from the article: Abstract Based on a review of recent literature, this paper addresses the question of how urban planners can steer urban environmental quality, given the fact that it is multidimensional in character, is assessed largely in subjective terms and varies across time. The paper explores three questions that are at the core of planning and designing cities: ‘quality of what?’, ‘quality for whom?’ and ‘quality at what time?’ and illustrates the dilemmas that urban planners face in answering these questions. The three questions provide a novel framework that offers urban planners perspectives for action in finding their way out of the dilemmas identified. Rather than further detailing the exact nature of urban quality, these perspectives call for an approach to urban planning that is integrated, participative and adaptive. ; ; sustainable urban development; trade-offs; quality dimensions
DOCUMENT
From the article : "Based on a review of recent literature, this paper addresses the question of how urban planners can steer urban environmental quality, given the fact that it ismultidimensional in character, is assessed largely in subjective terms and varies across time. A novel perspective of urban environmental quality is proposed, simultaneously exploring three questions that are at the core of planning and designing cities: ‘quality of what?’, ‘quality for whom?’ and ‘quality at what time?’. The dilemmas that urban planners face in answering these questions are illustrated using secondary material. This approach provides perspectives for action. Rather than further detailing the exact nature of urban quality, it calls for sustainable urban environmental quality planning that is integrated, participative and adaptive" ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ) DOI: 10.1002/eet.1759 - Preprint available for free download.
DOCUMENT
Een holistisch perspectief op binnenstedelijke herontwikkeling Spatial Planning http://www.uu.nl/agenda/promotie-een-holistisch-perspectief-op-binnenstedelijke-herontwikkeling Promovendus Rien van Stigt onderzoekt waarom het moeilijk is om milieukwaliteit een prominente plaats te geven in de besluitvorming over ruimtelijke plannen. In zijn proefschrift ontwikkelt hij een holistisch perspectief op het complexe proces van compacte binnenstedelijke herontwikkeling. De kwaliteit van de stedelijke leefomgeving is essentieel in duurzame stedelijke ontwikkeling. Die kwaliteit staat met name bij compacte binnenstedelijke herontwikkeling onder druk, en daarom is milieukwaliteit een belangrijke factor in het plannen van zulke ontwikkelingen. Uit de literatuur over de integratie van milieubeleid blijkt dat dit, vooral op lagere bestuurlijke niveaus, niet altijd goed lukt. Er is nog geen overtuigende verklaring waarom dit zo is. Promotor(es): Prof.dr. P.P.J. Driessen en Prof.dr. T.J.M. Spit
DOCUMENT
Nature areas in North-West Europe (NWE) face an increasing number of visitors (intensified by COVID-19) resulting in an increased pressure on nature, negative environmental impacts, higher management costs, and nuisance for local residents and visitors. The high share of car use exaggerates these impacts, including peak pressures. Furthermore, the almost exclusive access by car excludes disadvantaged people, specifically those without access to a car. At the same time, the urbanised character of NWE, its dense public transport network, well-developed tourism & recreation sector, and presence of shared mobility providers offers ample opportunities for more sustainable tourism. Thus, MONA will stimulate sustainable tourism in and around nature areas in NWE which benefits nature, the environment, visitors, and the local economy. MONA will do so by encouraging a modal shift through facilitating sustainableThe pan-European Innovation Action, funded under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, aims to promote innovative governance processes ,and help public authorities in shaping their climate mitigation and adaptation policies. To achieve this aim, the GREENGAGE project will leverage citizens’ participation and equip them with innovative digital solutions that will transform citizen’s engagement and cities’ effectiveness in delivering the European Green Deal objectives for carbon neutral cities.Focusing on mobility, air quality and healthy living, citizens will be inspired to observe and co-create their cities by sensing their urban environments. The aim to complement, validate, and enrich information in authoritative data held by the public administrations and public agencies. This will be facilitated by engaging with citizens to co-create green initiatives and to develop Citizen Observatories. In GREENGAGE, Citizen Observatories will be a place where pilot cities will co-examine environmental issues integrating novel bottom-up process with top-down perspectives. This will provide the basis to co-create and co-design innovative solutions to monitor environmental problems at ground level with the help of citizens.With two interrelated project dimensions, the project aims to enhance intelligence applied to city decision-making processes and governance by engaging with citizen observations integrated with Copernicus, GEOSS, in-situ, and socio-economic intelligence, and by delivering innovative governance models based on novel toolboxes of decision-making methodologies and technologies. The envisioned citizens observatory campaigns will be deployed and fully demonstrated in 5 pilot engagements in selected European cities and regions including: Bristol (the United Kingdom), Copenhagen (Denmark), Turano / Gerace (Italy) and the region of Noord Brabant (the Netherlands). These innovation pilots aim to highlight the need for smart city governance by promoting citizen engagement, co-creation, gathering new data which will complement existing datasets and evidence-based decision and policymaking.
As climate change accelerates, rising sea levels pose challenges for low-lying nations like the Netherlands. Floating developments (such as homes, solar parks, and pavilions) are considered the most climate adaptative solution for the future, but the effects on the environment are unknown which is holding back this floating transformation. Since public and private partners are not able to answer questions on the effect of floating urbanisation on the environment and water quality based on speculations by models without field data, permits are given only after proof that ecological & water quality will not affected (also EU warnings ‘deteriorating’ water quality (UvW 2025, EU 2025). This proposal aims to develop an innovative autonomous docking station for aquatic drones, enhancing environmental monitoring of floating structures. Only a few monitoring campaigns measured the impact of small floating structures (small structures and only basic parameters). Traditional monitoring methods rely on manual sampling and static sensors, which are costly, labour-intensive, and provide delayed results. A new study, led by Hanze with Gemeente Rotterdam, Waternet (Gemeente Amsterdam) and Indymo, will assess the impact of new large-scale floating developments with a new method. Autonomous aquatic drones improve data resolution but face operational challenges such as battery life and data retrieval. An innovating docking station will address these issues by enabling drones to recharge, offload data, and perform continuous missions without human intervention. Advanced tools—including aquatic drones, 360-degree cameras, sonar imaging, and real-time sensors—will collect high-resolution environmental data also monitoring biodiversity and bathymetry. The proposed docking station will support real-time sensor networks, allowing for spatial and temporal data collection. It will improve the (cost) efficiency and quality of long-term environmental monitoring, providing insights into water quality dynamics and underwater ecosystems in Rotterdam and Amsterdam as an international example of floating development in the battle of climate change.
Urban open space has a huge impact on human health, well-being and urban ecosystems. One of the open spaces where the environmental and ecological challenges of cities manifest the most is the urban riverfront, often characterised by fragmented land use, lack of accessibility, heavy riverside vehicular traffic, and extreme degradation of river hydrology and ecology. More often than not, the current spatial design of the riverfront hinders rather than supports the delivery of ecosystem services and, in consequence, its potential to improve the health and well-being of urban inhabitants is diminished. Hence, the design of riverside open spaces is crucial. Urban and landscape design in those spaces requires instruments that can aid designers, planners, decision-makers and stakeholders in devising spatial interventions that integrate complex environmental and ecological goals in high quality public space design. By recognising the multiple environmental and ecological benefits of green space and water in the city, the project “I surf” applies a set of four design instruments, namely the Connector, the Sponge, the Integrator, and the Scaler. I surf is a three-phased project that tests, validates and updates these instruments through a design-driven research methodology involving two design workshops and expert meetings addressing three different riverside urban spaces in Amsterdam: in the Ij waterfront, along River Amstel, and on a site located on the canal network. The project concludes with an updated and transferrable instrument set available for urban and landscape design applications in Amsterdam and in other Dutch cities crossed by rivers.
