Coastal Catalyst
Energy Infrastructure and the Shaping of a Dutch Coastal Town
K.W. Smits (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
C.M. Hein – Mentor (TU Delft - History, Form & Aesthetics)
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Abstract
This thesis investigates how energy infrastructure has shaped the urban and economic development of Vlissingen, a Dutch coastal town positioned along the Scheldt estuary. Through a mixed-methods approach combining historical analysis, archival research, and spatial investigation, the study traces Vlissingen’s transformation across three infrastructural epochs: coal (Centrale Zeeland), nuclear (Borssele nuclear plant), and renewable energy (Borssele wind farms). These phases are contextualized within broader national strategies for industrial decentralisation and the evolving use of the North Sea as an energy landscape. Particular attention is given to Zeeland’s infrastructural position - connected to the national grid by a singular transmission line - underscoring its historical energy independence and regional distinctiveness. The analysis demonstrates that energy infrastructures have not only supplied power but actively orchestrated urban growth, influenced planning decisions, and redefined the city’s economic role within the Netherlands. While the arrival of offshore wind has repositioned Vlissingen as a node in the national energy transition, its socio-spatial impacts remain uneven and gradual. By foregrounding the spatial agency of infrastructure, the thesis contributes to debates on infrastructural urbanism and offers a lens for understanding peripheral cities navigating energy transition and national spatial planning regimes.