It is certain that cities must prepare for densification in the coming years due to urban population growth. High-rise buildings as urban housing have long been seen as a solution to address housing shortages. This typology efficiently utilizes limited space, allowing a relatively large number of urban residents to settle in the urban area. Now, the urban built environment is reaching the point where social and societal problems are also experienced in this typology. Residents of high-rise buildings struggle with feelings of loneliness and are unable to anchor themselves in the urban community. It seems that our urban designs have led to increased anonymity and a loss of social contact in high-rise living. The lack of social engagement within a community or social isolation has adverse effects on mental health, resulting in dissatisfaction, stress, and poor public health. Ultimately, this societal problem will also influence the urban developments negatively. As a result, the characteristic structure of high-rise buildings must be studied and reconsidered for the sake of the mental health of the urban population. The built environment must come up with solutions to encourage social interactions through design interventions in high-rise buildings and focussing more on public interior spaces.

This research delves into the multifaceted identity of Tunis, exploring how its rich history, cultural diversity, and urban dynamics intersect to shape its sense of place and belonging. The main research question guiding this study is: What is the relation between urban & social changes and the loss of “the Port-city Identity” in Tunis? Through a multidisciplinary approach that combines urban anthropology, cultural geography, architectural analysis, the study examines various neighborhoods and public spaces in Tunis, including Lac1, Lac2, Rades, La Goulette, and Carthage. Using fieldwork, interviews, observations, and mental maps from participants, the research uncovers layers of meaning embedded within the city's built environment and collective memory. From the bustling port of Rades to the historic ruins of Carthage, each neighbourhood offers unique insights into Tunisian identity, reflecting a blend of ancient traditions, colonial legacies, and contemporary challenges. The study also explores how Tunisians interact with public spaces, navigate historical sites, and negotiate their sense of belonging, shedding light on the complex interplay between physical landscapes and social practices. A significant finding, revealed through field research, is the endangered situation of local fishermen. The research discovered that these fishermen, who are vital to the region's maritime culture and identity, are being pushed out due to urban development. Their informal docking spots, crucial for their livelihood, are at risk of disappearing, which could lead to their displacement and the loss of an essential element of the port city's identity. The findings underscore the importance of preserving cultural heritage, fostering dialogue, and promoting inclusive urban development in Tunis. By embracing diversity and its port city heritage, Tunis has the potential to emerge as a vibrant and resilient hub of creativity, innovation, and cultural exchange. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of Tunisian identity and offers insights for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers seeking to navigate the complexities of identity and urban space in the 21st century.

This thesis explores the intricate relationship between residents and cities, with a focus on Venice as a case study. It investigates the impact of external agents on the city’s evolution, highlighting challenges such as demographic decline, economic dependence on overtourism, all symptoms of an unlivable city. The study employs a hierarchical analysis to understand Venice’s problems, em- phasizing the urgency of preserving its residents, in terms of private, collective, and public living. Utilizing urban and architectural studies, the research proposes pragmatic solutions, advocating for a balance between curated experiences and authentic urban history. The Giudecca sestiere is taken into account, an island with the potential to challenge Venice’s issues and become a res- ident-centred space, contributing to the broader discourse on urban preservation and livability. Here, Gino Valle’s Social Housing Complex from 1984 is examined, establishing limitations and potential for architectural interventions.

This research explores the impact of urban design on perceived safety in Oud Mathenesse, a hyper-diverse and vulnerable urban area in the Netherlands. Utilizing a human-centred and interdisciplinary approach, the study aims to provide insights and recommendations for urban planners and policymakers. The primary research question focuses on how urban design can enhance perceived safety in such a diverse context. The study employs qualitative methods, examining the social and physical environments and their influence on residents’ perceptions of safety.

Key findings reveal that perceived safety or subjective safety is not something that is for everyone the same. Therefore a public space must be inclusive and accommodate the different experiences and perceptions. Social factors, such as public familiarity and social behaviour, significantly shape perceived safety. The physical environment, including accessibility, visibility, legibility, and attractiveness, also plays a crucial role. The research highlights the need for inclusive urban design that considers diverse safety perceptions of different user groups.

The study concludes that urban design interventions tailored to the specific needs of Oud Mathenesse can improve perceived safety and overall liveability. Recommendations include enhancing public spaces, creating communal venues, and fostering a sense of community identity. The research emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary methods and human-centred design in addressing the complexities of hyper-diverse urban environments, contributing to the broader discourse on social equality and inclusivity in urban planning.

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.

Cities all over the world are densifying because of population growth and urban popularity. By 2050, more than two thirds of the global population is expected to live in cities. (Zumelzu & Herrman-Lunecke, 2021) This trend raises concerns about the influence of urban environments on mental well-being of residents, as city living has been linked to increased risks of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and stress. (UD/MH, 2022) Where especially the acceleration of urbanization and its spatial implications is argued to be of a negative influence on inhabitants mental health. (Zumelzu & Herrman-Lunecke, 2021) However, urban living also offers mental health benefits and empirical evidence tells us that environmental factors can have both a positive and negative influence on mental health. (Hajrashoelih et al., 2018) The relation of spatial design and mental well-being is therefore starting to emerge as a fundamental concept, and leads to the rising importance of designing cities with restorative qualities.

Urban areas must prioritize promoting good mental health and providing support for those with mental health issues, ensuring inclusiveness through accessible restorative qualities (Roe & McCay, 2021; UD/MH, n.d.). However, densifying urban environments exacerbate segregation and inequality, hindering the population's ability to benefit from mental health-promoting urban design and increasing the risk of mental health problems (Roe & McCay, 2021). This asks for an inclusive and restorative approach, which has led to the main research question of this thesis: To what extent can public space design restore mental health of diverse individuals within the densifying urban context? With a focus on the differences in experience between various social groups and an emphasis on marginalized groups. This choice driven by the desire to see if the needs of some groups are overlooked. The research will be carried out within the selected case study: Bos en Lommer, Amsterdam. To build a theoretical background, research into mental health, methods for restorative and inclusive design, and their environmental implications will be done. Using this knowledge, the case is analysed from an academic perspective to identify important areas for increasing the restorative and inclusive environment.

Workshops and interviews with diverse, marginalized resident groups are conducted to understand their experiences and needs within the urban environment. These include methods like mental mapping and photo evaluation, aiming to capture subjective place experiences. The utilization of creative, participatory, and qualitative research methods is emphasized. which is also acknowledged as crucial within the framework for restorative cities by Roe and McCay (2021). The results of this extensive analysis through fieldwork are used to discover the conflicts in experiences among diverse user groups within Bos & Lommer. Finally, findings from theory and research are integrated in the proposal of a design example on a medium scale, illustrating various small-scale conflicts within one site.

This thesis is concerned with the search and exploration of Juxtaposed Interiors - a form of Public Interior, however localized in the exterior. It seeks and finds in it the theme of Care, which it further develops in both Theory and Design. It represents a protest against the expanding influence of the private in the public sphere - but, paradoxically, precisely through the introduction of elements and agencies belonging to the sphere of the private (Interior) - Juxtaposed Interiors.

Urban areas project high demand for urban spaces to accommodate a wider range of functions associated with social, economic, and physical development, given the rising rate of urbanization and over two-thirds of the human population projected to be urban dwellers by the year 2050. Consequently, cities are rapidly developing into complex and sprawling infrastructure reservoirs, limiting the capacity of vital natural ecosystem services. Development projects face several time-based constraints to find space for public access. In recent decades, brownfield development has directed its focus towards the subsurface, with the onset of initiatives like “net zero land take by 2050” set by the European Union. Expanding the public realm in cities through brownfield underground development can help close the gap between demand and supply of habitable land within cities, especially in urban areas housing contextual heritage.

There are various socio-cultural agents to be accounted for, which influence the experience of the subsurface. With appropriate structuring of documentation and design methods, underground built environments can potentially link diverse uses like transit, work, recreation, and more. The lack of development strategy inclusive of underground spaces poses risk of exploitation by private sector eventually resulting in super-basements that are value-centric. Underground spaces need a strategic spatial vision where the subsurface ecology is considered and developed in coherence with public life, integrating it with existing infrastructure networks.

The Thesis explores the subsurface uses and their potential to supplement demand of public/mobility space from surface in the city of Amsterdam. The applicability of urban underground functions in a delicate Dutch Landscape presents an opportunity to test and benchmark the suitability of subsurface realm for a range of functions. This is done by generating a guiding methodology for context-specific design interventions, followed by their integration with existing underground resources to form a holistic subsurface network that supplements the surface. The research considers the current technological and urban transitions to utilize them tools for developing underground spaces as collective, feasible, and transformative spaces. Research-by-design approach is used to investigate essential parameters of subsurface design at different scales to contextualize prototypical interventions for Amsterdam.

Walkability, which refers to the extent to which the built environment encourages walking, has been linked to increased physical activity and improved health. While various studies have developed indicators to assess walkability, limited attention has been given to the influence of specific city characteristics on residents’ perceptions of walkability. Therefore, this study proposes the development of a context-specific walkability index for Amsterdam. Through a mixed methods approach, the study explores subjective viewpoints on what defines a walkable street and identifies the most significant walkability factors for this particular urban region. These factors are then incorporated into a weighted walkability index, which provides street-level scores.
The findings emphasize that walkability in Amsterdam is not a uniform concept, as individual walking behaviour is influenced not only by the environment but also by personal factors. The resulting walkability index underscores the importance of factors such as traffic safety, crime safety, pedestrian infrastructure, and proximity to amenities in shaping residents’ decisions to walk on specific streets.
This study highlights the significance of participatory approaches and the inclusion of individuals’ subjective views when evaluating walkability. By considering both objective indicators and subjective viewpoints, cities can develop more meaningful strategies to enhance walkability and create environments that promote active and healthy lifestyles.

This report examines the role of an urban designer in a multicultural society. When an urban society is overlapped with a spatial and diverse cultural layer, a cultural community is seen as the essential unit for outreaching and interacting with this complex environment. Community design is required for an urban designer to explore the intersection of spatial design and community development methodologies, top-down and bottom-up decision-making.

In this report, the author takes use of the case of Rotterdam Chinatown to develop an experimental community design methodology and apply it to the on-site practice. It aims to stimulate communication and resource links within the Chinese community in a globalization context by utilizing open spaces as a medium.

This research starts with the preliminary background study, followed by creating a set of customized pattern languages as the communication, learning, and design tools to engage the Rotterdam Chinatown community and the Chinese community in Rotterdam. A live event held in public spaces of Rotterdam Chinatown is embodied as a performance to evaluate the efficiency of the vision co-created by stakeholders. The final outcome learns about the requirements of the Chinese community of Rotterdam and concludes with refined pattern language and scenario design based on the conditions of Rotterdam Chinatown.

This participatory design methodology featured for the Rotterdam Chinatown community fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment among the community members and encourages active participation in shaping the future of the community in a pure bottom-up approach.

Keywords: community design, cultural glocalization, Chinatown, pattern language, public space

The master thesis "Risveglio Marittimo - Awakening Maritime Identity in Messina" answers the question of how the concept of maritime identity facilitates the understanding of existing assets and offers opportunities for the design of Messina as a port city. Through the collection of micro-narratives and their organization into categories, Messina's maritime identity was (re)discovered in following topics: heritage and culture, water and environment, threshold and transition, transformation and production, quoditiantity and symbols.

The quadrilatero site, between the Ex-Granai and the maritime station, was chosen to design a new maritime space, with the aim of fertilizing the perception and value of Messina's maritime identity. The renovation of the abandoned silos and the fish market allows to offer spaces for culinary products of the sea and the hinterland and their consumption on the edge between land and sea, creating a vibrant public space for exchange and transition at the most important traffic node bridging land and sea transportation.