The Glass Ceiling
Radical Imaginaries of Spatial Justice in Westland’s Horticultural Landscape
B.F.C. Terwogt (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Victor Muñoz Sanz – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
J.E. Goncalves – Mentor (TU Delft - Spatial Planning and Strategy)
Aleksandar Staničić – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Situated Architecture)
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Abstract
This thesis investigates the intersection of spatial justice, autonomy, and radical imaginaries within the Westland agro-industrial greenhouse cluster in the Netherlands. As a global hub of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), the region is celebrated for its innovation and productivity in addressing food security amid rapid urbanization and ecological crises. However, its productivity masks urgent socio-environmental challenges that are proliferated by the spatial configuration, including fossil fuel dependency, complex supply global chains, precarious migrant labour, and increasing automation, making the cluster vulnerable to systemic disruptions.
Combining socio-spatial and historical analysis, the work interrogates the region's socio-technical lock-in and its dialectical relationship with spatial injustices. Through interviews, media- and literature review, and scenario thinking, the study identifies and assesses "radical imaginaries"—alternative future visions for agriculture in Westland grounded in ecologism, autonomy, and commons-based values. The findings suggest that the socio-spatial and material practices associated with these imaginaries support spatial justice and autonomy. Drawing on this, the thesis presents policy recommendations for increasing spatial justice, including an inclusive participatory planning approach for the Westland municipality. Next to this, a speculative spatial project integrates insights from the researched imaginaries, commons-theory and agro-ecology to formulate a reconfiguration of the socio-spatial logic that allows for a diversity of nature-inclusive food landscape typologies.
Ultimately, the thesis contributes to the discourse on post-industrial agricultural futures, offering insights into the role of design as a mediator between nature and culture. Besides, by politicising spatial planning and design, the research contributes to a body of work advocating for democratic, resilient, and ecologically balanced agri-food systems.