The Netherlands faces its largest development challenge in decades: over one million new houses must be built by 2030, with a substantial share in suburban expansion areas. These areas are currently designed around the car, locking in car-dependent mobility patterns for decades to come. At the same time, a transition towards sustainable mobility is both necessary and widely desired. Spatial design remains underexplored in this transition.

This thesis investigates how spatial design can stimulate sustainable mobility in suburban expansion areas. It uses STOMP (walking, cycling, public transport, shared mobility, private car) as an analytical framework to identify which spatial instruments are decisive in shifting travel behaviour. Through a research-by-design methodology combining quantitative analysis and schematic spatial exploration, four instruments emerged: high residential density around public transport stops, parking garages at distance, filtered permeability, and shared cars on street. Together, these instruments operate through two spatial principles: proximity and accessibility. They reduce the convenience of the private car while increasing the convenience of sustainable alternatives.

The resulting spatial structure is tested and applied to Rijnenburg, a large-scale greenfield expansion area on the southern edge of Utrecht, planned for approximately 25,000 houses. The application confirms that the spatial logic holds across different site conditions, while also revealing that the structure's success depends on strong connections beyond the neighbourhood boundary.

The thesis concludes that stimulating sustainable mobility in suburban expansion areas requires a fundamentally different planning approach: one that starts with mobility and lets it organise everything else. ... Read more

This graduation project presents a comprehensive urban masterplan for the redevelopment of the Hembrugterrein in Zaandam, a former industrial and military site located along the Noordzeekanaal. The project responds to the increasing housing demand within the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam
by exploring how dense urban development can be combined with heritage preservation, ecological structures, and high-quality public space. Based on a comparative study of multiple density scenarios, the Metropolitan scenario of approximately 5000 dwellings and 10.000 residents was identified as the most suitable future vision for the area, primarily because it provides sufficient support for a wide range of local amenities and creates enough demand to justify improved public transport connections.

The masterplan is structured around the existing qualities of the Hembrugterrein, including its monumental industrial buildings, waterfront location, and forest areas on the Hembrugterrein. A clear spatial framework is introduced through clearly structured streets, green boulevards, public courtyards, and a car-lite mobility strategy prioritising cyclists and pedestrians. Existing heritage structures are carefully integrated into the new urban fabric, often combined with contemporary vertical extensions that maintain the recognisability of the original buildings.

Special attention is given to the relationship between density and human scale. While most building blocks are limited to four or five storeys, strategically positioned height accents along the waterfront, forest edges, and important public spaces help accommodate the required density while strengthening the identity of the area. The project also emphasises the creation of diverse public
spaces, ranging from ecological green structures and neighbourhood squares to informal communal spaces integrated within the building blocks.

The project ultimately demonstrates how former industrial landscapes can be transformed into dense yet liveable urban neighbourhoods that contribute to contemporary housing demands while preserving historical identity and ecological qualities. ... Read more

This thesis aims to understand how urban manufacturing can be integrated into postwar neighbourhoods in ways that support spatial quality and liveability. While mixed-use development is increasingly promoted, manufacturing is often seen as incompatible with residential environments. The research therefore examines the specific spatial and regulatory challenges of introducing production into existing neighbourhoods and develops a pattern language that offers guidance for doing so responsibly.

The thesis is situated within the context of postwar neighbourhoods, with a particular focus on garden city high-rise areas. Analyses of these neighbourhoods in the metropolitan region of The Hague–Rotterdam reveal spatial opportunities for integrating urban manufacturing across multiple scales, including the dwelling, building, block, and infrastructural levels. In addition, international examples of mixed manufacturing–residential building blocks and on-site observations are analysed to understand how such integrations are successfully realised elsewhere.

These insights inform the development of a pattern language, which is subsequently tested through a design for the Nolensbuurt in Schiedam. For this, the findings from all preceding analyses are synthesised to guide interventions across scales within the neighbourhood. The results demonstrate that manufacturing can be integrated in ways that activate underused spaces, enhance spatial quality, and maintain liveability within postwar neighbourhoods. ... Read more

Amsterdam Zuidoost is characterized by a modernist spatial structure that strongly prioritizes car infrastructure, resulting in fragmented public space, limited accessibility to everyday facilities, and reduced street-level livability. Despite generous green spaces and public transport provision, walking and cycling remain discontinuous and secondary, while large amounts of space are reserved for car traffic and parking. This project investigates how Amsterdam Zuidoost can be redeveloped to redistribute urban space away from cars and toward active mobility, with the aim of improving access to daily amenities and enhancing overall livability.

Using the 15-minute city framework as a guiding concept and spatial justice as a normative lens, the project translates abstract principles of equity and accessibility into concrete, spatial design interventions. The design approach is structured through six thematic layers—active mobility, car traffic and parking, barriers and permeability, public facilities and proximity, staying and meeting space quality, and social safety—allowing for an integrated and operational redesign of the neighborhood. A pilot area serves as a testing ground where car dominance is gradually reduced through street re-profiling, car-free interiors, parking reduction, and improved cycling and walking networks, while simultaneously strengthening local facilities and public spaces.

Rather than proposing an abrupt removal of cars, the project focuses on realistic behavioral change by pairing spatial restrictions on car use with high-quality, attractive alternatives for everyday mobility. The results demonstrate how a phased, design-led transformation can improve accessibility, activate public space, and create a ripple effect that supports future transformations in surrounding areas. The project positions active mobility not as an add-on, but as the spatial backbone of everyday life in Amsterdam Zuidoost. ... Read more

This graduation project investigates how spatial design for sustainable mobility can enhance liveability and accessibility in post-war neighbourhoods, using Hoge Vucht in Breda as a case study. In the context of climate change, urban densification, and the transition towards more sustainable cities, mobility plays a key role in shaping liveable neighbourhoods. Post-war areas in particular are dominated by car-oriented structures, reflecting the era in which they were built. This car-dependency creates a vicious cycle, causing air pollution, is not human-centred and takes up a lot of the land use in the city.

Two frameworks were developed to assess liveability, consisting of safety, spatial quality, health, community and accessibility, and a separate framework that zooms in further on accessibility, consisting of proximity, mobility, time and inclusiveness. These frameworks provide a structured lens to evaluate the spatial impact of design interventions.

A research-by-design approach was used with the case study area Hoge Vucht. Four scenarios are maximised, each emphasising one mobility type and one value of liveability or accessibility. These scenarios are assessed using the frameworks and combined into a single final design.

Key findings indicate that sustainable mobility and liveability reinforce one another: reduced car dominance creates space for play, social interaction, and nature. Reducing private car use does not automatically improve accessibility, but carefully designed sustainable mobility options help maintain and even enhance it. Improved proximity and high-quality walking and cycling paths ensure accessibility within the neighbourhood, while a well-connected cycling network, frequent and fast public transport, and a wide range of shared mobility ensure accessibility for longer distances. This transition requires time to change both public spaces and people’s travel behaviour. Starting with small-scale implementations and followed by larger infrastructure changes, a transition can be made from functional, car-dominant streets to valuable public spaces. ... Read more

This thesis investigates how urban development in Nusantara, Indonesia’s planned new capital on the island of Borneo, can be used as a regenerative tool to restore ecological patterns and gradients within one of the world’s most biodiverse yet vulnerable rainforest ecosystems. Situated in East Kalimantan, Nusantara faces significant ecological threats from rapid urbanization, deforestation, monoculture agriculture, and mining. The project explores an alternative development model that integrates urban growth with landscape systems to enhance ecological resilience and biodiversity.
Which is to motivation behind this main research question:
"How can we design for a landscape ecological framework that utilizes urban development as a tool to regenerate natural gradients and patterns for the new urban landscape of Nusantara, Indonesia?"
To answer this, the thesis employs a Research through Design methodology, underpinned by Landscape-Based Urbanism, Resilience Theory, Casco Theory, and Landscape Ecology Principles. A multi-scalar design framework is developed by first understanding the landscape morphology, forest typologies, and anthropogenic influences in the region. Key spatial elements, such as ecological corridors, soft urban edges, and riverine buffers, are identified and designed to support species movement, ecological succession, and human-nature interaction.
Three key species, the Sunda Clouded Leopard, Greater Mouse Deer, and Bornean Orangutan, are analysed to define spatial and ecological requirements, guiding the design of a robust ecological network. Comparative studies of global urban densities and their integration of green space inform best practices for combining high-density housing with ecological continuity.
The result is a regional vision and spatial strategy where large ecological corridors, transitional zones, and river buffers interlace urban development with ecological infrastructure. The thesis concludes that a layered, landscape-first approach can reconcile urban needs with ecological integrity, offering a replicable framework for sustainable capital development in ecologically sensitive areas.
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Barcelona is one of the leading metropolitan cities in Europe well-known for its history, culture vibrancy, architecture and progressive modern developments. Its dynamic role on both the national and international stage is driven by several factors, including its historical development, tourism industry, and a position as 8th in all of Europe and the 1st in southern Europe technological city of the future.

Starting from the beginning of 21st century, these forces shaped the city’s socio-economic landscape, bringing significant changes to its urban fabric. Due to them Barcelona shows economic growth and gains global recognition, however it also faces deepening social and spatial inequalities that threaten the city's long-term sustainability and social cohesion.
The rise of the tourism sector, with more than 15 million of visitors per year (Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona, 2023) and only 1.7 million of citizens (Barcelona City Council, 2024), together with initiatives like the 22@ Innovation District (ID), designed to transform post-industrial areas into hubs for technology and knowledge-based industries, has placed pressure on housing markets, driving up property prices, displacing long-standing residents and creating a divide between newly gentrified areas and other, more vulnerable neighborhoods.
These developments have contributed to a growing phenomenon of gentrification and segregation across the city, but perhaps no district exemplifies these tensions more than Sant Martí, and attached to it two neighborhoods La Mina and La Catalana in Sant Adrià de Besòs city.

Once an industrial zone with a working-class population, Sant Martí undergone a rapid urban transformation, driven by the same forces that reshape the rest of the city. Urban regeneration projects and location of 22@ ID, have facilitated gentrification and increased economic disparities within the district. Together with several spatial conditions like inactive post-industrial zone and lack of urban continuity it also created a social and spatial segregation.
The aim of this thesis is to propose urban design strategies that foster inclusive development and long-term spatial cohesion.

The resulting masterplan introduces a framework for densification that doubles the area’s built capacity while ensuring housing affordability and social diversity. The strategy includes creating a hierarchy of public spaces that foster interaction; introducing gradual, participatory demolition and redevelopment tactics to minimize displacement; and designing mixed-use building typologies that accommodate both existing and future residents.
Design interventions include reconnecting disjointed street grids, enhancing walkability and public transit, and establishing a clear hierarchy of public spaces that promote cross-neighborhood interaction. The proposal doubles the area's residential capacity—from 8000 to 16,000 flats—and population, from 23,000 to 46,000 people, by increasing the land cover density.

Rather than treating design as a neutral or aesthetic gesture, the project positions it as a political and social tool—a way to mediate between past neglect and future potential. The proposed urban fabric stitches together a fragmented territory through strategic continuity, landscape integration, and community infrastructure. It offers an alternative to top-down redevelopment models by proposing a phased, adaptable, and inclusive vision for growth. In doing so, the thesis reframes urban design not just as a response to physical conditions, but as a proactive mechanism for social repair and collective future-making. ... Read more

Cities for Families of Tomorrow aims to create a family-friendly neighbourhood in Lombardijen by addressing parents’ concerns about social and traffic safety, thereby enhancing children's independent mobility, crucial for a healthy lifestyle. The study focuses on establishing a child-friendly network for 7 to 12-year-olds, facilitating safe, independent travel and meeting their developmental needs.
Children’s free movement has been declining over generations, with urban spaces becoming increasingly unsafe in parents’ perception, leading to overprotection and reduced independent mobility. Consequently, overprotected children face a higher risk of traffic accidents later in life. The research question is: "How can a child-friendly network support the needs of a family-friendly city, allowing 7-12 year-olds to travel independently and safely?"
By exploring families' needs, the characteristics of a child-friendly network, and its implementation in Lombardijen, the research provides answers. A multi-method approach is used, combining literature review, spatial analysis, design research, interviews and a workshop with mothers, as well as children's input through booklets and a walking workshop.
The study identifies seven key themes for a family-friendly neighbourhood: safety, inclusive public spaces, a playful and mobile city, proximity to essential facilities, social cohesion, and learning experiences. Safe, engaging routes and inviting neighbourhood streets are crucial for promoting children's independent mobility and enhancing overall community safety and cohesion.
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Postwar neighbourhoods, designed in the 1950s and '60s with the wijkgedachte in mind, have developed into unattractive environments. These areas are now defined by monotonous apartment blocks surrounded by vast stretches of grass and car-focused infrastructure. As a result, the quality of life has declined. This graduation project researches how a radical redesign of the postwar neighbourhood can lead to a joyful future for its residents. The research method combines exploratory, utopian design with supplementary theoretical and analytical studies. The way to joy is found in walking, recognising its benefits for physical, social and mental wellbeing. The structure walking plan consist of a close-knit walking network of lively routes and restorative routes, in combination with a variety of daily amenities spread over four community centres and the neighbourhood centre. Additionally, a detailed redesign is proposed to convert the large amounts of ‘empty’ public space into four allotment garden communities. This approach integrates design principles for walking with the values of the allotment garden complex, and the hidden qualities of the postwar neighbourhood. As a result, the radical redesign of Pendrecht creates a lively and joyful environment where walking and gardening become a central and enjoyable part of daily life. Thus, enabling a revitalisation of the wijkgedachte. ... Read more

Urban mixed-use development has been a popular subject in both research and practice. In recent years, stimulated by sustainable development and land shortage, Trendy Mix has emerged widely in Europe, especially in the Netherlands. Trendy Mix is a type of urban design with special form and function. It often adopts the architectural form of Plinth+Tower, where light manufacture and logistics are placed inside the plinth, while the tower is used as living and office.
Though having technical advantages like renewable water, energy and transportation systems, Trendy Mix is not socially sustainable for two reasons. First, its architectural form determines its expensive construction cost, which increases the cost of living and working here. That is, only groups that have received higher education or have more money can establish life there. Second, the traditional noisy industries are pushed towards the city boundary when working and living are combined. This increases the living cost of factory workers as they now have to spend more money and time on their daily commute.
Starting with reflecting Trendy Mix, this project aims to design a socially inclusive urban mix that integrates living and working in a creative and diverse way. The site is Merwe-Vierhavens (M4H), Rotterdam. M4H is a port and manufacturing area, part of which has been transformed into makerspaces for innovative industries in recent years. It will become a Trendy Mix according to the local municipality’s plan, therefore, this location is selected for the project.
The methodology of this project is research-and-design synergy. This project conducted multiple designs, each having a different focus. For example, the first design aims to list all possible working and living mix models; the second design focuses on testing feasible mix models in terms of living-working ratio and connectivity. From the third design onwards, the project focuses on maximizing social sustainability through public space and programmes.
Research is distributed before, during, and after each design. The research has two purposes. One is to provide the theoretical basis and suggest potential design directions. The other is to analyze and evaluate whether the result has achieved the design goals. This alternating design & research approach produced the results and findings of this project.
The conclusion of this research is two-fold.
1) The project provides a sustainable mix design for M4H, including masterplan, section, zoom-in, and rendering. The main spatial measurements are a combination of living and working typologies, public space network, and a gradient landscape.
2) Through design, this project summarizes three values essential for a socially inclusive mix development: creating beautiful neighbourhoods, enhancing connectivity among communities, and providing diverse work, live, and amenities to everyone. Furthermore, the project concludes six vital principles for the values to be realized in design. These include mixing living and working horizontally, introducing nature into urban districts, and a gradient transition from public to private, etc. ... Read more

Outdoor play is declining, with negative consequences for children’s development, physical health, mental well being and social relations. More action is needed than the presence of a singular playground in a neighborhood to make outdoor play popular again in this digital and urbanized century.

This thesis studies how an urban environment can be transformed into a child-friendly and playful environment that ensures a liveable future. By finding spatial solutions for not only a playground, but different interventions through different scales. The necessity for a variety of design solutions arises from the differing needs of children from different age groups, varying play personalities and orientations towards either biophilia or videophilia. A range of eyes on the streets, accessibility, mix of nature and variety of play are all essential elements in the design of outdoor play spaces. Connecting different play areas enhances accessibility and encourages exploration, enriching the overall experience for users.
Incorporating comfort-focused play structures and nature-inspired play structures is essential to meet the needs for the range of target groups. The integration of these structures into one spatial design represents an effective step towards successful play areas in this digital and urbanized century. ... Read more

This graduation project aims to address the pressing issues of climate change, the population growth and population shifts, as well as the housing crisis that is simultaneously created, in the Dutch context. As cities in the Netherlands are facing shortages in housing, more and more strategies are being created on a National and a Regional level to tackle this problem. In order to build more homes, less space need to be given to nature in the urban environments. As a result, cities and their inhabitants, are vulnerable against the effects of climate change. The quality of life shrinks, although the environment to live in grows.

Zwolle, is one of these cities: as the capital of the province Overijssel, the city is prompt to grow in the next decades, and is already conducting strategies to accommodate the population growth. A number of strategies and plans have been created to address the housing crisis, and yet, the natural elements come as “additions” to them. More people in houses means also more people in the public space. So how do we create green vibrant public spaces when the priorities lie in tackling the housing demand?

This graduation project is in the search of a new strategy for integrating nature into Zwolle’s urban environment, by using the “3-30-300” rule by Dr. Cecil Konijnendijk. This tool provides simple and measurable guidelines to integrate green spaces into the city, to provide better quality of life and create climate resilient environments.

Focusing on the Kamperpoort neighbourhood of Zwolle, which is susceptible to the effects of climate change (Urban Heat Island Effect, flooding probability, etc.), due to lack of accessible green spaces, the projects aims to create a design framework that prioritises the human-nature relationship, fostering the creation of a city that is healthy, liveable and resilient. ... Read more

In recent decades, the world’s population has increased exponentially and is expected to increase even more in the coming years. More and more people are moving to the city. In the Netherlands, too, we are dealing with population growth in the Randstad, and therefore also in Leiden. This increase puts extra pressure on the already extensive road network. The road network of Leiden has a negative impact on the ecosystem services that are related to roads. This lack of improving road ecosystem services makes the road network unable to cope with today’s urban challenges, such as climate change, people’s health and urban biodiversity. The current road system can even form a barrier between ecological structures. Roads play a significant role in the city’s performance, and therefore also have great potential to make a positive contribution to the aforementioned problems. A road network will always be part of modern developed cities, so serious discussion about alternative design for road infrastructure within urban landscaped are now needed. ... Read more

This graduation project, having as a starting point the concept of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), highlights the importance of high-density mixed-use developments around railway stations.
With this goal in mind, the station area of Amsterdam Sloterdijk was selected as a case study location. Sloterdijk is an important node within the overall transportation network and the plans of future development of the city of Amsterdam. However, the current spatial organization of the area, the high complexity, and several environmental problems are hindering its success as a place. Therefore, this graduation project, investigates through design, the potential of the area of Sloterdijk to become a sustainable and livable neighborhood, dealing with both the ongoing housing and the climate crisis in an integral way.
The primary method used in this graduation project was research by design, meaning that through several design iterations of different spatial elements, insights on the conflicts and potentials of these elements were revealed. Other methods used, included spatial mapping, literature review on the key concepts of livability, density, and TOD and lastly the method of fieldwork.
The results of this graduation project that can be extracted from the final proposal for the area of Sloterdijk, emphasize the challenges stemming from the high intensity of use and competition for space in places that function simultaneously as mobility hubs and as potentially vibrant urban districts. Key elements of the design were the intense densification and introduction of housing and other functions to the area, the substantial reduction of space allocated to mobility, the careful consideration of public space that promotes social interaction, overcoming the various infrastructural barriers, and lastly the integration of green and blue networks with the aim of providing living spaces to various species, improve local microclimate and mitigate environmental risks.
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In recent decades, the relevance of the railway as a more sustainable alternative for (inter)national commuting has increased significantly. Moreover, contemporary railway stations are becoming not only important mobility hubs where national and local transportation systems are interlinked but also new city centres offering a variety of functions and attractive places to live and work. However, there are still missing links in the European railway network. One of them, the connection between Poland to Finland through the Baltic states will be implemented by 2030. After completion, Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania, will become an important railway node. The thesis investigates how to exploit the potential of the Rail Baltica project and use it as a catalyst for the development of the city. To achieve this, personal experiential knowledge is combined with the data-driven approach to propose a visionary plan for Kaunas railway station and its surroundings that would accelerate the transition towards sustainable, safe and accessible mobility for all and would integrate the area into the existing urban fabric. The proposal suggests that large blocks, similar to Kaunas New Town, could ensure the continuity of the urban fabric, integrate existing heritage into the new structure and allow phasing. The densification framework defines the parameters of each block, aiming for a higher density towards the mobility hub. In addition, changes in street network and profiles are suggested to prioritise public transport and active modes of mobility. The key elements of the masterplan are detailed including the mobility hub where both railway and bus stations are combined and the hub is expanded towards the opposite side of the railway tracks. Moreover, standards for new blocks and streets are defined to ensure high-quality development which promotes high-density neighbourhoods while preserving local identity and heritage. Lastly, the regional impact study is used as an evaluation tool. It concludes that due to the limits of population growth in Lithuania, there is a need for collaboration between Rail Baltica cities to develop their railway station areas in a way that would complement each other rather than compete. ... Read more

“Hybrid Working, Quality Living” seizes the opportunity of the surging hybrid remote working trend to promote work style and lifestyle changes in office districts and beyond. Remote working has been developing but has never been applied on such a global scale before. Since the end of 2019, it has brought our attention back to several long-discussed urban problems, for instance, the housing crisis, commuting behaviors, urban life quality, and so on, by shedding light on neglected connections among them.

The project takes the Randstad as the research area to analyze and explain how the problems interrelate with each other. Looking fifty years into the future, “Hybrid Working, Quality Living” applies the urban foresight method to respond to the urban challenges, exploring a radical future with flexible schedules, all-day-round inhabited neighborhoods, closely collaborative communities, increased housing affordability, and greater gender equality, all through the transformation of office districts. Starting from understanding the future residents’ lives, a set of aspirations and design options are listed out and then applied to the design of Beukenhorst, a concentrated office district in Hoofddorp, Haarlemmermeer.

Based on foresight methods, “Hybrid Working, Quality Living” tests the design with a set of scenarios to explore its responses to the changing conditions and summarize the influential factors under different circumstances. Driven by each of the major drivers of change, the scenarios and the tests identify the possible futures as well as emphasize the importance of dynamically monitoring and adjusting the design strategies.
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Urban environments in the Netherlands are under a lot of pressure. Deca des of urbanization, emitting greenhouse gasses and diminishing ecology have created far going consequences for our living environments. Cities are experiencing increasing heatwaves, heavier and more frequent rain fall, social problems are getting more and more severe, and congestion is causing much needed space to be taken to widen roads mostly for individual car users.
This research gives an insight in a new potential way of designing our public space that prioritizes sustainable mobility and frees up space for climate and ecological interventions. The research includes a design for Delfshaven, one of the densest neighbourhoods of the Netherlands. The design integrates ecological, mobility, social and climate adaptive so lutions that benefit both the natural world as well as the human world significantly. The project achieves un-paving around 45% of public space and creating a continuous network of walkable natural spaces. Special attention is paid to kids, aiming to rejuvenate the idea of kids playing out side and developing important social skills at a young age. The nature-in clusive design has the potential to increase physical- and mental health of all residents significantly. This does not only benefit us directly but can theoretically reduce healthcare costs and earn back funds needed for the transformation. Timeframes and limitations are included to create a comprehensive vision for the future. Overall, the project gives a full image of what the future of Dutch cities could look like and how we can benefit from this change. ... Read more

Rotterdam’s almost untapped roofscape offers an exceptional chance to solve large urban, and environmental problems cities are facing nowadays. Take for instance, climate change, energy transition, loss of biodiversity, and the shortage of public places. Therefore we should rethink flat roofs, and expose their potential. In many different ways, they could contribute to the development of a sustainable and resilient city in the future. Especially, multifunctional, green roofs are able to reduce heat stress, store (temporarily) water, purify the air, enrich biodiversity, and accommodate social functions, especially when there is a possibility to connect all those ‘hidden’, unused spaces in the city. There are already a lot of initiatives in Rotterdam, that come up with all different ideas to fill in the 18 square kilometers of flat roofs we have at our disposal. However, this is mostly about the (re)development of a single plot, a building block, or a street. If we really want to tackle those large urban challenges, we should not only see the potential of a single roof but zoom out and see how at a city scale the roofs could be transformed into a liveable roofscape.

This thesis explores the potential and redevelopment of flat roofs in the city center of Rotterdam and aims for a whole new flat rooftop network above the existing city. The main research question is: How can the (re)development of Rotterdam’s flat roofs be guided to achieve significant progress towards a sustainable and resilient Rotterdam? By analysing the existing urban fabric, investigating possible functions flat roofs could accommodate in relation to large urban scale problems, and seeing the technical implications and possible limitations, a proposal for a rooftop toolkit and strategy for the city of Rotterdam is formulated. The main research method is research by design. This all to support the growth of Rotterdam in the upcoming years and make the city even more sustainable, resilient and liveable in the future. ... Read more

The place of urban low-income populations is increasingly coming under threat in the modern and globalized city - as urban centers are becoming more prominent and attractive parts of society and economy, and the addressal of poverty more socially prominent, questions and actions taken in this context increase the pressures on these vulnerable populations.

In Rotterdam this manifests in the notion of urban renewal of low income neighborhoods, promoting strategies of socio-spatial integration that would introduce more affluent populations into these spaces in an effort of creating diverse communities that would eliminate the notion of ‘bad’ neighborhoods while elevating the local population already there. However, this comes at a heavy price, as it requires the displacement of the majority of the local population, thus creating a contradiction - the strategy for aiding the poor threatens the displacement of most of them.

Rotterdam’s place communities are trying to resist these changes, but are coming short due to lack of socio-economic capital - they lack funds, home ownership, social and political clout and the unity required in order to influence the processes that threaten them.
This research proposes a method of supplementing these lacks, which is based on a research conducted by the University of Birmingham, training and promoting community based projects with the aid of external partners- and seeing them to fruition through engagement of local establishments.
The project here proposes to replicate the process in the Rotterdam context, adapting it and examining how external means can be implemented in aiding vulnerable populations achieve a loud and coherent voice in the planning processes in the western globalized metropolis.
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Improved liveability in the neighbourhoods Spangen, Tussendijken and Bospolder is desirable. A more socio-economically diverse population partly contributes to this. Gentrification makes wealthier residents move into the neighbourhoods in a short period of time. Yet, it causes a decrease in affordable housing and a chance of the disappearing of physical and social neighbourhood identity. Which means that current, less wealthy residents no longer feel attached to the place and that wealthier population groups want to settle in increasing numbers. This demonstrates unsustainable urban development by creating a re-segregated neighbourhood.

This thesis examines if and how urban design can contribute to a socially sustainable way of urban development for the improvement of liveability and the creation of a stable socio-economically diverse population with a preserved and reinforced neighbourhood identity. By research and design three important phases of the course of gentrification related to urban design are established. The urban approach to these phases forms the starting points for redesign: Stabilise the amount of social housing for socio-economically diverse inhabitants, create vibrant, liveable and stayable public spaces designed for slow traffic and preserve or reinforce the typical economic program of small-scale enterprises with affordable products. These are placed in current, upgraded axes with potential for liveliness and in developable public spaces with a reduced liveability. Fitted into current broken program routes and future urban development in the vicinity creating resilient urban design. The design is a hypothesis for improving social sustainability based on urban design. Because of this focus, much of the problem of (extreme) gentrification is left aside. Policy-making on urban renewal and responding to trends in housing requirements play a major role in these unsustainable urban developments. ... Read more