Neighbourhood as a Biotope (Wijk als Biotoop - WaB) focuses on enhancing biodiversity in urban areas by fostering collaboration between people, nature, and technology. The project brings together 15 partners, including municipalities, nature foundations, technology companies, and diverse groups of residents, …

Urbanisation and climate change intensify urban heat stress, threatening public health, urban liveability, and equity (IPCC, 2022; Ebi et al., 2021; Böcker & Thorsson, 2014). Vulnerable populations—such as those with limited mobility, low incomes, or health conditions increasing heat stress susceptibility—bear …

In the Netherlands, almost everyone has an image of 1930s neighborhoods, post-war neighborhoods, and Vinex locations. That is very different for the neighborhoods with social housing apartments from the 1970s and 1980s. They are forgotten, hardly known, even professionally. And that is a problem because …

Biophilia, while often seen as a fashionable concept in design and architecture, goes well beyond being just a fad; rather, it is a necessity driven by deep human and ecological needs. In an era of rapid urbanization and increasing lifestyle-related health problems, as well as climate change and declining …

This study investigates strategies to enhance resident engagement in increasing neighbourhood biodiversity in Rotterdam, aligning with municipal biodiversity agendas. Despite competing priorities, residents' proactive involvement is crucial. Insights from expert interviews and behavioural models inform …

In response to the growing challenges posed by climate change and urbanization, this thesis proposes designing a rain garden as a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. The primary goal of this project is to create design of a nature-based solution that not only manages …

Habitat fragmentation caused by urbanization and climate change are important drivers of biodiversity decline and ecosystem degradation (McKinney, 2002). Governmental inaction results in cascade effects, such as the extinction of species and the weakening of ecosystem services that citizens depend on. …

Due to climate change, rising temperatures lead to more extreme heat stress in urban areas. Last summer, there were poignant images of people looking for shade in cities. Trees are effective measures to provide shade and decrease the perceived temperature. However, trees cannot grow in healthy conditions …

Vacant land can provide social and ecological benefits to cities as they are informally used by people and spontaneously populated by animals and plant-life. However, planners and policy makers often frame vacant land as ‘empty’, ‘blank’ spaces, making it difficult to acknowledge informal and more-than-human …

At a time of mounting ecological crises and biodiversity loss, there is an urgent need for nature-based solutions. Equestrian properties cover a considerable proportion of the European rural and peri-urban landscape and provide much potential for integrating ecosystem services, such as the inclusion …