River basins are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change. The Maas (Meuse), a rain-fed river, depends on precipitation for its discharge. Changing rainfall patterns are expected to intensify floods due to wetter winters and summer storms, while also increasing water shortages in summer. Historically, the river naturally adapted to extreme changes in discharge, but the engineered, fixed-course river landscape has reduced its resilience and adaptability.

Renaturalisation of the river morphology could restore these natural processes. However, this requires a transformation of the surrounding ecological, agricultural, and urban landscape. Therefore, this thesis investigates how the cultivated landscape can be integrated into a more natural river system in the Noordelijke Maasvallei by 2100, under the most extreme dry and wet scenarios following a systemic design approach. A pattern language defines measures related to renaturalisation, ecology, agriculture, and urbanisation. The maximisation method then identifies the best spatial outcomes per theme as input for the integrated design.

The research led to an integrated design for the Noordelijke Maasvallei, where the Maas has space to flow and sedimentate naturally. This improves the water safety, water quality, and ecological resilience of the area towards 2100. The design applies measures from the pattern language across multiple scales, revealing different possibilities to enhance climate resilience for the river, ecological, agricultural, and urban landscapes. The systemic approach of this research allows for transferability to other contexts. Although this design prioritises renaturalisation and ecological resilience, the focus can be shifted by adjusting the inputs from the maximisation method. Furthermore, the pattern language provides a toolbox with measures that can be used separately and in different contexts. Overall, this thesis demonstrates the potential of restoring rivers to enhance climate resilience when the landscape adapts to the river, rather than forcing the river to fit human needs.

Cities are pressured by the impacts of climate change (Nijs et al., 2019). Rising temperatures, wetter winters, drier summers and more extreme weather events demand a fundamental transformation of public space (KNMI, 2023). In the Netherlands, both national and municipal governments aim to achieve climate resilient cities by 2050, however, this ambition cannot be realised without the active involvement of citizens (Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat, 2023). Unfortunately, there is a lack of climate awareness and visibility of climate resilient solutions (Lenzholzer et al., 2020).
This thesis addresses this gap by connecting the concepts of climate resilience, climate awareness and art and redesigning public space to create climate-aware streets. The research develops a toolbox of visible climate resilient interventions, analysed according to spatial scale, street typologies, microclimatic processes and climate extremes. To assess how awareness can be created, the study adopts and operationalises the three awareness mechanisms, experience, engagement and knowledge, derived from Iturriza et al. (2020). These mechanisms are applied to both the climate interventions and a curated set of fifteen art installations that engage with climate related themes.
The findings are combined in a climate-aware street concept, which integrates climate resilient interventions, awareness creating strategies, and art in public space. Illustrated through an archetypical street layout, the concept demonstrates how public space can be redesigned to make climate processes visible, tangible, and collectively understood. The street design concept can be implemented on various spatial contexts by a range of stakeholders, including the municipality, artists, designers and citizens, to collaboratively advance climate-resilient urban environments.

This thesis investigates the regeneration of the riparian corridor of Birrarung (the Yarra River) as a dynamic landscape system that supports ecological connections, water retention, and meaningful human engagement. Post-colonisation urban development, agricultural land-use, water extraction and climate change have fragmented the corridor, disrupted seasonal flows, and reduced the frequency of floodplain inundation. At the same time, steep and privatised river banks limit physical and visual access to the river, causing a disconnect from the river in urban life and underutilisation as a public space. Existing literature highlights the benefits of ecologically connected riparian corridors with space for natural river dynamics, both for the health of river ecosystems and for fostering social connection and human wellbeing.
Using a landscape-based design approach and the Research Through Design method, this project proposes an integrated spatial framework for riparian regeneration. As a form of landscape infrastructure, the river links diverse spaces along its course, allowing local interventions to generate effects at a broader, system-wide scale. The framework is based on four strategies, which came about through layered analysis of the Yarra River system and lessons from precedents. The strategies cover the themes of: (1 & 2) resilient and (re)connected riparian ecological networks, (3) improved riparian water buffer capacity, and (4) improved human-river connections. These are translated into design principles and tested at two scales, a system-wide vision and two detailed interventions, demonstrating how site-specific strategies can contribute to corridor-wide resilience.
The design interventions focus on restoring ecological structure and function through riparian revegetation, increasing water retention capacity, and enabling public engagement with the river’s seasonal dynamics. Slow recreation, visible flood indicators, and reshaped riverbanks form part of a broader effort to reframe the river not as a threat, but as a living system to be experienced and understood.
The outcome is a spatially adaptable and place-sensitive framework that bridges ecological and social needs. While specific to the Yarra River, the approach offers relevant insights for other urbanised river systems seeking to reconnect fragmented corridors, improve hydrological performance, and promote deeper human-river connections through landscape-based design.

Ever since the mega project of cleaning the Seine in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics gained world-wide attention, a global movement is inspiring urban policymakers and to reclaim urban waters in becoming a ‘Swimmable City’. As in many of these cities, the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, sees a growing demand for reconnection with the waterfront, urban living quality and resilience to urban transitions, while simultaneously facing the effects of climate change on the city and its residents first-hand. The Municipality of Rotterdam has shared their ambition to develop future urban bathing sites in open-air waters, among which the inner city harbours. However, the urban complexity of these locations goes hand-in-hand with practical and systematic implementation challenges. This research is framed by an urban systems-based approach, in order to identify the place- and actor-related challenges and opportunities in their urban system nature, for three typologies of (floating) urban bathing structures defined in this study (The Free Style; The Protected Plunge; The Dip in a Bowl). Taking lessons from case study interviews with three respective (inter)national urban bathing typology examples (Marineterrein in Amsterdam, La Baignade Villette in Paris, The Floating Pool Lady in New York City), overarching physical and non-physical challenges were overcome by flexible design, creative governance and justification in connecting other local societal agenda’s such as the accessibility of public space, improving water quality and swimming programming for local communities. Comparing these lessons with identified challenges and opportunities for Rotterdam’s Spoorweghaven, Coolhaven and Persoonshaven, based on case study interviews with local project managers, the conclusions of this research are presented as recommendations for civil servants on how to approach the development of future urban bathing sites. Not only for the City of Rotterdam, but all cities who have the ambition to become ‘swimmable’.

The Njoro River, the primary tributary of Lake Nakuru in Kenya’s Rift Valley, is facing severe ecological degradation due to deforestation, agricultural intensification, and rapid urban expansion. This thesis explores how regenerative landscape design can be used to restore the ecological integrity of the river while supporting the livelihoods of communities within its catchment. Building on the methodology of Research Through Design (RTD), this work integrates hydrological analysis, socio-spatial mapping, and co-design workshops conducted in collaboration with local actors. The study develops a spatial framework based on nature-based solutions that can be implemented through decentralized, community-led action. Rather than proposing a singular fixed intervention, the thesis offers a contextual strategy that acknowledges the complexity of socio-ecological systems and the limitations of top-down planning models. The outcome is a layered, adaptable vision that aims to rebalance ecological and human needs in the Njoro watershed.

Groundwater quality in the Netherlands is under pressure, which has significant implications for the quality of drinking water. Groundwater is a vital source of drinking water—in the Netherlands, 60% of drinking water is derived from groundwater. At the same time, the country faces significant urbanization and a pressing need for an agricultural transition. Urbanization and agricultural practices place increasing pressure on rural areas, while concurrently contributing to the deterioration of groundwater quality.

The purpose of this research is to give insight in possible spatial considerations of safeguarding groundwater quality, used for drinking water. It also aims to provide research-based argumentations for specific spatial choices and to create an integrated future perspective for the rural areas in the province of Utrecht regarding groundwater quality. This thesis adresses the research question: “How could the groundwater quality at groundwater abstractions, for public drinking water, be spatially safeguarded in the rural areas of the province of Utrecht by 2050, by applying integrated solutions for both groundwater quality, agriculture and as well as urbanization?”

This graduation research explores integrated solutions for groundwater quality, agriculture, and urbanization through the application of the ‘pattern language’ method. By formulating four scenarios, future perspectives were developed for case area the Kromme Rijnstreek, each presenting a distinct set of solutions. In doing so, multiple approaches to safeguard groundwater quality are proposed.

The research identified sweet water storage in rural areas as a key solution. Additionally, buffer zones, groundwater friendly agriculture, agroforestry, and collaboration in circular water management emerged as important strategies for securing groundwater quality. Finally, the study demonstrated that the Pattern Language method is an effective tool for initiating a content-oriented dialogue among professionals from various disciplinary backgrounds.

The province of Flevoland faces increasing pressure from climate-related water challenges, including water nuisance, drought, soil subsidence, salinisation and potential flooding. This thesis explores how nature-based solutions could be utilised to enhance the existing water system and improve the climate resilience of Flevoland. Through spatial analysis, it becomes evident that rural areas, particularly agricultural lands, will be affected by these climate-related water problems.
The research presents a future scenario where nature-based solutions are integrated into the polder. These solutions not only mitigate the effects of water problems but also contribute to the ecology. An important insight is the multifunctionality of nature-based solutions, addressing multiple problems at once and offering benefits for biodiversity.
The thesis concludes the future scenario with a governance chapter to focus on the involvement of stakeholders in Flevoland.

This thesis explores the housing pathways of Dutch digital nomads across three phases: pre-nomadic, nomadic, and post-nomadic. While digital nomadism has gained significant visibility worldwide, relatively little is known about how Dutch nomads organize their housing before departure, abroad, and upon return. To address this gap, the study adopts an exploratory mixed methods design that combines a literature analysis with 14 in-depth interviews and a survey of 160 respondents. The findings suggest that housing choices in the Netherlands, such as renting, owning, or living with parents, may shape what becomes possible abroad, although this relationship is not statistically confirmed. During the nomadic phase, respondents describe using layered strategies: online platforms often provide initial access, while personal networks appear to support stability and affordability. Upon return, housing pathways begin to diverge. Some, typically with more stable incomes, view flexibility as a continued preference that allows them to rent or buy independently. Others experience flexibility more as a necessity, constrained by limited mortgage access or strict rental conditions. Rather than offering definitive conclusions, the study aims to provide an initial understanding of how Dutch digital nomads navigate housing across different phases of mobility before departure, abroad, and upon return. The results highlight how experiences abroad remain tied to conditions in the Dutch housing system and underline the need of more flexible rental arrangements to support mobility and reintegration.

Rapid urbanization in Nakuru, Kenya, has intensified the conflict between human development and fragile ecological systems. Land-use changes, deforestation, and inadequate infrastructure have disrupted natural systems over time, leading to excessive surface runoff, erosion, and groundwater depletion. These pressures are further worsened by climate change and the growing demand for basic services in Nakuru City. This research investigates how a landscape-based spatial strategy can strengthen social–ecological resilience by recharging freshwater availability and transforming seasonal runoff from a source of risk into a driver of regeneration.
Using a design-led approach, the study integrates hydrological and socio-spatial analysis with co-design workshops conducted on site to develop a systemic and layered spatial framework for water management across Nakuru’s seasonal watershed. Three flow zones were identified within the watershed, guiding the structure of the design strategy: delay and infiltrate in the upstream, transport and purify in the midstream, and collect and reuse downstream. These functions are translated into an interconnected spatial strategy for the western side of Nakuru that manages runoff while restoring ecological and social continuity and improving freshwater recharge.
The research also includes a detailed design study for the upstream zone, testing the applicability of the overall design strategy and its supporting principles on site. This process provided a basis for nature-based and community-led design explorations, showing how hydrological performance can be combined with productive land use, ecological restoration, and local participation. The design outcomes demonstrate that each part of the restoration network generates specific benefits for different stakeholder groups: farmers benefit from improved soil fertility and more diverse yields, institutions gain from increased groundwater recharge and reduced clean-up costs, and local communities experience better living conditions through greener and more accessible environments.
The results highlight the potential of landscape architecture as a practice that links ecological and hydrological processes with socio-cultural dynamics and governance. The proposed framework offers a scalable and transferable approach for restoring water balance and social–ecological resilience in other rapidly urbanizing regions, where environmental degradation and urban growth are closely intertwined.

In the face of climate change, water challenges and rapid urbanisation in the area of Delfland, we stand at a pivotal moment where the way we design our cities will have a significant impact on how we will live in the future. As the Water and soil system is reaching its limits in trying to fulfil our human centric needs. A shift towards a water-oriented urban development is needed to safeguard a sustainable future. Therefore the following research question is defined: “How to envision a balanced water cycle for new neighbourhoods in Delfland while establishing a synergy between water, ecology and humans?’’

The maximisation method has been used to find solutions for the four challenges of Water and soil, Green and landscape, Human and water and Livability. While exploring scenarios of an open and temporal water system through the Purifying vein and the Urban sponge. The methodology, when combined with the established pattern language, creates a transferable approach for upcoming Dutch developments. With overarching recommendations such as: Integrated approach, Water as metabolism, Design with temporality and be a Team player. In addition, with specific advice to use a temporal water system as a starting point, but consider an open water system when subsidence is problematic, water treatment is required, when there is regular rainfall and sufficient space obtainable. Regarding Fortunapark as a case study, it is recommended that the Urban sponge (temporal water system) forms the fundamental basis that embodies a Water friendly future-proof neighbourhood.

Midden-Delfland is located in Zuid-Holland and bordered by cities like Delft, Den Haag, Vlaardingen, Schiedam and Rotterdam. The area consists of an open, peat-meadow landscape dominated by livestock farming. Over the past 50 years, this landscape has transformed into a densely urbanized and fragmented part of the Southern Randstad, reducing available space to mitigate the effects of climate change. The KNMI climate scenarios predict a temperature increase of 4.9°C and a sea-level rise of 2.5 meters by 2100. Located at the end of a river delta and mostly below sea level, Zuid-Holland is increasingly vulnerable to flooding as extreme weather events become more frequent. Additionally, infrastructure like the A4 highway and railway cross the landscape from north to south, creating a fragmented landscape. In light of these concerns, a strategic plan is needed to mitigate the effects of climate change, with Midden-Delfland emerging as a location of interest. Beside the need to create more green buffer zones, the importance of connecting urban areas with rural areas becomes clear. The municipality of Midden-Delfland describes its role as an outdoor green area for the 2.3 million inhabitants of the metropolitan region of Rotterdam-The Hague. This recreational demand places considerable pressure on Midden-Delfland. In 2017, this region was designated the title as a ‘Bijzonder Provinciaal Landschap’ highlighting its cultural heritage and distinctive provincial landscape. However, this designation is not legally binding and serves more as a qualitative label. The design titled ‘the Metropolitan Park’ aims to emphasize the area's significance for surrounding urban areas, guided by three main themes: ecology, agriculture, and recreation.

In addition to its agricultural function, Midden-Delfland also has a strong ecological character, consisting of a multitude of ecologically rich habitats, including peat bogs, wetlands, meadow bird zones, and forests. Currently, the agricultural sector plays a significant role in conserving the ecological character, with numerous farmers participating in the management of their land for the meadow birds populations. Despite this contribution, the agricultural sector still negatively impacts the environment. Farmers strictly control the water level for their agricultural practices. Low water levels dry out the peat soil, which in turn causes the peat to oxidize and emit CO2. This oxidation leads to subsidence, making the land increasingly vulnerable to floodings and droughts. Furthermore, pesticide and fertilizer use results in eutrophication, water pollution, and nitrogen emissions, harming the natural environment.

This thesis proposes a new vision, accompanied by a development strategy for the future of the ‘Bijzonder Provinciaal Landschap’. The research is divided into two sections: a design section and a governance-oriented section. The maximization method is used to investigate each theme, with the aim of identifying optimal solutions. In order to develop an integrated vision for the year 2070, spatial conflicts are addressed. The research will also address the development of policy, the identification of stakeholders, and the outlining of strategic steps. Eventually, this thesis provides insights for municipalities such as Delft, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Midden-Delfland itself, encouraging the formation of integrative alliances and the pursuit of sustainable trajectories.

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.

This graduation project explores the implementation of integrated and sustainable land use planning as a crucial strategy for transforming the BPL MD region into a thriving and biodiverse area that benefits both humans and nature. By emphasizing landscape identity, water storage, the livability of meadow birds, and balancing recreational activities, this project proposes a comprehensive design that ensures the long-term health and well-being of both the environment and communities. A new perspective on the open polder landscapes in the metropolitan region of Rotterdam and The Hague in 2070 is created. Creating three zones, with local food and recreation on the outskirts and a nature center at the heart. These zones create water buffers, improve diverse recreation opportunities, and provide quiet zones for meadow birds. This new design for the BPL MD could be used as inspiration for the future of this region. In addition, this research provides new insights into combining climate change and cultural heritage in such a historically significant location.

The city Winnipeg, built on the wet prairie, has been threatened by severe flooding for decades. The initial decision to build the city at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers led to the inevitable consequence of recurrent natural flooding. The floods prompted the provincial government to take a series of flood control structural measures to prevent the city property. However, the waterlogging crisis has still not subsided.

During the significant territorial transformations in the last two centuries, the rivers and creeks have been heavily dammed and channelized. The hasty attempt at city development resulted in immediate economic benefits, but at the expense of eliminating the land’s ability to drain water through naturally occurring streams and coulees. Due to environmental impacts on a wider geographical scale, most notably climate change, both floods and droughts are hitting the extremes, which is escalating the challenge on flood management.

One of the main obstacles in this project is to solve the problem of threatening floodwaters and turn the negative impacts into the opportunities for a more sustainable lifestyle. Tracing back to last century, the indigenous peoples of the plains used to share a mutually beneficial living pattern with beavers and other species on the prairies. This coexistence approach towards humans, wildlife and nature deserves an opportunity to be brought back to Winnipeg. Through flood-mitigation measures based on natural processes, the urban hydrologic system is anticipated to move toward sustainable development and provide fairness and reliability to the living environment and urban ecosystems in response to challenges posed by habitat loss, climate change, and emerging conservation issues.

More and more frequently, the streamflow of the Rhine becomes dangerously low. Drought is exacerbated by climate change, glaciers are melting at rapid rates. These problems affect the functions and ecosystems around the Rhine. The Rhine accounts for two-thirds of all inland waterway transports across Europe and thus experiences severe economic consequences when the streamflow gets low. Goods can no longer be shipped, and industries and agriculture depend on this water supply. More importantly, the Rhine also serves as a source of clean drinking water. With growing urbanisation, industries and agriculture along the Rhine, the pressure on the drinking water supply grows. The chances of periods of drought are increasing. Problems like salinisation, water pollution, damage to ecosystems and rising water temperatures will only become more apparent in the future.

In Every Drop Counts, the vision for the Rhine is to become a connected green-blue infrastructure. This proposal combines nature-based solutions that form a coherent system on a small scale and a green-blue infrastructure that works in a cross-border approach. Together they provide habitat diversity, mitigate drought, and human-nature interactions. The riverscape of the Rhine has to deal with more extreme fluctuations in water levels and more intense periods of drought and flooding. To battle the problems the Rhine faces, this thesis attempts to create a pattern catalogue focussing on drought-mitigating design strategies. These strategies are implemented around the Rhine to create a riverscape able to deal with streamflow fluctuations.

The design strategy will have other positive benefits besides a drought-resilient riverscape. Flooding of urbanised areas can be avoided, and living and recreational spaces will stay functional during periods of drought. Industries, agriculture and thus the economy around the Rhine will remain stable during periods of drought, as water retention capacity will be increased and buffers can be implemented.
Habitat diversity will develop and improve biodiversity. The implemented green-blue infrastructure creates a connected structure of habitats where species can flourish. Part of this strategy will be restoring historic riverscapes, creating more space for the Rhine and bringing back old habitats that got lost during the reconstruction of the Rhine.

To create a functional riverscape during streamflow drought, the Rhine will have to use all available water throughout the seasons. To mitigate the drought problems, the urban and rural areas have to create a synergy where strategies are combined, and land is optimally used to develop a drought-mitigating strategy. For this, it is essential to know what each area around the Rhine offers and what type of drought-mitigating measures are most suitable to implement.

The nature-based solutions embedded in the green-blue infrastructure are combined into a drought-mitigating pattern catalogue. This multiscalar pattern catalogue can be filtered for different types of landscapes, land uses, and more requirements. This approach is tested on other design locations and leads to a selection of measures that apply to different landscapes. By implementing the green-blue infrastructure approach with nature-based drought-mitigating solutions in rural and urban areas, a functional riverscape during streamflow drought can be created.

The built environment of the future should move with the changes the weather brings as well as evolve with slower and larger trends in our society like climate change, demographic changes, and technical advancements. By planning for the future now we can reduce obstacles for future generations of planners, designers, and governing bodies.

The built environment should be able to function well whether water is in high or low flux. Water is fluid. It is shaped by and shapes its surroundings. Cities can learn a lot from this fluidity. By increasing the flexibility of urban design, we can anticipate and move with the changes the future brings instead of being in a continuous cycle of trying to catch up. The built environment should follow the current of the future and adapt to the changes in our climate and weather. Creating a city that adapts to new circumstances and moves with water.

The climate crisis and unsustainable growth are worldwide interrelated problems. Population growth increases the demand for natural resources and the demand for housing. This is all putting pressure on the natural system and is strengthening the conflict of space between the built environment, agricultural land and the natural landscape. Drylands are expected to expand due to climate change and human activities. As the natural resources are already scarce in these regions, human societies who live there are challenged even more by population growth. Including the future generations. The conflict of space deteriorates the quality of life and space in these regions. To counteract this development, measures must be taken now.

This research proposal searches for an integral approach to sustainably address population growth and urbanisation in arid regions. This is done via a case study of the Moroccan new town Tamansourt. Tamansourt is one of the nineteen Moroccan new cities developed via the state-led national-scale Villes Nouvelles strategy. Tamansourt, Marrakech’s satellite city, is the first new town under this strategy, it is founded in 2004. The spatial analysis, site visit, and interviews conducted in this research show that the city of Tamansourt is still under construction. The city has not reached its target population nor its desired level of urban activity yet. However, environmental issues already manifest themselves in the city, which resulted in the national government’s aim to transform Tamansourt into an ecocity.

In the Urban Arid Green project, the vision Tamansourt Ecocity 2040: Regreen to Rewild is formulated. This is a proposal to advance on a transformative framework for Tamansourt towards an ecocity. This could help Tamansourt to reach its original goals, respond to current injustices and face the environmental crises at the same time.

To transition Tamansourt into an ecocity, systemic change is needed. The environment must be harnessed. The now degraded soil quality must be restored. This environmental change can be sparked by making optimal use of the limited amount of water. By educating, training and employing the local community, the ecocity can be co-created, using bottom-up initiatives and top-down support.

To support this systemic change, a common language among all future stakeholders is needed. This common language is developed as a set of urban development guidelines, patterns. This is a brief visual overview of all measures included in the systemic change, vision, and design of Tamansourt Ecocity 2040. The patterns focus on the biosphere and add to the original design guidelines for Moroccan new towns, which were developed by Al Omrane in 2010. Together, they form the Urban Arid Green pattern language which aims to sustainably address population growth and urbanisation in the arid region.

In the Urban Arid Green project, the case of Tamansourt is used to show how to translate these generic patterns and ecocity principles into a unique site-specific design. Design proposals on the neighbourhood scale are made for several key locations in the Tamansourt Ecocity 2040 vision. The design aims to formulate a framework for the stakeholders to use in the city’s transition towards an ecocity. This framework aims for a triple scope of better services, amenities, and connections on one hand and to counteract environmental decay and climate change variability on the other. Via an adaptive pathway approach, the process can adapt to future uncertainties, while learning from the past. This approach allows different scenarios to reach the Tamansourt Ecocity 2040 goal.

The process of applying these patterns to the Tamansourt Ecocity 2040 project was one of constantly adjusting, designing, and testing. By testing the method in Tamansourt, other arid landscapes that need to sustainably address population growth and urbanisation, can learn from this, and use it as a tool to communicate with all different stakeholders involved. Every landscape might need to add its own site-specific pathway to the pattern language. By this, the Urban Arid Green Language allows unique dialects for different landscapes.

Tamansourt sets the example to other urban arid areas, being the first new town ecocity, focused on a regenerative productive urban landscape.

In the past few decades, urbanisation in China has been witnessed with great speed. While this has brought a rocketing economy and improved citizens’ average living standards, it does not come without any expense. Such intensive urban sprawling and industrialization in China has added up a great risk to upcoming climate challenges, especially bringing about water issues such as flooding, water pollution and drinking water scarcity that are closely linked with citizens’ safety, well-being and future prosperity. Though many policies and initiatives have been proposed to mitigate these water issues, few of them can solve the issues systemically.

Hence, with the Lake Chao Basin as a backdrop, the project aims at tackling these water issues from the perspective of systemic design and thus proposes a 'water- oriented urban development'. Through the maximization method, a pattern language for 'water-oriented urban development' is constructed. This set of pattern language not only provides solutions to address the main problems regarding water quantity, water quality and water safety in the region but also is targeted at bringing about a systemic change in the area by intervening on deep leverage points.

To illustrate the implementation of the pattern language, a multi-scale framework for the Lake Chao Basin is created, with the vision for Tanchong River Basin 2030 as a strategic project. It shows how the implementation of the pattern language could reshape the landscape on different scales, engage various stakeholders and promote a sustained commitment to the water system among citizens. This will also provide transferable knowledge to other areas on how the patterns could be integrated into the future urban development process and contribute to the sustainable water system.

This project answers the research question “How can we design with climate adaptation measures in existing neighborhoods in the Netherlands while respecting other aspects of sustainable development?” The methods used to carry out the research are mixed methods. Both deductive and inductive research is done. Theory describes the problem, and existing solutions and methods used, to do research. Through research by design, site specific problems are offered solutions. Later on, by linking the specific sites to the general theory, more general solutions are formed based on the design. This approach is chosen, because, by combining deductive and inductive research more general solutions can be found in a design on a small scale. This is necessary for this research because the problem is too big and very site specific to be solved from deductive research only. Lessons learnt are needed from practical examples to take steps towards answering the research question as a whole.
The project location for the research by design is the Abtswoudse polder in Delft. It is a diverse polder with many different neighborhood types. For the design part, one neighborhood selected based on the climatic and liveability problems and neighborhood type. One design location is worked out, due to the potential of the location because of the liveability and amount of public space. The research is set up in such a way that the method and selection used can be transferred to other locations in the Abtswoudse polder but also to other locations in the Netherlands. The designs are guided by general design principles based on the three main design tools in this project: climate adaptation measures, liveability criteria and sustainable development goals.
The answer to the main research question is: by setting up a framework with design tools that consist of the components: climate adaptation, spatial design and sustainable development. By using the tools to find the overlap between them, and make general design principles to make insightful how they have influenced the design interventions, we can design with climate adaptation measures in existing neighborhoods in the Netherlands while respecting other aspects of sustainable development.

Due to population growth, a growing housing shortage, and a space shortage, it is expected that new urban developments in the Netherlands will mainly take place inside existing city boundaries and in high densities. At the same time, it is projected that the effects of climate change will increase, as climate change is expected to intensify. These two trends cause an increased climate risk for the liveability in these new urban areas. Climate adaptation is essential to reduce this risk. Climate adaptation planning is crucial to ensure the development of sustainable urban areas with high liveability standards for future and far-future inhabitants. However, traditional spatial design and -planning practice does not match with the climate adaptation task. If no climate adaptation action is taken now by spatial actors, the problems could be passed on to future generations. Hence, there is a need for a different way of working. A paradigm shift towards adaptive planning is needed to plan for climate adaptation and adaptive pathways are promising approaches to support this.

The objective of this research is to contribute to the search for new approaches that support climate adaptation planning. This research aims to investigate the usability of the Spatial Adaptive Policy Pathways (SAPP) approach for climate adaptation planning in new urban areas in the Netherlands. This research explores this approach to define the possibilities and points for improvement, through four main stages: analysis, identification, development, and application. To test the approach, Haven-Stad in Amsterdam has been selected as a case study area. The evaluation of the outputs and approach provide input to answer the main research question of this thesis: How can the Spatial Adaptive Policy Pathways approach support climate adaptation planning for new urban areas in the Netherlands?

The research has shown that the Spatial Adaptive Policy Pathways (SAPP) can support climate adaptation planning for new urban areas in the Netherlands. The SAPP approach brings forward a paradigm in which uncertainty is embraced and adaptivity is central. SAPPs do not show which trajectory is best to follow, but can address certain options, decision points, and consequences. In addition, it can bring different actors together through spatial- and governance elaborations. Thereby, SAPPs can form a basis for a broad dialogue about the future of an area in the short-term and long-term. It supports the development of adaptive designs and can address potential future governance challenges. The SAPP approach could thus be a promising approach to apply in practice. However, it would have to be further developed first.

Further development of the approach requires more testing at different case study locations and testing in practice. More research needs to be done on the applicability of the approach at different scales and the potential integration of scales and climate stresses.