Cities are at the forefront of climate change. They contribute to approximately 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, are increasingly exposed to climate-related hazards, and need to accommodate continued population growth and development pressures. Responding to these interconnected challenges requires mitigation and adaptation to be pursued alongside sustainable development. In this thesis, Climate Resilient Development Pathways (CRDP) are operationalized as the integration of mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable development in cities. The research examines the extent to which this integration occurs at the system level in Cork and Galway. Policy integration is used as the analytical lens to understand how these objectives are connected across the urban policy system.

A system-level framework was developed iteratively from policy integration literature and the characteristics of Cork and Galway. It identifies policy instruments and institutional capacity as two components through which CRDP can be assessed across horizontal and vertical dimensions. The framework was applied through document analysis in both cities, providing a comparison of formal CRDP. Seven semi-structured interviews in Cork were then used to examine integration in practice and its barriers and enablers. The empirical analysis is therefore asymmetric: formal integration is assessed in Cork and Galway, while findings on integration in practice apply only to Cork.

The findings show a strong formal basis for CRDP in both cities. National legislation connects climate and development requirements, local policy instruments are generally coherent, and institutional arrangements support coordination within and across governance levels. The similarities between Cork and Galway suggest that their shared national framework strongly shapes this formal integration. Mitigation receives clearer quantitative and action-based attention than adaptation, while sustainable development is widely embedded across policy areas. In Cork, integration becomes more complex in practice because responsibilities, authority, and resources are distributed across national
institutions, the Council, and wider city actors. Integration therefore depends
strongly on coordination and partnerships beyond the Council’s direct authority.

Overall, CRDP in Cork and Galway is a developing, multidimensional, and uneven
process. The thesis contributes empirical evidence on formal CRDP in two Irish cities, together with deeper evidence on how integration operates in practice in Cork. It also demonstrates how applying a policy integration lens can reveal the policy and institutional conditions shaping CRDP integration at the system level. ... Read more

Nowadays, modern infrastructure systems are becoming more connected, more advanced, more digital, and more exposed to disruption. Events such as climate change, extreme weather, cyberattacks, geopolitical instability, energy stress, supply-chain shocks, and technological dependence increasingly show how fragile essential systems can become when one failure moves across different sectors. European ports are located at the center of this fragility. More specifically, they are not only defined as maritime gateways, but as dense operational environments where sectors of logistics, energy, transport, water, ICT systems, industrial activity, cyber-security arrangements, and public crisis management all depend on each other. In such a setting, port resilience now becomes a cross-infrastructure governance problem.
This thesis therefore examines this problem through the case of the Port of Rotterdam. As Europe’s largest seaport and a strategic node for trade, energy, industry, and hinterland logistics, Rotterdam provides a highly relevant case for studying how cross-infrastructure disruption management is organized in practice. This research asks how existing disruption-management practices, information flows, and governance arrangements in and around the Port of Rotterdam shape the feasibility and potential added value of a cross-infrastructure digital resilience platform.
The study uses the “European Union Infrastructure Digital Resilience Platform (EU-IDRP)” as a conceptual object of analysis. EU-IDRP is a researcher-developed, non-operational platform concept. It was conceived as a federated coordination platform through which infrastructure actors could retain control over their own systems while sharing selected disruption-relevant information for dependency mapping, scenario analysis, and human-in-the-loop decision support.
The research combines literature reviews with ten semi-structured expert interviews involving different actors from infrastructure operation, public crisis management, port innovation, cyber resilience, terminal operations, digital modelling, and interoperability. Through this qualitative approach, the thesis then explores how different actors understand cascading disruptions, how information is currently shared, what coordination gaps exist, and under which governance conditions a shared digital platform could be trusted, used, and embedded.
The research findings show that a cross-infrastructure digital resilience platform could be in principle valuable, but its feasibility is presented as conditional. That is, existing systems and coordination practices already support parts of disruption management, yet they mainly produce partial visibility leaving aside shared system-level awareness. The research also identifies a grey space between routine operational incidents and formal crisis escalation, where cross-infrastructure coordination may already be needed before a formal crisis structure is activated. In this study, interoperability is presented as a socio-technical issue involving shared meanings, routines, responsibilities, legal arrangements, and operational fit. Finally, as it emerged from the analysis, the most useful information for resilience is also often the one that is the most sensitive to share.
The thesis concludes that the added value of a platform like EU-IDRP would especially lie in governed shared situational awareness and cross-infrastructure sense-making. The findings suggest that such a platform would most plausibly operate as a federated, role-based, and institutionally embedded coordination layer. Its purpose should therefore be to support existing responsibilities, provide controlled visibility, reduce coordination burden, and help actors recognize potential cascading effects earlier. The study contributes to port-resilience and critical-infrastructure governance literature by shifting attention from interdependence as an actual problem to governed coordination as a condition for resilience.
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Climate change is making extreme rainfall and flooding more frequent, and small islands such as Bonaire are especially exposed. Infrastructure and economic activity are concentrated in low-lying coastal areas, while the local capacity and data to manage flood risks are limited. The risks became visible during the extreme rainfall of November 2022, when roughly 80 mm fell in a single night, submerging streets and homes, closing the hospital and schools, and sending polluted run-off onto the coral reefs. The economic stakes are high: storms and floods are projected to cause around US$317 million in damage on Bonaire by 2050, and degradation of the reefs that buffer the coast could contract the island’s economy by up to a quarter of its GDP. In January 2026, a court ruled that the Netherlands had not adequately protected the island, placing flood risk higher on the political and legal agenda. Earth Observation (EO) data can help monitor and predict floods, and for the Dutch Caribbean it is already openly available. Raw satellite data, however, cannot be used directly: it must be processed into products that local stakeholders can understand and act on. This study asks how EO data can be translated into entrepreneurial flood risk management services on Bonaire.

The research is a qualitative, exploratory case study built on 21 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across the local and national government, knowledge institutions, nature organisations, the private sector, and EO companies. The interviews followed a needs-first (Mom Test) logic, probing actual practices and past problems rather than hypothetical demand. Transcripts were analysed through
a hybrid deductive-inductive thematic analysis in ATLAS.ti, using open, axial, and selective coding, which produced seven themes. Two theoretical lenses structure the analysis. The EO value chain, running from data providers through service providers to customers, organises the needs by the level at which they arise. Bryson’s power-interest grid maps stakeholders by their power to act and their interest in flood risk, locating where demand sits and where the power to fund and adopt a service lies.

At the data level, satellite coverage is abundant but insufficient on its own: global datasets are too coarse for a small island, with grids on the order of 100 km, and outputs need in-situ ground validation, historical imagery of past events, and currently missing base registrations before they become reliable.
Subsurface conditions, such as the porous coral dike that carries seawater hundreds of metres inland, are poorly captured by standard EO. At the service provider level, the dominant need is to turn raw data into products that non-technical users can operate, integrating optical imagery, aerial photos, and LiDAR-derived elevation models, and reporting the uncertainty of forecasts and models rather than obscuring it. Matched to these needs, the most suitable modalities are high-resolution optical and LiDAR elevation data for flood mapping and spatial planning, cloud-penetrating SAR for monitoring through the rainy season, and optical time series for mangrove monitoring, the last being the most successful pilot application observed. At the customer level, four needs recurred: restoring water storage through dams, rooien, and saliñas; improving drainage; a faster and more reliable early warning
system, which is currently absent and runs through informal channels; and greater awareness of what EO can do. Most applications fall under flood prevention, with response and recovery still largely unexplored.

The central finding is that the binding constraint is not the availability of satellite data but the translation of that data into accessible, usable products. This service provider role exists on Bonaire only in fragments, through individual projects and pilots, rather than as a continuous, locally embedded service.
Three findings explain why the link is hard to fill. Awareness of EO is low across most user groups, though it varies, with nature organisations and some individuals inside government more aware than others. The main obstacle is financial and organisational rather than technical: services struggle to stay funded once a pilot ends, in a small market that leans heavily on project-based public money, and
the party that would pay is rarely the party that benefits. Finally, adoption depends on governance and trust. The power-interest grid reveals a structural mismatch: the actors with the most interest in flood risk, such as residents, nature organisations, and infrastructure operators, have the least power, while the powerful actors, mainly the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), have a distant interest, and real estate developers hold an interest that runs counter to flood management.
EO data can support flood risk management on Bonaire, but the data alone is not enough. It becomes useful only when a service turns it into usable products, funding keeps that service running, and local support ensures it is actually used.

The recommendations are therefore directed at the two groups whose action matters most.
For an entrepreneur, the opportunity lies in the service provider role: turning raw data into an integrated tool that combines elevation, water flows, and infrastructure with local data and knowledge, bundled with education and engagement, and targeting prevention first.
A commercial venture aimed at Bonaire alone is unlikely to be viable; a regional service spanning several islands, which spreads the fixed cost of acquisition and processing across more users, is the more realistic path. Because adoption depends
on trust, such a service would need to work through a local champion, possibly one of the EO-aware individuals already within the OLB.
For the government, the priority is continuity, since the main obstacle is not building a service but keeping it running. This calls on BZK and IenW to move from project-based towards structural funding, comparable to how the Delta Programme secures water safety in the European Netherlands. It also requires closing a governance gap: with neither a province nor a water board, responsibility for flood measures falls between the national government and the OLB, so BZK, as the coordinating ministry
for the special municipalities, should assign a clear owner for such a service rather than leaving it in that gap. At the island level, the OLB can strengthen the basis for permitting itself, where procedures are currently slow because the underlying rules are unclear or absent. Setting clear criteria against which applications are tested, using the zoning-plan revision to assess flood risk at new developments,
and introducing drainage requirements for private developers would give both the zoning plan and EO-based risk information a concrete point of entry into permitting decisions.
The first step, however, is not technical but a matter of building awareness and capacity among the users closest to the problem, and the upcoming zoning-plan revision, the developing climate plan, and the January 2026 court ruling open an institutional window in which to do so. ... Read more

An ever increasing share of the world population lives in urban areas. With this development the liveability of these places has never been more important. While these places have always been challenging to live in, the changing climate is putting even more strain on it. The city faces problems like heat islands (or heat management in general), water management issues, biodiversity loss, poor air quality and much more. A manner to combat these issues that has been gaining prevalence is urban nature-based solutions. These are interventions that primarily make use of natural systems, like urban forests, green streets, walls, roofs and corridors. While their implementation has shown great success it has been limited to spaces owned by public entities. Much of the urban space is privately owned preventing the widespread adoption of urban nature-based solutions and achieving their full potential. The approach taken by this research is to look specifically at urban nature-based solutions to be implemented by private households. It seeks to determine the influence of the attributes of urban NbS on the adoption likeliness. Using a conjoint experiment in a survey in the Netherlands the relative influence of environmental benefits, utilities bill savings (through added insulation value), capital expenditure and maintenance requirements on the adoption likeliness has been determined. The results show that capital expenditure is the most influential. It is followed by environmental benefits and costs savings, which are comparable. The least influential attribute is maintenance requirements. Observations also show that some significant differences in influence can be observed between different demographic groups. The absolute influence of attributes on the adoption likeliness, in general, is quite limited. The next steps that can be taken are research into other factors that might contribute more to the adoption likeliness and making use of the findings in this research to formulate policy that properly stimulates the adoption of urban nature-based solutions by households. ... Read more

Nature-based solutions (NbS) such as urban parks, green corridors, and stormwater wetlands are increasingly adopted to enhance climate resilience and livability in cities, yet their social impacts can be uneven. In Cape Town—where apartheid-era planning left certain communities on the under‑resourced Cape Flats while the wealthier people clustered around greenspaces—there is a pressing need to understand whether greening projects might inadvertently displace vulnerable renters. This thesis examines that question by focusing on two contrasting electoral wards: Ward 57, an affluent inner‑city neighbourhood, and Ward 79, the lower‑income Mitchell’s Plain township in the Cape Flats.
To explore how NbS affect housing affordability and demographic composition, a spatially explicit agent‑based model (ABM) was developed for each ward. The city map is discretized into a grid of housing parcels, each with evolving rent levels and ‘livability’ scores that reflect environmental quality, including the presence and maturity of NbS interventions. Household agents—characterised by income, rent‑affordability thresholds, and demographic identifiers—occupy units and face displacement when rising rents exceed their budget or eviction risk thresholds. Vacant units may then be filled by higher‑income in‑migrants. NbS scenarios are introduced exogenously, locally boosting livability scores and triggering rent uplifts that propagate through the spatial grid. Over multi‑year simulations, the model tracks rent burdens, forced displacement events, and shifts in population makeup, enabling side‑by‑side comparison of greening impacts in both wards under a baseline ‘no‑policy’ scenario and alternative housing‑policy regimes.
Results show that, without housing safeguards, NbS raise rents significantly—by roughly 20–25% over ten years—displacing thousands of low‑income households. In Ward 57, this reinforces existing privilege as affluent renters easily absorb price increases, whereas in Ward 79 it displaces predominantly Black African households and Coloured households, substituting them with higher‑income newcomers. Introducing inclusionary housing requirements—which reserve a substantial share of units near NbS sites for affordable rents, dampens rent inflation, retains most incumbent households, and preserves socio‑economic diversity. Time‑limited rent subsidies yield similar short‑term relief but fail to prevent eventual displacement once support expires.
These findings underscore that NbS, while delivering environmental and recreational benefits, can exacerbate urban inequality unless paired with deliberate affordability measures. To achieve just transitions, Cape Town’s green‑infrastructure initiatives should be coupled with inclusionary zoning, dedicated affordability funds, and robust community engagement processes that empower residents and monitor displacement risks. By integrating climate‑adaptation investments with housing‑equity policies, cities can ensure that ecological solutions do not become drivers of social exclusion ... Read more

This thesis compares two pathways for decarbonising long-haul freight: Battery Electric Heavy-Duty Vehicles (BEHDVs) using static charging and BEHDVs supported by Electric Road Systems (ERS) enabling dynamic charging. Using the Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) and Best-Worst Method (BWM), the study evaluates both options from the perspectives of six stakeholder groups: carriers, shippers, vehicle manufacturers, grid operators, road operators, and freight forwarders.

Stakeholder criteria were identified through eleven expert interviews and weighted via BWM surveys, then linked to measurable, normalised indicators. Results show BEHDV-only is preferred by manufacturers and freight forwarders, while ERS is favoured by grid and road operators for its grid load balancing and land use efficiency. Shippers and carriers show moderate ERS preference, citing reliability and driver well-being benefits.

A phased strategy, static charging for near-term deployment and targeted ERS rollout on high-utilisation corridors, is recommended to balance operational, economic, and long-term sustainability goals. ... Read more

Climate change poses a growing threat to critical infrastructure systems, particularly road networks, which are vulnerable to flooding, heat waves, and extreme weather events. Despite the increasing urgency to adapt infrastructure to these risks, assessing suitable adaptation measures remains a complex challenge due to competing priorities, including effectiveness, cost, and social impact. This thesis aims to help decision-makers assess suitable climate change adaptation measures for road infrastructure. The research employs Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tools, namely the Best-Worst Method (BWM), to derive weights for the evaluation criteria based on stakeholder preferences, and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to rank the adaptation alternatives accordingly. A survey was conducted and received 129 responses from academic, governmental, and practitioner backgrounds across the Global North and South.

This study found that respondents assign higher importance weight to adaptation strategies that effectively reduce disaster risk (28%), have minimal unintended consequences (27%), and have low adverse societal impact (27%), placing less emphasis on project cost (18%). As a consequence, Improved Drainage, Vegetation Plans, and Monitoring Systems emerged as the most suitable adaptation measures. In contrast, Alternative Roads, Road Reallocation, and Road Height adjustments were seen as less favorable. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings, showing only minor variations across respondent backgrounds and regions. Despite limitations such as a modest sample size and limited regional specificity, this study can be a reference for policymakers in assessing suitable climate change adaptation strategies in road infrastructure through criteria-based evaluation. The assessment approach is universally applicable and can be extended to other public infrastructure sectors such as energy, transportation, and buildings. ... Read more

This study analyses the effectiveness of different recovery strategies for transport systems after disruptions, with special attention to the influence of network topology and recovery objectives. By means of simulations on four networks with different structural characteristics (central, radial, decentralized and ring-radial) it is shown that no single strategy is universally applicable. The performance of recovery strategies such as proximity, hierarchy, recovery time and dynamic recovery appears to be strongly dependent on both the degree of fragmentation and the specific structure of the network. Furthermore, the optimal approach differs per functional recovery objective, such as accessibility, efficiency, resilience or robustness. The study therefore not only provides scientific insights into network recovery, but also practical tools for policymakers and planners who have to make decisions under time pressure about recovery after infrastructure disruptions. ... Read more

Problem statement
Cities worldwide are increasingly confronted with the impacts of climate change and an unparalleled decline in biodiversity. This has led to a growing interest in the use of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), which are multi-purpose solutions, inspired and supported by nature, that aim to address societal challenges by protecting, sustainably managing, and restoring natural and modified ecosystems. Due to their multifaceted character, they are able to adapt to local needs and can simultaneously provide a range of social, environmental, and economic benefits. Although their potential and need have been acknowledged, their implementation in Dutch cities remains limited due to a deficient understanding of the factors that influence their adoption as well as the absence of guidance on how to overcome barriers, harness drivers, or implement strategies and measures that can support NBS uptake. Therefore, this research aims to address this knowledge gap by answering the following question:

“What are the factors influencing the implementation of NBS in Dutch cities, and how can these factors be integrated into a guiding implementation framework to support the adoption of NBS?”

Methodology
To answer this question, the design science research approach was employed. First, a review of grey and academic literature was conducted to analyze existing NBS frameworks used during the planning and implementation phases to derive insights into the characteristics such frameworks should possess. A second review identified the barriers and drivers influencing NBS adoption, the strategies and measures that can address these factors or generally facilitate implementation, and the principles that support sound practice. Based on these findings, hypotheses were formulated and explored through ten semi-structured interviews with experts, including both academics and practitioners. These interviews examined whether the factors identified in the literature also arise in practice within Dutch cities and helped contextualize their influence. Interviewees further provided requirements for the framework, complementing the literature-based findings. The interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Drawing on all collected insights, the Seeds of Change Framework was developed by synthesizing and visualizing the findings, resulting in a guiding implementation framework to support stakeholders in adopting NBS. Finally, the framework was applied to several illustrative cases to demonstrate its practical relevance and added value in facilitating NBS implementation.

Results – Framework requirements
Certain characteristics were identified to be recurrent in NBS frameworks. Most frameworks specify the framework’s type, nature, purpose, value, during which phase(s) of the urban planning process the framework should be used, and what the intended use and target user group are. For the framework’s application, some recommended a specific governance approach that can be followed. Content-wise, an important element found is the distinction between context, process/activities, and outcomes. For a barriers and drivers approach, organizing them into themes and assigning a relevance level to each factor can provide clarity and overview. Frameworks that included strategies or measures formulated these in the imperative form to communicate action while avoiding the assignment of responsibilities to specific parties. In addition, the text incorporated in the frameworks is formulated concisely. All frameworks are accompanied by supplementary material, often including expert commentary and real-life cases, to support practitioners in their application. Overall, the frameworks strived to achieve a balance between text and visual elements. Interviewees mentioned relatively similar elements. They underscored the importance of stating for whom the framework is intended and selecting a format that fits with these users by reasoning from a Theory of Change. Moreover, usability in terms of word choice, size, and required attention span was highlighted, implicating that sentences should be kept concise and that jargon should be avoided. It was also noted that summarizing the findings first could help keep the content manageable and maintain the reader’s focus on the most important elements, while more in-depth explanations could be provided in subsequent sections. The importance of including visual elements, such as flow charts, to complement text was also stressed. Lastly, many participants pointed out that the use of examples and references is helpful.

Results – Influencing factors

Both literature and experts indicated that the influencing factors can typically be classified across the themes of social and cultural, governance, informational and technological, physical and ecological, financial, political, and legal. The following factors were considered important by interviewees.

Within the social and cultural domain, awareness and understanding, acceptance and support, and interests and priorities vary among citizens and can be addressed by employing several strategies, including informing citizens about NBS and their benefits, framing NBS in ways that align with citizens’ values and priorities, stimulating citizen-led initiatives, and letting citizens participate in multiple forms, ranging from incorporating citizens’ perspectives to co-creation and active involvement in maintenance. Drivers within this domain include the ability of NBS to enhance citizens’ quality of life and to foster a sense of place and ownership.

When it comes to governance, limited collaboration between departments, organizations, and sectors hinders NBS adoption. To foster multi-stakeholder collaboration, the use of co-creation and communication tools, the establishment of construction or thematic groups, and the strategic linking of NBS to urban agendas can be of help. Moreover, assigning responsibility to stakeholders, through multi-level governance structures, national or municipal leadership, or citizen-led stewardship, is vital. While formal networks can serve as platforms for connecting practitioners, exchanging knowledge, and facilitating cooperation on NBS projects, informal personal relationships also play a critical role in driving collaboration.

For the informational and technological aspects, key factors include data availability, expressibility, measurability, and predictability, as well as the presence of appropriate tools. Although data on NBS is becoming increasingly available, several barriers persist: lack of open access to data, the absence of a data overview, the challenge of expressing certain variables quantitatively or monetarily, difficulties in identifying the right tool for specific purposes, and the fact that existing tools often only offer a snapshot of NBS outcomes. To address this, several strategies can be employed, such as developing a comprehensive data overview, using averages or proxies in calculations, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, creating an overview of available tools, and employing scenario modeling to explore long-term effects. Moreover, Urban Living Labs can help with knowledge generation and data collection and catalogs with example NBS projects can help practitioners learn about the possibilities.

Within the physical and ecological system, the benefits delivered by NBS, including increased air quality, enhanced biodiversity, and reduced flood risk, serve as key drivers for their adoption. Moreover, the inherent adaptability and multifunctionality of NBS further promote their implementation. However, the general lack of space within cities, limited availability of suitable locations, existing systems in place, and maintenance requirements form hindrances. To address these barriers, strategies like assigning multiple functions to NBS, optimizing soil use, implementing hybrid solutions, and using zero maintenance species can be of help.

Within the financial realm, the (maintenance) costs is an important factor. While some argue that the costs are higher, others point out that the percentual difference is minimal, especially given the increase in property value. Making a strong business case is also experienced as challenging: while NBS provide an array of benefits, they are difficult to express in monetary value and are often enjoyed by others than those who bear the costs. Next to this, financial flows within governments are often separated for each department. Combining departmental financing streams, establishing co-financing models, using subsidies, and comparing the costs of NBS with grey solutions, are strategies that can aid in addressing these factors.

For the political theme, the existence of political interest in and prioritization of NBS is vital for its adoption. Participants indicated that NBS are currently not often on the priority list of politicians. To create a supportive political landscape and reduce vulnerability to political cycles, a helpful strategy would be to embed NBS in long-term planning frameworks. Equally important is the presence of supportive and coherent policies for NBS, of which both the Netherlands and the EU have some in place. Despite this, interviewees felt that the current set can be expanded and that cities can take inspiration from each other’s policies.

Lastly, factors within the legal landscape are of influence. Land ownership can act as a barrier, as governments have limited say over what private property owners should implement, and quite a large area of the city is privately owned. Another important factor is the regulations in place, of which some currently make NBS implementation difficult or impossible. However, there are also several supportive regulations in force in the EU and various Dutch cities, of which the latter can serve as measures that can be copied in other cities: implementing a no loss or biodiversity net gain regulation, creating a NBS point system, mandating the inclusion of greenery/water storage, or mandating pavement removal.

Results – Seeds of Change Framework
The insights from literature and experts are synthesized in the Seeds of Change Framework, which is a guiding implementation framework that enables users to systematically identify the barriers and drivers that influence their NBS projects, as well as select the strategies and measures that can be applied to address these factors or to generally stimulate implementation. In addition, it highlights the principles that should be followed to ensure sound practice. The primary application of the framework is prospective, guiding decision-making and design during the planning and implementation phases of NBS projects, but it can also be applied retrospectively to evaluate what went well, identify areas for improvement, and draw lessons for future projects. The framework consists of three chapters. The first chapter introduces the framework by explaining NBS, the necessity of the framework, what it does, who can use it, what it looks like, and how it can be used. This is followed by the second chapter that contains tables for identifying barriers and drivers, selecting strategies and measures, and becoming aware of principles. The first table lists influencing factors for which stakeholders must identify whether they function as a barrier, driver, or both. Next, the framework asks stakeholders to assess the relevance of each factor. The following column refers to numbered strategies and measures that can be selected to address each factor. Separate tables list the strategies and measures as well as the principles, each with a unique number. The third chapter provides one-line definitions for each factor, along with expert comments and illustrative cases for selected factors. The illustrative cases are realized NBS projects that show how the content of the framework can be found in practice.

Contributions to literature
The thesis contributes to literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of the barriers and drivers that affect NBS implementation in Dutch urban contexts, the strategies and measures that can be applied to address these factors or generally support implementation, and the principles that can be followed to ensure sound adoption. It is novel in that it focuses on NBS specifically, considers the Dutch urban context, identifies all factor types within a single study, and treats all of them with equal importance. In doing so, the research also contributes to explaining the existing implementation gap. Moreover, testing hypotheses on these factors revealed which of the factors identified in literature play a part in practice within Dutch cities. It also showed that some factors previously assumed to be barriers can in fact act as drivers, or even both, and vice versa. The nuances in experts’ responses as well as the (subtle) differences in perspectives among participants, further confirmed that factors are highly context-dependent. Finally, the study contributes to the landscape of NBS frameworks that can be used during the planning and implementation phases of projects. By incorporating all factors into a single tool, the thesis provides an implementation framework that can guide stakeholders toward more widespread and successful NBS implementation.

Recommendations for practice
For stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of NBS projects, it is recommended that they become aware of the most critical factors. Each stakeholder group should act on this knowledge in ways that align with their specific roles, responsibilities, and capacities, addressing the factors they are best positioned to influence. Regarding the use of the Seeds of Change Framework, it is advised that all involved stakeholders apply the framework at the start of the project to create a shared understanding of the influencing factors. As application of the framework is limited by the knowledge and experience of its users, they should collect and analyze data to verify their assumptions about potential barriers and drivers. Before applying the framework to current NBS projects, stakeholders are encouraged to first use it retrospectively on a completed project in which they were involved to gain hands-on experience with the framework as well as to practice critical reflection.
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Currently, the number of refugees is increasing, while the effects of climate events are worsening. Given this context, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the potential relationships between refugee movements and climate exposure, particularly at the origin and destination locations of refugees. This understanding is crucial for predicting future movements of climate-related refugees and identifying effective climate adaptation measures at both origin and destination locations.

Research on the global relationships between refugee movements and climate exposure is lacking in the current literature, especially in terms of data-driven, analytical approaches. This research addresses this gap.

The main research question of this thesis is: How is climate exposure associated with global refugee movements? To answer this, a literature review and data analytics are employed. The literature review identifies climate-related hazards that serve as inputs for the data analysis. The hazards considered in this study include droughts, sea-level rise, coastal flooding, riverine flooding, and cyclones. Various types of (possible) associations are examined using correlation analyses, regression analyses, spatial cluster identifications, and bivariate choropleth maps. All analyses consider changes over the years, specifically from 2003 to 2022.

As one of the results, this research presents an equation for relatively accurate predictions of refugees fleeing from countries in recent years, based on climate indicators while also incorporating social factors.

Moreover, the results of the study indicate that sea-level rise and riverine flooding are significantly associated with refugees fleeing from a country. Future research should explore whether this relationship could potentially be causal.

Additionally, the study identifies hotspots for different climatic conditions as well as for refugee movements (both fleeing to and from countries). The hotspots for climatic indicators and refugee movements align relatively well. Generally, climate exposure and large refugee movements are concentrated in Central-East Africa, the Middle East, and South-East Asia. These hotspots have not changed significantly over the last 20 years.

Lastly, the thesis compares top origin-destination locations of refugees at both generic (statistical) and individual (visual) levels. While statistical differences between top origin and destination locations are sometimes inconclusive, individual comparisons of countries within the same regions provide key insights into the differences in climatic exposure for refugees.

More effective climate adaptation measures can be implemented at refugee destination locations by tailoring them to specific climatic exposures, taking into account the conditions at their origin locations. Specific investments regarding adaptation measures have been identified for particular regions and countries, and these are recommended to policymakers.

The procedures and tests developed in this research can be applied to similar studies using different or newer climate and refugee data. ... Read more

The increasing impacts of climate change are presenting numerous challenges globally, with one of the most pressing being the heightened risk of flooding due to rising sea levels and more intense rainfall patterns. However in many countries, among which the Netherlands, a significant portion of residential properties are at risk of flooding—a risk that is often underappreciated or overlooked by homeowners. The primary focus of this thesis is to explore the potential introduction of a flood risk disclosure policy, referred to as the "Climate Label," and its implications for real estate development practices.
By making flood information readily available, the policy aims to influence market values and guide investment decisions, potentially encouraging more resilient housing developments. The central question of this study examines how such a policy might affect the decision-making processes of real estate developers and, consequently, the distribution of flood risks across new residential constructions.

The exploration of this topic is timely and significant, given the scarcity of existing literature on the impact of flood risk information policies on housing supply and developer behavior. Real estate developers, particularly those in the private sector, play a crucial role in the construction of new housing and their profit-driven motives make their responses to such policies particularly insightful for understanding broader market dynamics.

This research employs an Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) approach to simulate the interactions within the housing market, developer decision-making, and assess the potential outcomes of implementing the Climate Label. Moreover, interviews with real-estate developers are conducted to achieve a deeper understanding of their decision-making, their current perspective of building flood-resilient housing, and how a Climate label would influence such.

The model results it can be concluded that a housing value shift due to flood risk disclosure can cause a change in the development patterns of new residential houses. However, the distribution of flood risks is highly dependent on the magnitude of the price shift, whether developers perceive it as a gain or loss, and the reference point they use in their project decision-making to assess gains and losses.
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This master's thesis investigates the complex interdependencies between mobility and electricity sectors in the Dutch energy transition (2016-2050). Through comprehensive system dynamics modeling and scenario analysis, the research examines how Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) adoption patterns interact with renewable energy integration. The study develops three major scenario analyses: exploring various BEV adoption rates combined with energy sector transitions, investigating different renewable energy generation capacities (120-180 TWh), and evaluating the feasibility of the Netherlands' 2030 zero-emission vehicle sales mandate. The findings demonstrate that while renewable energy capacity can accommodate increased electric vehicle demand, successful transition requires careful cross-sectoral coordination. The research contributes to understanding critical infrastructure challenges and provides valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders involved in sustainable infrastructure development, particularly in the Dutch context. ... Read more

Asclimate change intensifies, local governments are essential in implementing adaptation measures to specific climate risks. To gain insight into the relationship between the current local adaptation policies and the specific climate risks, the following research question is answered: What is the relationship between the stringency of municipal climate adaptation policies and local climate change risks in the Netherlands? To explore this, a risk analysis using the data analysis regarding local hazards and a social vulnerability index is developed. Additionally, a conceptual design of a policy stringency index is created. The results show that Dutch local governments predominantly focus on heat stress and waterlogging, while the effects of droughts are insufficiently addressed. Efforts to align the local policies with the risks, including increased collaboration and expanding the local knowledge base, are recommended. ... Read more

Purpose of the Study
This thesis addresses the growing challenge of urban heatwaves by developing a decision-support system (DSS) called NBScenarios, which helps policymakers implement Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) to mitigate urban heat island effects. This study focuses on Paris as a study case, with the overarching goal to propose different options that optimize the configuration of green roofs and trees along streets (replacing parking spaces) to effectively reduce urban heat islands. These configurations balance differently goals that are challenging to reconcile: maximizing the cooling effect, respecting budgetary constraints, prioritising adaptation benefits to the most vulnerable population, while guaranteeing access for all urban citizens to cool spaces.

Problem Statement
Despite the potential of Nature-Based Solutions for urban climate adaptation, their implementation is blocking at the decision-making stage. Existing decision-support systems (DSS) often lack social considerations, limiting their real-world effectiveness. Many DSS are not adaptable across diverse urban contexts and do not integrate multi-objective optimization, which is essential for balancing conflicting priorities like costs and environmental benefits. Moreover, DSS are often complex, limiting stakeholder engagement. This highlights the need for modular, expandable tools that support informed, inclusive decision-making.

Research Approach
This thesis employs a multi-objective optimization (MOO) approach, utilizing the ε-NSGA-II algorithm and integrating spatiality. The selection and definition of case-relevant nature-based solutions, objectives, and constraints, is structured by the XLRM framework, in particular. A spatial grid (100m x 100m cells) covering Paris allows for detailed urban data to be processed and integrated into the DSS. The DSS generates a range of contrasted Pareto-optimal solutions, balancing trade-offs among objectives and corresponding NBS mapping, providing policymakers with a diverse range of options.

Key Findings
The DSS produced a range of optimal and diverse options for NBS implementation in Paris, with green roofs and on-street parking transformed into street trees. Results showed typical values for cooling effects ranging from 0°C to 7.5°C, initial costs spanning from €500 million to €3.5 billion, and clear trade-offs between maximizing cooling and minimizing costs. Solutions effectively revealed the spatial distribution of cooling impacts and highlighted disparities between areas with vulnerable populations and high cooling potential.

Conclusion
NBScenarios provides a flexible and adaptable framework for policymakers to balance environmental, economic, and social objectives in urban climate adaptation. While the study focuses on Paris, the DSS is designed to be applied to other cities facing similar climate challenges, allowing for scalability and adaptability. The findings highlight the system's ability to inform critical policy decisions related to heatwave mitigation, including cost considerations and social justice factors, facilitating trade-offs between competing priorities.

Recommendations
For future work, the DSS could incorporate uncertainties and include other NBS types or objectives. Continued testing in different urban contexts is also recommended to refine the system and ensure its broader applicability. The creation of an interactive dashboard, based on the DSS current output, could further improve stakeholder engagement and decision-making.

Significance of the Study
This research advances urban climate adaptation by integrating multi-objective spatial optimization into decision-support systems for nature-based solutions. Academically, it addresses social factors and NBS mainstreaming while offering a modular, interdisciplinary DSS adaptable to other cities. Societally, the study enhances policy-making and stakeholder engagement, emphasizing social justice in climate strategies. The DSS enables cities globally to scale NBS effectively, bridging gaps between technical design and actionable, socially responsible urban resilience policies. ... Read more

Flooding, one of the costlier climate change disasters, has emerged as a pressing global challenge, growing in frequency and severity. The traditional reliance on government intervention alone to protect households from flooding is not enough. An essential shift in perspective underscores the need for households themselves to become proactive participants in multi-level protection strategies. To achieve this, drivers of vulnerability shaping household adaptation to flooding are explored, focusing on social, physical and perceived vulnerabilities. Furthermore, examining these vulnerabilities on a local scale is crucial and a knowledge gap, as it is at this level that household adaptation predominantly occurs.

Recognising the varying manifestations of these vulnerabilities depending on the flood-prone location, this study prioritises the examination of disparities in vulnerability profiles between two representative cities: Jakarta, representing the Global South, and Houston, representing the Global North. By doing so, this research contributes significantly to the ongoing scientific discourse on climate change adaptation, as well as assist in extrapolating gained insights to data-scarce regions. This research aims to assists in aligning flood management efforts more closely with the needs and concerns of the residents in each city, acknowledging the distinct perceptions of flood hazards and socio-economic disparities. This, in turn, lays the groundwork for the development of targeted support and interventions, fostering more inclusive and resilient communities capable of mitigating the impacts of flooding and adapting to future challenges. The primary research question driving this study is as follows: 'How are social, physical and perceived vulnerabilities that influence flood adaptation different among households in an urban space?' To answer this question comprehensively, the research employs a multi-faceted approach, examining each vulnerability dimension separately before exploring their interactions in the urban context.

Comparing the social, physical and perceived vulnerability maps for Jakarta in the context of flooding uncovered many discrepancies and complexities that contribute to the scientific debate surrounding flood adaptation. The disparities between these dimensions highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to vulnerability assessment and flood mitigation. By recognising that vulnerability is not solely determined by physical factors, but also influenced by social dynamics and individual perceptions, authorities can develop strategies that foster community resilience and enhance disaster preparedness. Therefore, this research recommends addressing mismatches in risk perception, understanding the nuanced distribution of vulnerabilities and implementing context-specific interventions in order to build a safer and more resilient world in the face of flooding and other environmental challenges. ... Read more

The shifting global climate patterns present an imminent threat to human existence. Addressing this critical issue necessitates decisive action in multiple sectors, including the mobility service, to mitigate climate change. As the world seeks cleaner alternatives, hydrogen has emerged as a promising solu- tion. TotalEnergies, a prominent energy company, has invested substantially in hydrogen technology to facilitate the transition toward sustainability. Although commendable, it is essential to recognize that the current environment remains a high-risk prototype phase. The successful establishment of hydrogen infrastructure and mobility services demands meticulous planning, robust technological advancements, and comprehensive risk assessment.
Thus, there is a need to comprehend the potential areas of development within a high-risk prototype environment by harnessing the company’s extensive 40 years of experience in Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) analysis. This need entails conducting a comprehensive and systematic RAMS analysis specifically tailored to the unique challenges and requirements of hydrogen refueling stations. However, a notable gap exists in the existing literature, as there is a lack of established guidelines or published research that specifically addresses the intricacies of RAMS analysis for the stations. This knowledge gap poses a significant burden in effectively assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring optimal performance, and fostering the safe and reliable operation of hydrogen refueling infrastructure. In order to address this critical knowledge gap, the main research question has been formulated as follows:
Research Question – Main: How can a systematic RAMS study-based approach be developed to improve the availability of hydrogen refueling stations by leveraging conventional RAMS methodological frameworks?
An extensive literature study was conducted to address the main research question. The aim of that part was to gather insights and identify best practices from existing research from other industries. As a result of the literature study, a Systematic Techno-Economic RAMS Analysis (STRAMSA) framework was developed. The STRAMSA framework introduces significant contributions to RAMS analysis for hydrogen refueling stations. It integrates system engineering, RAMS analysis, and techno-economic analysis to maximize the availability of system design. The framework establishes a strong link between RAMS analysis and techno-economic evaluation, facilitating informed decision-making by considering financial aspects. In techno economic analysis, it incorporates novel elements such as inflation, learning-by doing effect (in terms of market growth), and deflation rates for hydrogen. Moreover, the framework separates maintenance costs from operational costs to facilitate targeted improvements for the operation. This part also quantifies safety by assessing risks in monetary terms for accidents/fatality occurrence. Lastly, its iterative nature allows continuous improvement and adjustment throughout the design and operation process. Overall, the STRAMSA framework provides a comprehensive approach for analyzing the reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety aspects of systems.
To evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of the STRAMSA framework, the Total Energies Breda Hydrogen Refueling Station was selected as a case study. The steps outlined in the framework were applied to this specific station. Throughout the process, an iterative approach was adopted, allowing for adjustments to the framework as necessary.
After applying the STRAMSA framework to the Breda Hydrogen Refueling Station, the Net Present Value (NPV) was calculated as 1,815,202.69 €. The analysis also revealed the uncertainty of attaining a positive NPV, with a 11.18%. Further investigation into the sources of uncertainty identified market-related parameters as the dominant contributors to the variance. Specifically, parameters such as ”Market Growth Rate,” ”Hydrogen Price,” and ”Hydrogen Sale” significantly influenced the uncertainty surrounding the NPV. These findings underscore the importance of a coordinated policy approach that encourages investments in both the hydrogen market and hydrogen infrastructure. Such an approach is crucial for the rapid adoption of hydrogen technology and the development of a robust hydrogen economy. In addition to market parameters, from the operational perspective, the dispenser is identified as a decisive contributor to the uncertainty that requires closer examination.
As a further theoretical research, exploration the applicability of the STRAMSA framework for multi-case studies can be conducted. Initially, the framework can be applied to hydrogen refueling stations as a potential case study, but its feasibility can also be assessed for other industries. Furthermore, the impact of a design configuration change can be evaluated for the case at stake. One potential modification to consider is the addition of a supplementary High-Pressure (HP) compressor, as this particular component has been identified as the least reliable subsystem based on the RAMS analysis. Conducting such assessments can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and adaptability of the STRAMSA framework in different scenarios and improve the design of hydrogen refueling stations.
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To combat the effects of climate change, there is a worldwide shift to reduced emissions and increased use of renewable energy sources. Solar energy is a vital part of this transition and necessary to be able to achieve the targets. The rapid pace of adaptation raises questions about the negative equity and justice associated with this development. Along with the rapid growth, regional differences in solar panel adoption have been found across the world. Besides, government incentives and policies have played an important role in both adoption growth and justice implications.

This study explores the pace and equitability of the solar energy transition in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The study evaluates the potential for solar energy, the disparity of adoption, what socio-economic factors are correlated to adoption patterns, and how adoption might evolve in the future and under different policy measures. To do so, a structured, integrated and data-driven approach is designed to meet the research objectives, and possibly serve as a policy tool for future studies.

The study shows that there is an "adoption gap" in Amsterdam, meaning that solar panels and the benefits of incentives end up with a specific group of citizens. Therefore, targeted policy measures are necessary to ensure an equitable transition. ... Read more

This research uses high resolution satellite images in combination with an unsupervised Convolutional Neural Network Autoencoder to identify features that can be used to cluster different built environment typologies. Previous remote sensing research uses ground truth data which for some areas is not available or needs manually labeled training data. This research attempts to circumvent the issue of information scarcity in order to create a methodology that can be applied on any city as long as satellite images are available. From the resulting clusters, clusters can be selected which represent areas with high levels of deprivation which in turn can help identifying the deprived areas. ... Read more

Over recent decades there have been advances in the research behind adaptive policy approaches. More recently, emerging qualitative approaches for managing deep uncertainty has drawn the attention of planners in the water industry, particularly in water utilities. Despite interest from both the water industry and the research community to see these novel approaches applied, there have been limited applications and no published guidance to support the operationalisation of these approaches in water utilities. This thesis seeks to bridge this gap by answering the question: “What are the factors influencing the adoption of adaptive policy approaches by water utilities?” To answer this question, a design science approach was used to understand current barriers and enablers to the adoption of such methods in water utilities, and to design a framework to support adoption of adaptive approaches. This work was conducted through a grounded theory analysis of interviews of relevant water utility practitioners in Australia and the Netherlands and members of the decision making under deep uncertainty and adaptive planning research community internationally. The outcome of this study is a maturity framework of barriers and enablers to the uptake of adaptive approaches in water utilities, designed to support utilities and researchers in evaluating their level of adoption and to identify strategies for increasing the implementation of adaptive approaches where appropriate. ... Read more

More and more people are living in cities. As these cities grow, the benefits of living in them are increasingly unequally distributed. One factor that can turn the tide of glooming urban inequality is equitable access to opportunities. Designing policies for equitable access requires taking into account several components that impact accessibility: (i) land-use, (ii) transportation, (iii) individual needs and opportunities, and (iv) temporal constraints. In this research, the interaction between a novel mode of public transport, microtransit, and the first three components of accessibility is investigated. The accessibility implications of microtransit in the case study area: the Southern suburbs of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan, are assessed. It is concluded that microtransit manages to reach vulnerable rider groups and interacts with the land-use environment by pairing residential areas with commercial centers. Microtransit also interacts with other modes of transit by adding both extra demand and lowering the demand for ride-hailing and personal car use predominantly. Microtransit rarely seems to replace public transit or walking alternatives. Overall, it is found that microtransit does significantly increase accessibility levels in the case study area and especially impacts groups with low car ownership. Lastly, the benefits of microtransit are more fairly distributed than those of traditional transit in the studied area. This research demonstrates the positive access equity impact of microtransit and suggests further research into choice-riders, the application of microtransit in urban (core) and rural environments, and the interplay between public transit and microtransit, as well as policy interventions for policy-makers and transit providers. ... Read more