Next Economy, Next C...

The Transition of the Planning Tradition in the Netherlands The renowned spatial planning tradition in the Netherlands is in the middle of a radical transition. In 2015, proclaimed as the Year of Spatial Planning, the planning community celebrated 50 years of structured national planning,...

Urban Planning and D...

How can the public and private sector efficiently and economically obtain innovative, high-quality, multi-disciplinary plans and designs for large-scale projects? An approach that offers multiple benefits is the design competition. “Design competitions deliver exciting buildings and projects....

The Big Jump Forwards: An Example of China’s Pursu...

Shantou is a seaport with 5,4 million inhabitants in the province of Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, and a Special Economic Zone since 1980. The five Special Economic Zones – Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Xiamen and Shantou cities and Hainan Province – represent the most progressive policy for reform and trade. In spite of this special status, Shantou, originally by far the biggest and most prosperous of the Special Economic Zone cities, has been struggling to match the rapid growth of the other four Special Economic Zones. The Institute of Urban Planning and Design of Nanjing University and the Shantou Urban and Rural Planning...

The Netherlands in T...

The Netherlands is world renowned for the way in which urban planning, infrastructure, ecology and the environment form an integral part of the practice of spatial planning and urban design. The country has a vigorous and open economy, an entrepreneurial society with its metropolis situated...

Inspirational Values...

Mobility, infrastructure, security and environment are key factors in the management of urban areas. But is quality of life in urban areas simply the sum of these key factors or does a liveable city require something more? Making cities liveable is a challenge that concerns all of us. It is...

The Netherlands 2020...

The Netherlands is a densely populated, low-lying coastal country and besides that it is the delta of the rivers Rijn, Maas and Schelde. There are also many smaller rivers and some 3000 polders. The metropolitan area ‘Randstad’, the heart of the Dutch economy, is largely situated below sea...

Towards low carbon c...

Sustainable urban planning is a challenge for planners and city managers. It fits in well with other goals and objectives in the field of urban planning, urban design and urban management, such as preserving and improving a city’s identity and values while, at the same time, making it...