As of today, cities are becoming increasingly dense and diverse; thus, the quality of public meeting space is under pressure. This graduation project examines how urban design can enhance the city as a meeting place, thereby facilitating meetings among its residents, using the neighborhood Bospolder-Tussendijken in Rotterdam as a case study. The need for quality public meeting spaces is urgent in this neighborhood, characterized by superdiversity and spatial and social vulnerability. Through literature research, local observations, and design research, a pattern language has been developed that offers design principles to spatially facilitate informal meetings, ranging from anonymous to affectionate. Furthermore, a relationship has been observed between the use and type of meetings and the level of publicness of public space, resulting in three strategies. It was found that parochial places where amicable meetings occur contribute the most to a sense of public familiarity. The design concept focuses on strengthening existing social infrastructures, making levels of publicness more readable and balanced, and activating public spaces as stages for spontaneous interaction. The result is a context-specific design transformation that restores the role of the city as a meeting place.

The deprived district of Molenbeek is globally known as Europe’s terrorism capital, as worldwide news outlets have drawn attention to the involvement of multiple Molenbeek residents in terrorist attacks in the past. This has resulted in a pressuring reputation disproportionately affecting all residents, causing them to develop adverse feelings towards their neighbourhood.

Extremism is not at all apparent in everyday life, opposing the radical reputation composed by the outside-in perspective. The residents within the inside-out perspective seek justice through a re-appreciation of their culturally rich neighbourhood. The current lack of qualitative public space and active public life results in the expression of fear of crime and vandalism. The streetscape is littered by locked gates, closed blinds and garage doors, negatively influencing the perceived safety in the public realm.

This thesis aims to reactivate the porosity embedded in the urban fabric of Molenbeek. Developing these pockets of porous potential according to the needs of the local population creates urban spaces for clear user groups to express their desired behavioural patterns in the public realm. The design of these urban living rooms activates confidence and comfort among users, activating public life through the empowerment of residents.

This project delves into the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of liquid labour mobilities resulting from the ever-changing boundaries of the European Union, examining their often-overlooked spatial implications in the Netherlands. Focusing on the critical presence of Central and Eastern European labour migrants engaged in precarious seasonal or ‘flex’ work arrangements, the research investigates the intersection of global mobility circuits and the local demand for temporary labour within the Dutch production landscape, particularly in the agriculture, horticulture and trade logistics sectors. Through interviews, spatial analysis of ten sites and policy and literature reviews, this study examines how these mobilities are facilitated and managed, the often-exploitative role of temporary employment agencies and the impact of precarious housing and job insecurity on the lives of seasonal workers. By scrutinising these dynamics, the project proposes novel strategies for sustainable and democratic seasonal neighbourhoods that respond to the underexplored challenges of flex-work and seasonal migration. Drawing upon cross-geography urban theory, this research suggests innovative living and working strategies and principles that emphasise both, the societal and economic imperatives of ensuring just and equitable conditions for temporary labourers.

Herten, which is a neighborhood in Roermond, has lost part of its sense of place as a result of recent urban expansions. This thesis links the sense of place to the concept of time and concludes, through a literature review, that the sense of place and sense of time can be comprehended through static, dynamic, and collective elements. The thesis focuses on the dynamic elements, which are the urban rhythms, and explores how they can be used to create an urban design.

The main research question for this thesis is: How can urban rhythms be used in an urban design to enhance the sense of place in Herten. To answer this question, a historic analysis is conducted to understand how the sense of place in Herten has been changed in the past century. After this, fieldwork is used to observe what rhythms currently take place in the location. The results of these analyses are then used to create a small-scale urban design for a central location in Herten. This design consists of several areas inspired by a variety of rhythms, increasing the activities that can take place and allowing people from the neighborhood to meet. This strengthens the sense of place and sense of community in the neighborhood.

Additionally, the thesis presents a long-term strategy for the neighborhood which shares the same goal as the design: to enhance the sense of place in Herten. Because Herten shares many characteristics with the Dutch vinex neighborhoods, many of the interventions and conclusions from this thesis may also be applicable to other, similar neighborhoods.