. Added values of hybridity in each vision is assessed by quantification, as well as their performance as a closed city. Finally, all the results are compared together and discussed. Some main conclusions can be obtained from this research, which are given as follows: • Hybridity concept addresses the importance of inter-disciplinary work, and it is able to provide a thinking way to promote the collaborative processes. Based on the cooperation between two disciplines in this research, it will be helpful to guide future collaboration when more expertise are involved. • Hybridity concept gives a broader perspective on the discussion of grey and green solutions, which is not conflicting to recent debates on the importance of combination of both types of measures. • Hybridity concept can improve the design of closed city which can enhance citizens’ appreciation on urban water systems without compromising the physical performance of closed city. It will motivate locals to engage in urban water management, which can lead to the study of governance hybridity. In addition, it also inspires urban water managers for more comprehensive understandings to a more sustainable urban water management. ... Read more

This research focused on the sustainable design of a regional transport system, by considering the trends of the aging society and shrinking city into its design process. Most developed counties shrink and age, especially Japan, which has major impact towards transportation and land use. Applied is a backcasting approach, which includes these both trends and evaluates their impact along the transport dynamics within an adjusted ‘land use and transport feedback loop’. The outcome shows that with regulative policies towards motorization and population densities a sustainable development can be initiated. Required is a change in the design of streets, public transportation and urban structures in order to maintain social integration, environmental protection and stable independent economy. ... Read more