A+BE | Architecture and the Built Environment
A+BE publishes PhD theses in the field of Architecture and the Built Environment exclusively.
The Syrian war has caused unprecedented destruction to the nation’s architectural heritage, endangering both its tangible fabric and intangible cultural values. Among the most affected areas is the Old City of Aleppo, where traditional courtyard houses, key bearers of cultural identity and social continuity, have suffered extensive damage. While post-Syrian-war reconstruction initiatives in Aleppo have largely focused on monumental buildings, the residential heritage has remained overlooked. This dissertation addresses this critical gap by developing a participatory, resident-based approach to the conservation and reconstruction of Aleppo’s residential heritage. Drawing upon data collected through on-site surveys, interviews, and questionnaires in three neighbourhoods of the Old City, the study identifies the principal administrative, legal, and socio-economic obstacles hindering sustainable reconstruction. In parallel, an analysis of Syrian policies related to residential heritage and international post-war reconstruction experiences highlights the importance of residents' participation, flexible regulations, and educational initiatives. Building on these findings, this dissertation proposes a co-creation educational programme designed to engage residents, architects, and craftsmen as active stakeholders in the reconstruction process. The programme delineates four phases of co-creation: co-diagnosis, co-design, co-implementation, and co-monitoring, each employing validated teaching and participatory methods adapted to the specific context of Aleppo. The proposed approach contributes to bridging the existing gap between official reconstruction procedures and the lived realities of post-war communities. Besides, it offers a replicable and adaptable approach that can be refined and applied to a wider range of conservation interventions in other post-war heritage contexts.
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Modelling Daylight for Existing Indoor Spaces
Despite the maturity of physically based daylight simulation tools, their broad applicability to existing buildings remains constrained. This is partly due to the lack of formal definitions that ensure comparability among models created in different contexts, partly due to inefficient techniques for input acquisition, and partly due to gaps in model calibration. This work addresses these limitations by first defining different levels of geometric agreement between digital and real indoor spaces, termed Geometrical Levels of Detail (GLoD). These levels represent degrees of geometric completeness and resolution. The study quantifies how those degrees of representation translate into errors in daylight simulation results. A similar framework is introduced for material inputs through Material Classes of Precision (MCoP). These classes represent different techniques for acquiring optical properties. The propagated uncertainty associated with each level of precision is systematically analysed to determine its influence on daylight simulation results. Third, a semi-automatic pipeline is developed to reconstruct simulation-ready geometry from LiDAR point clouds. The workflow includes preprocessing, watertight reconstruction of permanent objects, and detection and reconstruction of window boundaries with minimal user interaction. Its performance is evaluated using daylight availability and glare metrics. Fourth, image-based material characterisation techniques are assessed as accessible alternatives to laboratory measurements. Three techniques are validated, and their influence on daylight simulation results is quantified. A spectral uplifting method is further evaluated to reconstruct full spectral reflectance from RGB inputs for spectral daylight simulations. Finally, a calibration workflow for indoor spectral daylight simulation is introduced to account for uncertainties related to exterior conditions and window characterisation. Measured spectral irradiance data are used to minimise simulation error. Together, these contributions enable practitioners and researchers to create a robust digital daylight model for existing indoor spaces.
Secondary cities are gaining increased attention in regionalism debates, reflecting both a critique of the excessive reliance on dominant core cities and a growing recognition of the multidimensional potential of smaller cities in polycentric regional systems. This concern is particularly evident in Chinese mega-regionalization, which promotes coordinated spatial relations between core cities and surrounding smaller cities as a key strategy to address intra-regional unevenness. However, despite more than two decades of implementation as a national spatial strategy, mega-regionalization has not substantially alleviated the challenges faced by secondary cities. These cities continue to experience polarization, as development factors concentrate in core cities, and peripheralization, as cores retain political centrality. Against this background, this research aims to find out how the coordination of core-secondary spatial relations can help secondary cities navigate mega-regionalization challenges. Two main findings are identified. First, mega-regionalization relies heavily on state-initiated spatial planning orientations to coordinate core-secondary spatial relations, structured around coexistence, connectivity, and cooperation. This framework is intended to integrate secondary cities into a more balanced regional system. In practice, however, this ambition has not been fully realized. Second, the gap between vision and outcome can be explained by governance mismatches across three dimensions: place, referring to insufficient endogenous capacities and willingness across localities; priority, reflecting divergent visions and value hierarchies among stakeholders; and actor, referring to institutional power asymmetries. These mismatches constrain both vertical coordination from top visions to local implementation and horizontal coordination between core and secondary cities. Theoretically, this study extends discussions of secondary cities in regionalism to the mega-regional scale and advances governance mismatches as a lens to understand coordination barriers from the perspective of secondary cities. Practically, it underscores the role of spatial planning as a key instrument for regional coordination and offers insights for improving planning policies and implementation pathways.
This doctoral research investigates Franco Purini’s work ‘Una ipotesi di architettura’ (1966–1968), examining it as both a foundational architectural inquiry and a hypothesis on drawing. Through a detailed analysis of Purini’s research, the dissertation develops the concept of an “architecture of drawing”—a critical framework in which drawing is not merely a representational tool but a form of architectural thought and theoretical investigation. Central to this work is the assertion that architectural drawing is inherently double: it generates and questions architectural meaning. This dual role reflects the tension within Purini’s method, in which drawing serves as both a tool and a conceptual field for dismantling the systems it constructs. The dissertation further explores how Purini’s grammar-based architectural language emphasises the autonomy and poetics of drawing. The investigation revolves around visual analysis and analytical drawings whose findings have been applied to reinterpreting a series of Purini’s projects. Finally, the thesis posits that the structure underlying the “architecture of drawing” is paratactical, enabling drawing to function as an open-ended form of architectural inquiry. Consequently, drawing can both reinforce and resist conventional design logic—a capacity that lies at the heart of its ongoing relevance and poetic potential in architectural practice. In summary, this research not only repositions ‘Una ipotesi di architettura’ as a critical episode in contemporary architectural thought but also affirms drawing as a mode of theoretical production. It establishes the architecture of drawing as both a methodological tool and a conceptual framework through which architecture itself can be reimagined.
This thesis examines the practical integration of urban wilderness into spatial planning and design, aiming to establish actionable knowledge through a pattern language that supports ecologically driven and perceptually engaging urban environments. The thesis systematically explores four interconnected aspects: clarifying the conceptual foundations of urban wilderness in the urban planning and design discipline; investigating its spatial features and user perceptions; synthesizing design knowledge into structured wilderness design patterns; and validating their applicability through expert interviews and collaborative design experiments. First, the thesis maps the conceptual terrain of urban wilderness using scientometric and thematic analyses, identifying philosophical, ecological, and urbanistic dimensions while revealing a critical gap in design-oriented approaches. It establishes a methodological basis for translating wilderness ideas into planning and design practice. Subsequently, the thesis employs comparative case studies and mixed-method empirical research, including questionnaires, mental mapping, and behavioral observations, to generate both qualitative and quantitative insights into how urban wilderness is formed in practice and perceived by visitors. Building on these findings, the thesis formulates 24 design patterns that articulate context-sensitive strategies through natural, cultural, and social lenses, providing structured guidance for integrating ecological spontaneity and human intelligibility. Their applicability and usability are subsequently assessed through expert interviews and a collaborative design workshop, yielding reflections that refine the pattern language and indicate future directions. Overall, the thesis provides a cohesive framework for translating the concept of urban wilderness into practical design interventions that enhance ecological resilience and enrich human experience.
Integrating Urban Metabolism into Strategic Urban Planning
This thesis examines Urban Metabolism (UM) as a critical framework for advancing sustainability in urban development, focusing on its theoretical underpinnings, practical applications, and integration into strategic urban planning processes. The study aims to address the challenges cities face in resource management and environmental resilience by developing and applying UM indicators as tools to guide planners and policymakers. Structured across several chapters, the research explores UM’s conceptual evolution, methodological innovations, and practical implications for fostering circular and sustainable urban systems.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Decoding Open Data Intermediation Business Models
Open data intermediaries are crucial for the sustainability (i.e., long-term durability) of the open data ecosystem (ODE). They enhance the access to and the (re-) use of open data and connect other open data actors. Additionally, open data intermediaries play a role in mitigating information asymmetry between actors. However, despite the importance of open data intermediaries in the ODE having been widely acknowledged in research and practice, studies on open data intermediation business models are limited. This knowledge is essential to better understand the role of open data intermediaries within the ODE and provide recommendations to develop their business models in such a way that they support the overall sustainability of the ODE. Thus, the objective of this dissertation is to understand how open data intermediation business models can support a sustainable ODE. The objective was addressed through four research questions (RQs).
Hospitals are inherently complex systems, characterized by two distinct dimensions of complexity. First, from a functional perspective, medical procedures inside a hospital are complex. Second, from a spatial and organizational standpoint, hospitals resemble small urban environments, where corridors function as streets and spatial units operate similarly to distinct land uses within a city. This dual-layered complexity underscores the profound impact of hospital layout on users’ visibility and walkability within the hospital. Consequently, hospital design extends beyond mere architectural considerations; it entails the creation of a system where inefficiencies and risks can arise if not planned carefully. To enhance the design of the hospital system, we propose the integration of early operational insights into the design process through the development of a decision support system, referred to as the Hospital Design Support System (HDSS). The HDSS aims to establish a robust and transparent evaluation framework for systematically assessing hospital layout performance in terms of functionality and operational efficiency. This dissertation begins with an introduction chapter (chapter 1), which explains the rationales for developing an HDSS. It provides an overview of the research background, objectives, and research questions, while also defining relevant terminology, research scope, and the proposed methodology. Chapter 2 presents a comprehensive literature review, summarizing the key design challenges associated with hospital layout designs in China. These challenges include overcrowding, long patient waiting times, long patient walking distances, and difficulty in wayfinding. The proposed HDSS aims to address these issues through simulation modelling and exploratory network analysis. Since both approaches require a well-structured foundational dataset to function effectively, the development of such a dataset is a prerequisite for the HDSS. To meet this requirement, we introduce the Hospital Configuration Model (HCM), which serves as the foundational dataset for the HDSS. The HCM comprises four types of critical information: geometric, topological, semantic, and operational. Chapter 3 provides a detailed description of the HCM and outlines the methodology for systematically constructing it. Once the HCM is established, we can develop the HDSS to assess hospital layout configurations in relation to the four key design challenges. Chapter 4 describes the developed HDSS, which consists of three core models: a Four-Step Transportation Model which simulates the city-like characteristics of hospitals and evaluates hospital layout performance concerning overcrowding, patient walking distances, and difficulty in wayfinding; a Discrete-Event Simulation Model which captures the factory-like nature of hospitals and assesses hospital layout performance in terms of patient waiting times; and an Exploratory Network Analysis Model – unlike the previous two models, which focus on functional efficiency, this model evaluates the inherent logic of hospital spatial structures without considering the specific functions or attributes of hospitals’ spatial units. In other words, the Four-Step Transportation Model and the Discrete-Event Simulation Model assess the rational aspects of hospital layouts, while the Exploratory Network Analysis Model examines the irrational aspects of hospital layouts. Additionally, the HDSS includes an evaluation mechanism that translates simulation results into actionable insights to support informed decision-making. Specifically, disaggregated outputs from the simulation models are aggregated, normalized, and interpreted using a functional unit, ensuring fair comparisons across hospitals of varying scales. The HDSS serves as a robust decision-support tool for architects, hospital administrators, and head nurses during the early design stages, enabling the identification of optimal hospital layout alternatives. Finally, Chapter 5 presents the conclusion of this dissertation, addressing the research questions, summarizing key contributions, discussing research limitations, and suggesting potential directions for future studies.
So far, the 21st century has called for great dynamism and change, with the need for adaptation breaking from the trends of decades past. Classic growth and protection challenges in spatial planning have now been augmented by transition challenges such as biodiversity recovery, the quest for alternatives to fossil fuels and resources, climate adaptation and subsequent water management and the increasing tendency to prioritise broad-based prosperity over maximum economic growth. Each of these challenges makes significant claims on available space and has profound spatial effects, and each is set against a background of social unrest. Vast swathes of the electorate feel alienated from politics and politicians and are expressing their discontent in the voting booth. Implications for the planning field are twofold: the need to 1) increase spatial interconnection and 2) operate with great social sensitivity. The Dutch bring a long, proud tradition of spatial planning to these challenges, starting before WWII. Over this time, the fully integrated spatial plan served as a fulcrum in the spatial planning field. After all, the more topics that are addressed and considered in a spatial plan, the more links can be made, the closer the intended result comes to an optimal use of space, or so is believed. Full comprehensiveness (or ‘integrality’), however, also has its downsides, as a fully connected system is also a motionless system. The quest for integrality, then, can create paralysis, and the immediate reason for this study is the suspicion that Dutch spatial planning has too long and too blindly relied on the idea of a fully integrated spatial plan. A long, proud tradition, it seems, may blind its followers and stymie innovation. The main question of this study is: what can be the scope and focus of fully integrated spatial plans in modern-day Netherlands, and how do they relate to other spatial steering tools? By answering this main question, the study seeks to contribute to an effective and efficient spatial planning method that is firmly rooted in Dutch society and meets its current needs and requirements by examining what position the integrated spatial plan (the document) can have in spatial planning (the ongoing activity).
3D Land Administration in line with the Spatial Development Lifecycle
Land administration (LA) is a cornerstone of sustainable development, environmental management, and inclusive governance. Yet, many Land Administration Systems (LASs) remain fragmented and technologically outdated, limiting their capacity to meet rapid urbanisation, informal tenure, and increasing demands for transparent, data-driven decision-making. Over the past decades, substantial research has been undertaken and prototypes developed for 3D LA solutions. The advantages of such approaches are well recognised: they provide greater legal certainty, enable more accurate property valuation, and establish a robust foundation for 3D spatial planning. Nevertheless, widespread implementation has not yet materialised, largely because the concept has been regarded as impractical at national scale. This dissertation investigates how 3D LA can be integrated into the wider Spatial Development Lifecycle, emphasising on data reuse, interoperability and alignment with international standards. It also investigates how legal, technical, and organisational dimensions of LA can converge with emerging technologies, including Building Information Model, crowdsourced surveys, and high-accuracy positioning. The key contributions include: an international standardised cadastral survey information model; an international standards’ based cadastral survey workflow; a methodology for developing LADM-based country profiles; an international standardised 3D spatial profiles of varying complexity; a web-based 3D LA prototype; the introduction of the data lifecycle concept in 3D LA. Several of these concepts have been acknowledged by ISO and OGC and have already been adopted in LADM Edition II (ISO 19152-2:2025). This work provides practitioners, policymakers, and researchers with the tools and vision to advance innovative, transparent, and future-ready LASs.
This research examines the impact of participatory planning on the realisation of public interests in urban regeneration, establishing an analytical framework to assess how participation shapes spatial transformations. Focusing on Taipei, it investigates the roles of public and private actors, statutory participatory processes, and resulting spatial changes. Two primary objectives guide the study: proposing a framework for assessing participatory processes and spatial outcomes and analysing Taipei’s diverse urban regeneration approaches—private-led, public-led, and social housing as a regeneration strategy. Six key questions explore literature on participation, evaluation indicators, policy evolution, implementation practices, spatial influences, and the effects of statutory methods like public hearings. Grounded in communicative planning thought, the research introduces the Inclusive Radar, adapted from Fung’s Democracy Cube, with axes for Participant, Communication and Decision-Making, Authority and Power, and Spatial Transformation. Employing case-study methodology, it integrates semi-structured interviews, site visits, meeting notes analysis, and cross-case comparisons. Findings reveal property-owning stakeholders’ dominance, marginalising non-property-owning stakeholders despite participatory processes. Private-led projects prioritise procedural compliance, public-led ones mediate via community planners but hinge on owners’ consent, and social housing fosters distrust through ambiguous participation. Overall, structures favour property rights, sidelining broader public interests like accessible facilities and green spaces. The study concludes that pre-assumed public interests restrict participation, with policy shifts emphasising property rights transfer and real-estate incentives. The Inclusive Radar offers a multidimensional tool for future applications, advocating policy reforms, capacity-building, and stronger public interest definitions to enhance inclusivity.
Housing Affordability and Decarbonisation in Europe
Housing markets have produced structural inequalities evident in the unaffordability issues experienced by many households across Europe. Over the past century, housing has shifted from a domain of strong government intervention to one increasingly influenced by market forces. Today, as Europe decarbonises, not only affordability but also sustainability have become central to housing debates. This dissertation investigates how decarbonisation policies affect both housing affordability and provision. Following an essay-based structure (capita selecta), this thesis brings together studies on fiscal policy, sustainable finance, and social housing provision across various European settings. The dissertation is divided into two main parts. Part I, Affordability and Costs, employs quantitative methods to assess the economic impacts of decarbonisation on households. Part II, Provision and Finance, takes a qualitative approach to examine financing mechanisms for decarbonisation and social housing provision. While each part draws on distinct methodologies, together they provide an overview of how certain decarbonisation policies interact with housing systems at both household and structural levels. The findings show that current decarbonisation policies often favour wealthier homeowners through subsidies and tax incentives, while having a negative or mixed impact on renters, younger households, and low-income groups. To address these challenges, the thesis advocates for redistributive fiscal reforms—such as energy efficiency-linked property taxes—and stronger public institutions and regulations to guide investment towards equitable and sustainable housing provision. By placing affordability at the centre of decarbonisation policies, this dissertation aims to inform the development of transitional pathways that align both social and environmental goals.
Analysing Low-Income Incremental Housing through Spatial Design and Governance
As cities across the globe grapple with rising urbanisation and housing shortages, over one billion people now reside in informal settlements. In South Africa, the legacy of apartheid planning, combined with systemic inefficiencies and rapid urban growth, has compounded the challenges of providing inclusive, sustainable low-income housing. While extensive research exists across disciplines such as architecture, political science, and economics, much of it remains siloed—offering fragmented perspectives on an inherently complex issue. This dissertation takes a different approach. It examines low-income housing through a double lens: spatial design—how built form is created and how its context is developed—and governance—the aims, actors, and instruments involved in decision making. Using the K206 housing project in Alexandra, Johannesburg, as a case study, the research explores what happens when government plans meet residents’ lived experiences. It engages three key literature themes of low-income housing: informal settlement upgrading, state-subsidised housing, and incremental housing. Through interviews, surveys, and expert consultations, the research reveals how governmental aims—such as resident-responsive design, security of tenure, and income generation—were translated into built form, and how residents responded to and reshaped these interventions—sometimes in unexpected ways. The findings show that residents are not just recipients of housing policy—they actively reshape their environments and create their own systems of living, especially when dissatisfied with the systems they are dealt. The research highlights governance and spatial design complexities in South Africa and makes the case for interdisciplinary approaches that centre the voices of those most affected by housing policy.
Reconfiguration of Practices towards a Circular Economy in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction sector
The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector is a major contributor to CO₂ emissions and resource consumption. In response, the Netherlands aims to make the sector 50% circular by 2030 and fully circular by 2050. However, the transition from a linear to a circular economy is complex due to technical, organisational, and cultural barriers. This dissertation explores how interorganisational behaviour and routinised practices within and beyond construction projects influence the realisation of circular ambitions. This research highlights the importance of top-down support, equal partnerships, shared goals, and intrinsically motivated individuals in construction projects. Trust, transparency, flexibility, and a shared team identity further foster the redefinition of traditional roles so as to drive innovation. However, factors such as focus on short-term cost and risk aversion often hinder progress. The dissertation further combines Sustainability Transitions Research (STR) and Social Practice Theory (SPT) into crossover frameworks that capture both systemic change and everyday practices. These are used to analyse (mis)alignments in the system-of-practices around construction projects. It was found that using secondary materials often clashes with notions of quality, safety, and aesthetics. Increasingly, Circular Building Hubs (CBHs) are brought forward as answer to this problem. This research shows that these hubs can be accelerators in the transition, though they are seen as temporary rather than permanent solutions. Ultimately, no single intervention will enable the shift to circularity. Instead, multiple coordinated changes in practices are needed. This dissertation provides tools for researchers and practitioners to navigate this complexity and encourages learning, experimentation, and a systemic approach to support sector-wide transitioning.
Circular and Adaptable Building Transformation
Existing buildings are changing assets, altered in response to various external or internal triggers for change. Often, change can occur in the form of adaptive reuse – also known as building transformation. Therefore, promoting adaptability in transformation is necessary to cope with the inevitability of building changes. Building transformation is considered an effective practice contributing to the circular economy (CE) and building adaptability as a prerequisite for circular design. However, previous research pointed out that building stakeholders lack knowledge about the alignment between CE and adaptive reuse. This study aims to provide building and real estate practitioners with a guiding framework for promoting circularity and adaptability in adaptive reuse projects. A quadrant research design was used in this study to develop and apply the framework in practice. The four components of this research are four stepwise studies, namely theoretical – an integrative literature review, empirical – multiple case studies, participatory – framework co-development, and actionable – framework implementation. First, the integrative literature review contributed to theoretically conceptualizing the underlying concept of this research – the circular building adaptability (CBA), which brings together circularity and adaptability. Second, the multiple case studies contributed to extracting lessons learned about applicable CBA strategies in adaptive reuse and their enabling and inhibiting factors. Third, the participatory study contributed to co-developing a descriptive framework for CBA in adaptive reuse (CBA-AR). Finally, the action research study contributed to testing and improving the usability and effectiveness of the CBA-AR framework based on observing, acting, and reflecting on a case project.
There is something irrevocable in architecture. In contrast with a painting or a musical play, one cannot alter an architectural work of art other than by blowing it up or pulling it down. Streets, buildings, squares and parks are part of the hard, physical environment in which we organize our lives. But why conceptualize architecture as a finished product? What happens when the plans have been drawn, the buildings completed, the public space decorated and the pictures taken for design journals and marketing advertisements? How does the ‘hard’ city of architecture and urban planning relate to the ‘soft’ city of residents and users? How do people appropriate the planned city and make it their home? The thesis ‘Hard city, soft city’ is an anthropological study on the role of images and symbolic representations in the social production of urban space in Nieuwland, a post-war neighborhood of Schiedam, which is undergoing a process of large-scale restructuring. A central theme of the book is the intersection between planned and lived space. That is, between the city as object of planning and policy and as an object of everyday identity formation. The architecture and urban structure of post-war neighborhoods have been subject of numerous publications, but it is striking how little we know about everyday life that has unfolded in the years after completion. The book sets out to approach urban space not only from a physical and architectural point of view, but also as a social and cultural domain which is claimed by various groups and institutions. This is examined through the images, symbols and stories used by professionals and residents to give form, meaning and substance to urban space, such as in branding and narrative cartography. Using the philosophical work of Michel de Certeau and Henri Lefebvre, the book examines how an anthropology of urban space contributes to our knowledge on the city, as a political object of policy, architecture and planning and as an everyday living environment.
Copyright (c) 2016 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
If data are the building blocks to generate information needed to acquire knowledge and understanding, then geodata, i.e. data with a geographic component (geodata), are the building blocks for information vital for decision-making at all levels of government, for companies and for citizens. Governments collect geodata and create, develop and use geo-information - also referred to as spatial information - to carry out public tasks as almost all decision-making involves a geographic component, such as a location or demographic information. Geo-information is often considered “special” for technical, economic reasons and legal reasons. Geoinformation is considered special for technical reasons because geo-information is multi-dimensional, voluminous and often dynamic, and can be represented at multiple scales. Because of this complexity, geodata require specialised hardware, software, analysis tools and skills to collect, to process into information and to use geoinformation for analyses. Geo-information is considered special for economic reasons because of the economic aspects, which sets it apart from other products. The fixed production costs to create geo-information are high, especially for large-scale geo-information, such as topographic data, whereas the variable costs of reproduction are low which do not increase with the number of copies produced. In addition, there are substantial sunk costs, which cannot be recovered from the market. As such, geo-information shows characteristics of a public good, i.e. a good that is non-rivalrous and non-excludable. However, to protect the high investments costs, re-use of geo-information may be limited by legal and/or technological means such as intellectual property rights and digital rights management. Thus, by making geo-information excludable, it becomes a club good, i.e. a non-rivalrous but excludable good. By claiming intellectual property rights, such as copyright and/or database rights, and restricting (re-)use through licences and licence fees, geo-information can be commercially exploited and used to recover some of the investment costs. Geo-information is considered special for a number of legal reasons. First, as geo-information has a geographic component, e.g. a reference to a location, geoinformation may contain personal data, sensitive company data, environmentally sensitive data, or data that may pose a threat to the national security. Therefore, the dataset may have to be adapted, aggregated or anonymised before it can be made public. Secondly, geo-information may be subject to intellectual property rights. There may be a copyright on cartographic images or database rights on digital information. Such intellectual property rights may be claimed by third parties involved in the information chain, e.g. a private company supplying aerial photography to the National Mapping Authority. The data holder may also claim intellectual property rights to commercially exploit the dataset and recoup some of the vast investment costs made to produce the dataset. Lastly, there may be other (international) legislation or agreements that may either impede or promote publishing public sector information, whereby in some cases, these policies may contradict each other. It has been recognised that to deal with national, regional and global challenges, it is essential that geo-information collected by one level of government or government organisation be shared between all levels of government via a so-called Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). The main principles governing SDIs are that data are collected once and (re-)used many times; that data should be easy to discover, access and use; and that data are harmonised so that it is possible to combine spatial data from different sources seamlessly. In line with the SDI governing principles, this dissertation considers accessibility of information to include all these aspects. Accessibility concerns not only access to data, i.e. to be able to view the data without being able to alter the contents but also re-use of data, i.e. to be able to download and/or invoke the data and to share data, including to be able to provide feedback and/or to provide input for co-generated information. Accessibility to public sector geo-information is not only essential for effective and efficient government policy-making but is also associated with realising other ambitions. Examples of these ambitions are a more transparent and accountable government, more citizens’ participation in democratic processes, (co-)generation of solutions to societal problems, and to increase economic value due to companies creating innovative products and services with public sector information as a resource. Especially the latter ambition has been the subject of many international publications stressing the enormous potential economic value of re-use of public sector (geo-) information by companies. Previous research indicated that re-users of public sector information in Europe encountered barriers related to technical, organisational, legal and financial aspects, which was deemed to be the main reason why in Europe the number of value added products and services based on public service information were lagging compared to the United States. Especially the latter two barriers (restrictive licence conditions and high licence fees) were often cited to be the main barriers for reusers in Europe. However, in spite of considerable resources invested by governments to establish spatial data infrastructures, to facilitate data portals and to release public sector information as open data, i.e. without legal and financial restrictions, the expected surge of value added products based on public sector information has not quite eventuated to date and the expected benefits still appear to lag expectations. When this research started a decade ago, the debate around accessibility of public sector information focussed on access policies. Access policies ranged from open access (data available with a minimum of legal restrictions and for no more than marginal dissemination costs) to full cost recovery, whereby all costs incurred in collection, creation, processing, maintenance and dissemination costs to be recovered from the re-users. Most of the public sector bodies in the European Union adhered to a cost recovery policy for allowing re-use of public sector information. In 2003, the European Commission adopted two directives to ensure better accessibility of public sector information Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC, the so-called Access Directive, provided citizens the right of access to environmental information. Citizens should be able to access documents related to the environment via a register, preferably in an electronic form and if a copy of a document was requested, the charges must not exceed marginal dissemination costs. Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the re-use of public sector information, the co-called PSI Directive, intended to create conditions for a level playing field for all re-users of public sector information. However, the PSI Directive of 2003 left room for public sector organisations to maintain a cost recovery regime with restrictive licence conditions. In spite of these directives, access policies for geographic data were slow to change in most European nations. At the end of the last decade, accessibility of public sector information received two major impulses. The first major impulse was the implementation of Directive 2007/2/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE), the cocalled INSPIRE Directive, established a framework of standardisation rules for the data and publishing via web services, which significantly contributed to the accessibility of public sector geo-information. The second major impulse was the development of open data policies following the Digital Agenda for Europe adopted in 2010 and the USA Open Government Directive of 2009 and the Digital Agenda for Europe of 2010. These two impulses were the main drivers in Europe to start a careful move from cost recovery policies to open access or open data policies and for more public sector information to be made available as open data. Thus, of the four barriers to re-use of public sector information data cited in Chapter 1 (legal, financial, technical and organisational barriers), two barriers should have been lifted to a large degree due to open data. This shift to open data provided an excellent opportunity to test the hypothesis that the main barriers for re-users of public sector information were indeed restrictive licences and high fees as suggested by earlier research. Chapter 2 showed that by 2008, most European Union Member States had transposed and implemented the 2003/98/EC PSI Directive, however, in various ways and with considerable delay. By 2008, the effects of the PSI Directive were only slowly starting to emerge. A number of Member States reviewed their access policies and more public sector information became available for re-use. Some Member States made the information available free-of-charge or reduced their fees significantly. In many cases, where re-use fees were reduced the number of regular re-users increased significantly and total revenue even increased in spite of lower fees. Although the 2007/2/EC INSPIRE Directive paved the way for technical interoperability by providing guidelines for web services and catalogues, neither the INSPIRE Directive nor the PSI Directive had tackled the issue of legal interoperability. Chapter 2 also demonstrated that a major barrier to creating a level playing field for the private sector was the fact that some public sector bodies acted as value added resellers by developing and selling products and services based on their own data. Thus, the level playing field envisioned by the European Commission had not been realised. Chapter 3 researched the aspect of harmonised licences as a first step towards legal interoperability. Earlier research had indicated that one of the biggest barriers for re-users were complex, intransparent and inconsistent licence conditions, especially for re-users wanting to combine data from multiple sources. A survey of licences used by public sector data providers in the Netherlands demonstrated that although there were differences in length and language, there were also many similarities. The conclusion was that the introduction of a licence suite inspired by the Creative Commons concept would be a step towards increased transparency and consistency of geo-information license agreements. This chapter introduced a conceptual model for such a geo-information licence suite, the so-called Geo Shared licences. Both Creative Commons and Geo Shared licence suites enable harmonisation of licence conditions and promote transparency and legal interoperability, especially when re-users combine data from different sources. The Geo Shared licence suite became a serious option for inclusion into the draft version of the INSPIRE Directive as an annex. Unfortunately, the concept of one licence suite for the entire European Union came too early in 2006. The Geo Shared licences were further developed and implemented into the Dutch National Geo Register. In 2009, the European Commission recognised that PSI was the single largest source of information in Europe and the potential for re-use of PSI needed to be highlighted in the digital age. As part of a review of the 2003/98/EC PSI Directive, the European Commission carried out a round of consultations with stakeholders to seek their views on specific issues to be addressed in the future in 2010. In addition, the Commission commissioned a number of studies. These studies included a review of studies on public sector information re-use and related market studies, an assessment of the different models of supply and charging for public sector information and a study on public sector re-user in the cultural sector. The first study, carried out by Graham Vickery in 2011, showed that the overall economic gain from opening up public sector information as a resource for new products and services could be in the order of €40 billion per annum in the European Union. Both the Vickery Report and the second study, the so-called POPSIS Study, showed that for most public sector data providers their revenues from licence fees were relatively low in comparison to their total budget. After the evaluation, Directive 2013/37/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 amending Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information was adopted and came into force on 17 July 2013. Chapter 4 described the main changes of the 2013/37/EU Amended PSI Directive, including the recommendation to employ open data licences. This chapter continued with a review of the various open data licences in use in Europe and analysed their interoperability. Although adoption of open data licences for public sector information should have addressed legal interoperability barriers for re-users, in practice, the different types of open data licences might not be so interoperable after all. Effectively, only a public domain declaration, such as a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) declaration, is suitable for open data re-users requiring with cross-border data sets and that such a public domain declaration is published in a prominent place to remove uncertainty for re-users. Without a public domain declaration, re-use of open data is still impeded as re-users are loathe to invest time into the development of value added products or services when it is uncertain if and which restrictions may be applicable and what the impact may be on their product or service. This dissertation also researched the financial and economic aspects of public sector information accessibility. Chapters 1 and 2 indicated that a cost recovery regime for dissemination of public sector information provided a financial barrier for private sector re-users because the fees charged were perceived to be too high. However, in 2008, there were still many advocates for maintaining a cost recovery regime. Especially public sector bodies that are not funded by the national Treasury, the socalled self-funding agencies, needed revenue from data sales to cover a substantial part of their operational costs. A sustainable source of revenue was viewed as essential to maintain the data at an adequate level, and to ensure actuality and continuity. Chapter 5 explored the potential business models and pricing mechanisms for public sector INSPIRE web services. Although, depending on the type of web service, and type of re-user, there might have been an argument for employing a subscription model as a pricing mechanism, business models based on generating revenue from public sector information would not be viable in the long run and were not in the spirit of the INSPIRE Directive. This research concluded that public sector information web services employing different pricing regimes were counterproductive to achieving financial interoperability. In Chapter 6, business models for public sector data providers were revisited, this time from an open data perspective. Government agencies, including self-funding government agencies are under increasing pressure to implement open data policies. This chapter analysed the business models of self-funding agencies either already providing open data or under pressure to provide (some) open data in the near future. The analysis showed which adaptions might be necessary to ensure the long-term availability of high quality open data and the long-term financial sustainability of self-funding agencies. The case studies confirmed that providing (raw) open data does not necessarily lead to losses in revenue in the long term as long as the organisation has enough flexibility to adapt its role in the information value chain, especially when revenue from licence fees represents only a relative small part of their total budget. The case studies indicated that switching to open data has resulted in internal efficiency gains. In practice, it is difficult to isolate and quantify the internal efficiency gains that are solely attributable to open data as the researched organisations continuously implement efficiency measures. However, the reported decreases in internal and external transaction costs due to open data are in line with the case study carried out in Chapter 7. Open data also provided an excellent opportunity to assess the effects of open data ex ante as baseline measurements could be carried out. To develop both quantitative and qualitative indicators to assess the success of a policy change is a challenge for open data initiatives. In Chapter 7, a model to assess the effects on the organisation of an open data provider was developed. Liander, a private energy network administrator mandated with a public task, planned to publish some of their datasets as open data in the autumn of 2013. This offered an excellent opportunity to apply the developed assessment model to provide an insight into internal, external, and relational effects on Liander. A benchmark was carried out prior to release of open data and a follow-up measurement one year later. The benchmark provided an insight into the then work processes and into the preparations required to implement open data. The follow-up monitor indicated that Liander open data are used by a wide range of users and have had a positive effect on the development of apps to aid energy savings. However, it remains a challenge to quantify the societal effects of such apps. The follow-up monitor also indicated that regular re-users of Liander data used the open data to improve existing applications and work processes rather than to create new products. The case study demonstrated that private energy companies could successfully release open data. The case study also showed that Liander served as a best-practice case for open data and had a flywheel effect on companies within the same sector. By 2015, nearly all energy network administrators had published similar open data. The monitoring model developed in this project was assessed to be suitable to monitor the open data effects on the organisation of the data provider. The assessment model developed and tested in Chapter 7 proved to be suitable to monitor the effects of open data on organisational level. However, to provide a more complete picture of the effects of open data and to assess if there are other barriers for re-users, a more holistic approach was required to assess the maturity of open data. Therefore, a holistic open data assessment framework addressing the supplier side, the governance side, and the user side of the open data was developed and applied to the Dutch open data infrastructure in Chapter 8. This Holistic Open Data Maturity Assessment Framework was used to evaluate the State of the Open Data Nation in the Netherlands and to provide valuable information on (potential) bottlenecks. The framework showed that geographic data scored significantly better than other types of government data. The standardisation and implementation rules laid down by INSPIRE Directive framework appear to have been a catalyst for moving geographic data to a higher level of maturity. The maturity assessment framework provided Dutch policy makers with useful inputs for further development of the open data ecosystem and development of well-founded strategies that will ensure the full potential of open data will be reached. Since the publication of the State of the Open Data Nation in 2014, a number of the recommendations have already been implemented. This dissertation demonstrated that many aspects that should facilitate accessibility, such as standardised metadata, have already been addressed for geodata. This research also showed that for other types of data, there is still a long way to go. There is a growing demand for other types of data, such as financial data and healthcare data. Public sector organisations holding such types of data need hands-on guidelines to enable publication of their datasets, preferably as open data. However, data published as open data are forever and cannot be recalled. Therefore, the decision to publish public sector data as open data is complex: datasets are often of a heterogeneous nature and may contain microdata (data that quantify observations or facts, such as data collected during surveys) Although microdata may not necessarily contain personal data, the datasets will probably have to be processed before publication to address confidentiality and data quality issues. In addition, there is a tension between open data and protection of personal data. The big question remains to which level the data need to be aggregated and/or anonymised to ensure protection of personal data now and in the future, and at the same time keeping sufficient significance to be re-usable. Another issue that needs further research is data-ownership of sensor data and co-created data. Increasingly, sensor data generated by e.g. smart phones, smart energy meters and traffic sensors are collected by the public sector and the private sector and become part of a big data ecosystem. In addition, public sector organisations cooperate with other public sector organisations and the private sector to create information from their data, so-called co-created information. Citizens also collect data or complement information on a voluntary basis, e.g. bird counts data. Co-created information will become more commonplace in the coming decades, as will the contribution of sensor data to a big data ecosystem. However, the aspect of who owns the data in which part of the information value chain has not been researched. Uncertainty related to third party rights will pose a barrier to publishing open data. Therefore, the aspect of data-ownership for sensor data and for co-created data should be further researched.
Alignment of Partnering with Construction IT
Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) are seen as innovations that can manage complexities in construction by focusing on integrating processes and products respectively. Whereas these two innovations have been considered compatible, their practical combination has been mainly anecdotal. The Netherlands was the locale of this study, where both SCM and BIM have been popular approaches. The research objective is to explore their real-world combination and propose strategies for the alignment of SCM and BIM, by viewing Supply Chain (SC) partnering as the inter-organisational proxy of SCM. The main question is: “How to align the SCM philosophy with BIM technologies to achieve integration in the construction industry? What aspects contribute to this alignment?”. The methodology was mixed and both qualitative and quantitative data were analysed. The overarching method was case study research and the unit of analysis was the firm, also referred to as ‘actor’. After a semi-chronological review of the relevant literature, the two constructs of SCM and BIM were found interdependent in product-, process-, and actor-related (P/P/A) dimensions. The study consisted of four other consecutive studies. First, empirical insights into the practical implementation of SC partnering and BIM were obtained via the exploration of five cases. Second, a conceptual model for the quantitative analysis of the product-, process-, and actor-related dimensions was designed. Third, this model and mixed methods were applied to two polar (extreme) cases to analyse the contractual (typically SC-related), digital (typically BIM-related), and informal interactions among the involved actors. Fourth, an additional theoretical exploration of the BIM-enabled SC partnerships took place with focusing also on intra-organisational relations within the involved firms. After the four studies, the findings were systematically combined to create the theoretical synthesis, i.e. generate theory. Three consecutive steps of ‘construct’, ‘internal’, and ‘external’ validity took place after the synthesis, to define the transferability of findings. The systematic combination of findings deduced two routes to achieve SC integration in construction: (a) product-related (emphasis on BIM tools), and (b) actor-related (emphasis on SCM philosophy). The two observed routes to SC integration emerged from the data of the polar cases. Two complementary sets of strategies for SC integration were derived afterwards. These strategies could ease the identification of which route is the ‘closest fit’ to SC integration, and then support the decision-making of how to pursue it. As the concept of BIM is currently a hot topic, it might be wise to undertake a ‘product-related’ route to integration and gradually introduce strategies from the ‘actor-related’ route. However, the ‘actor-related’ route could attain long-term integration and thus, long-lasting relations among the multi-actor networks. The key aspects of the alignment of partnering with construction IT for BIM-enabled SC partnerships are: - The identification of whether the SC complexity is of process-, product- or actor-related nature; - The deployed BIM collaboration patterns, i.e. ad-hoc, linear or distributed; - The SC coordination mechanisms, e.g. centralised or decentralised; - The relation between formal and informal aspects, e.g. symmetric or asymmetric; - The emerging intra-organisational relations due to BIM and SCM implementation; - The hierarchical level that BIM-enabled SC partnership decision-making pertains. As the construction industry evolves into an information-driven sector, the alignment of construction IT with inter-organisational management is preeminent for managing the inherent complexities of the industry. In parallel, embracing inter-organisational approaches for information management such as BIM is a promisingway forward for SCM and construction management.
Adaptive Planning for Resilient Coastal Waterfronts
Many delta and coastal cities worldwide face increasing flood risk due to changing climate conditions and sea level rise. The question is how to develop measures and strategies for existing urban coastal areas that can anticipate these slowly changing conditions, such as gradually increasing sea levels and extreme river discharges. There is growing recognition that the increasing vulnerability of urbanised delta and coastal cities is strongly related to urbanisation, changing socio-economic conditions and human-induced land subsidence. Consequently, in response to climate change, it is likely to be most effective to adapt existing urban environments and urban assets, and promote flood sensitive behaviour in combination with prevention based approaches, aiming to improve the whole capacity of the urban system to deal with changing and more extreme conditions in the future. This approach is known as the resilience approach. Although there is much focus on resilience in research and practice, it still lacks knowledge on the effectiveness of measures, and increasing coastal flood resilience is mostly understood in terms of risk reduction and not yet as an opportunity for change and creating liveability. In addition, it lacks knowledge on processes of urban development, management and change at the neighbourhood level as an important condition for creating coastal flood risk resilience and to create added value. The main research question of this thesis is therefore twofold: “how can we adapt existing coastal urban waterfront areas to changing climatic circumstances and how can we take this adaptation process as an opportunity for creating added value?” When adapting urban environments three challenges can be identified. First of all, it is necessary to understand under what conditions coastal urban systems become less resilient and adaptation is needed, and what (combinations) of measures are most effective to improve resilience. Secondly, key to the successful adaptation of urban environments is effectively using moments of change in urban development and management as windows of opportunity for low-cost adaptation, and to yield additional benefits. This requires a better understanding of the opportunities to spatially and in a timely manner, synchronise adaptation measures with investments in urban development, urban management and infrastructure maintenance projects at the neighbourhood level. Changes can be both incremental, for example building renovation cycles as an opportunity for retrofitting flood resilience measures into buildings, or can be transformative, for example by using urban redevelopment projects that create new options for adaptation. Finally, a major challenge of adapting existing urban environments to the effects of climate change is that it requires anticipating long-term trends and changes that easily exceed periods of 50 to 100 years. This brings large uncertainties into the design and planning process. When facing deep uncertainty it is necessary to improve flexibility. Improving flexibility can be either tactical-operational (designed) or strategic (planned). Designed flexibility can be achieved by developing design that anticipates, or can adapt according to future conditions or functional requirements. This can be achieved by incorporating modifications in the design, through preserving space, by over-dimensioning critical elements or by built-in redundancies. On a strategic level, flexibility can be achieved by developing sequences of adaptation options that keep options open in anticipation of future conditions. Sequences of adaptation options (pathways) that are reversible and offer multiple options to adapt should be favoured over irreversible and non-flexible paths. To answer the research question, this research applies a resilience based planning method (the Adaptive Pathways Method, or APM) to develop and assess adaptation pathways at the level of neighbourhood development in two flood prone waterfront cases in Rotterdam. APM is a structured, iterative approach based on defining the conditions under which policy objectives are no longer attainable and adaptation is required, and the assessment of sequences of adaptation actions. It enables policy makers to explore and develop adaptive strategies The case study research in two flood prone urbanised areas in Rotterdam showed that Rotterdam’s land elevation policy for new building plots is expensive and offers no solution to reduce the flood risk of existing homes and businesses in the area. In this study, two alternative solutions (water robust and keeping water out) were developed and tested for spatial integration, (cost) effectiveness and opportunities for creating added value. The Feijenoord case shows that a district-wide flood protection strategy provides the most beneficial solution and opens up opportunities for capitalising on investments in waterfront development and improvements of the urban realm. The Noordereiland case shows a more diverse portfolio of adaptation responses, although there are only a few combinations of adaptation responses that are complementary to deal with change in the long run. A potential adaptation strategy for the Noordereiland is based on sequencing property level protection (wet-proofing and dry-proofing adaptation measures), followed by the development of a permanent or temporary floodwall strategy. However, this strategy offers few opportunities to link with spatial dynamics and to create added value. Based on case study research, this research concludes that the APM is an effective tool to evaluate and select appropriate adaptation measures. In particular, the value of this method is that it helps to bridge the gap between highly uncertain long-term climate change effects and the short-term decision making horizons of urban planning and development. Additionally, the method helps to better grasp the timing of adaptation and develop a wide portfolio of adaptation actions, which opens up opportunities to couple adaptation measures with other planned investments, or to anticipate by developing urban design that allows for easier adaptation in the future. Both cases underline the fact that strategies to enhance the resilience of urban waterfronts must be based on a detailed assessment of local vulnerabilities, and should select sitespecific adaptation measures leading to a tailor-made portfolio of solutions. An important element of adaptive planning is the assumption that a transfer between, or sequencing alternative interventions (and thus developing alternative pathways) is straightforward. However, in reality there is no smooth transfer between alternatives. Both cases clearly show that a change of strategy, for example from property-level to a district-wide solution, is accompanied with ‘transfer costs’ that creates an economic lock-in and is constrained by legal, financial and institutional barriers. For example, every investment to reduce a household’s sensitivity to flooding reduces the overall flood risks of the larger area and hence the benefits accruing to a wider floodwall option, making a ‘transfer’ to a district-level solution less feasible from an economic point of view. In addition, the potential loss of investments for individual homeowners caused by a change of strategy could lead to societal and political resistance to change. Overcoming the economic and political path dependencies is a major challenge and it unfortunately often needs a disaster to change the course of an adaptation path. Possibly, co-benefits and added value arising from flood protection investments (e.g. increase in real estate value) may have a positive effect on reducing the transfer costs, although the effects strongly depend on site conditions. In view of the above, it is necessary to decide early in the adaptation process on the long-term preferred strategy and to support this strategy with short-cycle, low cost incremental interventions aimed at “buying time” to increase the opportunities for creating district-wide protection at low costs. In addition to this, there is also a second, more fundamental shortcoming of the method. Although the APM is adaptive, in the sense that it allows for uncertainties to be resolved in time, the method ignores the dynamic aspect of urban development and new opportunities for adaptation that might arise from it. For example, a redesign of industrial waterfronts to residential functions creates new financial and spatial opportunities for creating integrated flood protection at relatively low costs. Research by Design is an important tool to explore these new opportunities. A more effective approach is to focus on interventions in the economic and institutional processes of urban development and changes that create new opportunities for adaptation. In the second part of this research an urban dynamics based adaptation method is introduced that focuses on identifying the following: adaptation intervention points, which are defined as the actual moments of change that potentially may be used for adaptation; adaptation transitions that are defined as changes in legal, institutional and financial structures that are needed to improve or unlock the full potential of adaptation intervention points; and adaptation transformations that are fundamental changes in urban form, policies, institutional arrangements and norms that could create new adaptation opportunities. The method follows three basic steps: (1) assessing the spatial and timely synchronisation of adaptation measures with planned urban development projects and public and private infrastructure maintenance investments; (2) assessing the institutional and financial barriers to be removed in order to mainstream climate adaptation measures in these urban development processes, and (3) assessing what opportunities derived from urban development are able to ‘break through’ the path dependencies that lock-in more sustainable adaptive paths. The method is based on mapping all planned spatial investments in brownfield development, urban renovation, and maintenance projects of public and private infrastructure and assets and by assessing the effectiveness of prevailing policies. Using design research, new opportunities for adaptation are explored and assessed. The urban dynamics based adaptation pathways method is tested at two waterfront areas in Rotterdam (Feijenoord) and New York (Red Hook). Both cases show that identifying intervention opportunities and potential transitional interventions is helpful in selecting and assessing adaptive pathways. Moreover, it helps to identify legal or financial arrangements that are needed to unlock the potential of adaptation paths. One of the key findings of the case study research is that in high density urban conditions there is limited potential to build resilience from household redevelopment or renovation, even when new complementary policies and regulative instruments that support buildinglevel resilience would be developed. District-wide flood protection is effective in terms of flood risk, but requires large-scale transformations of the waterfront zone to seize opportunities to develop integrated protection at low costs. This strategy, however, needs new governance structures and financial arrangements to redistribute costs and benefits fairly among stakeholders.
Revisiting Urban Dynamics through Social Urban Data
The study of dynamic spatial and social phenomena in cities has evolved rapidly in the recent years, yielding new insights into urban dynamics. This evolution is strongly related to the emergence of new sources of data for cities (e.g. sensors, mobile phones, online social media etc.), which have potential to capture dimensions of social and geographic systems that are difficult to detect in traditional urban data (e.g. census data). However, as the available sources increase in number, the produced datasets increase in diversity. Besides heterogeneity, emerging social urban data are also characterized by multidimensionality. The latter means that the information they contain may simultaneously address spatial, social, temporal, and topical attributes of people and places. Therefore, integration and geospatial (statistical) analysis of multidimensional data remain a challenge. The question which, then, arises is how to integrate heterogeneous and multidimensional social urban data into the analysis of human activity dynamics in cities? To address the above challenge, this thesis proposes the design of a framework of novel methods and tools for the integration, visualization, and exploratory analysis of large-scale and heterogeneous social urban data to facilitate the understanding of urban dynamics. The research focuses particularly on the spatiotemporal dynamics of human activity in cities, as inferred from different sources of social urban data. The main objective is to provide new means to enable the incorporation of heterogeneous social urban data into city analytics, and to explore the influence of emerging data sources on the understanding of cities and their dynamics. In mitigating the various heterogeneities, a methodology for the transformation of heterogeneous data for cities into multidimensional linked urban data is, therefore, designed. The methodology follows an ontology-based data integration approach and accommodates a variety of semantic (web) and linked data technologies. A use case of data interlinkage is used as a demonstrator of the proposed methodology. The use case employs nine real-world large-scale spatiotemporal data sets from three public transportation organizations, covering the entire public transport network of the city of Athens, Greece. To further encourage the consumption of linked urban data by planners and policy-makers, a set of webbased tools for the visual representation of ontologies and linked data is designed and developed. The tools – comprising the OSMoSys framework – provide graphical user interfaces for the visual representation, browsing, and interactive exploration of both ontologies and linked urban data. After introducing methods and tools for data integration, visual exploration of linked urban data, and derivation of various attributes of people and places from different social urban data, it is examined how they can all be combined into a single platform. To achieve this, a novel web-based system (coined SocialGlass) for the visualization and exploratory analysis of human activity dynamics is designed. The system combines data from various geo-enabled social media (i.e. Twitter, Instagram, Sina Weibo) and LBSNs (i.e. Foursquare), sensor networks (i.e. GPS trackers, Wi-Fi cameras), and conventional socioeconomic urban records, but also has the potential to employ custom datasets from other sources. A real-world case study is used as a demonstrator of the capacities of the proposed web-based system in the study of urban dynamics. The case study explores the potential impact of a city-scale event (i.e. the Amsterdam Light festival 2015) on the activity and movement patterns of different social categories (i.e. residents, non-residents, foreign tourists), as compared to their daily and hourly routines in the periods before and after the event. The aim of the case study is twofold. First, to assess the potential and limitations of the proposed system and, second, to investigate how different sources of social urban data could influence the understanding of urban dynamics. The contribution of this doctoral thesis is the design and development of a framework of novel methods and tools that enables the fusion of heterogeneous multidimensional data for cities. The framework could foster planners, researchers, and policy makers to capitalize on the new possibilities given by emerging social urban data. Having a deep understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of cities and, especially of the activity and movement behavior of people, is expected to play a crucial role in addressing the challenges of rapid urbanization. Overall, the framework proposed by this research has potential to open avenues of quantitative explorations of urban dynamics, contributing to the development of a new science of cities.
Policy Instruments to Improve Energy Performance of Existing Owner Occupied Dwellings
The aim of this thesis is to add knowledge to the role and impact of policy instruments in meeting energy performance ambition in the existing owner occupied housing stock. The focus was instruments available in the Netherlands in 2011 and 2012. These instruments represented the ‘on the ground’ efforts to meet climate change targets and many continue to do so today in the same or slightly altered forms. At international level there is a recognized need to keep global temperatures within the range of 1.5 - 2°C above pre-industrial levels (Carrington, 2016). At European level, the 2020 package contains a series of binding legislation to help the EU meet its more immediate climate and energy targets. 2020 targets include 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emission, 20% of EU energy obtained from renewable sources and 20% improvement in energy efficiency. 2020 targets for the Netherlands are a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 14% increase in energy generation from renewable sources (Vringer et al., 2014). A raft of policies has been produced over the last number of decades from international to local level to orientate action towards targets. At European level the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) drives efforts at reducing energy among one of the biggest players, the building sector. By requiring a mandatory certificate at the point of sale and rent of buildings and making regulatory demands on existing buildings the EPBD upped the ante of what could be expected from the building sector, but especially the existing dwelling stock. National governments have already been tackling existing dwellings for decades propelled by the energy crisis and later by climate change policy. Information campaigns, subsidies, energy taxes, energy loans and tailored advice are among the instruments that have been available to homeowners to carry out works on their dwellings to reduce energy consumption. In recent years, the pace of efforts has increased due to, inter alia, the realization that the revolution in energy use that must occur for climate change targets to be met means major changes in the fabric of the existing dwelling stock, dwellings constructed before building regulations demanded high energy performance standards. It is argued that the building sector, in general, and the existing dwelling stock, in particular, can contribute more cost effectively and more significantly in quality and quantity terms than any other sector (Amstalden et al., 2007; Lomas, 2010; Ürge-Vorsatz, et al., 2007). This has provoked calls for new and improved instruments to meet the energy saving potential of existing dwellings. Despite many of the same instruments being used for decades there is little solid information on many crucial dimensions of how instruments operate and on what impact they have. The few evaluations and reviews that do take place are commonly focused on theoretical energy savings and costs and instrument strengths and weaknesses. Instruments commonly appear and disappear without undergoing improvement or change or contributing to policy learning. Many instruments are laden with assumptions about the target group that are never formally or comprehensively proved or debunked. Little theorizing takes place on the type of instruments most suited to the target group. Fundamentally, there is a serious lack of information surrounding the effectiveness of instruments assumed to be making climate change targets a reality. It is the above mentioned information deficits that influenced the objectives and structure of this thesis. Instruments are examined from different angles and viewpoints, from experts, owner occupiers, official evaluations and front-runner countries. Assessment frameworks were developed to tease out how well instruments truly function. Households in receipt of instruments such as the EPC and energy audit were compared to households not in receipt of instruments. Moreover, the complete range of national instruments available at the time of the survey were studied to present a complete picture. A more detailed description of the methodologies adopted is presented below. Methodology An aim of research was to offer qualified accounts and a deeper analysis of how instruments for energy performance improvement in existing dwellings function. Research components focused on both individual instruments and combinations using a triangulation of methods and sources: expert interviews, a survey and literature review. The first step towards meeting the aim of research was to characterise and assess national instruments in the Netherlands. In the absence of an assessment framework for policy instruments in this domain one was created using elements of the theory based evaluation method and concepts from literature. All national energy performance instruments operating at the time that could influence energy performance improvement for space and water heating in existing dwellings were included in the evaluation. Data was obtained from face to face semi-structured interviews with 19 stakeholders involved in lobbying, designing, implementing and evaluating instruments. Interviewee data was complemented with secondary sources, including; evaluations of the national climate change programme, evaluations of individual instruments, cross country evaluations and European projects in which the Netherlands participated. An online survey of owner-occupiers covering the same instruments as the characterization and assessment of instruments described above was conducted to expand the investigation into instruments. More than 5,000 Dutch owner-occupiers participated in the survey. The survey consisted of 96 questions about energy saving measures adopted within the years preceding the survey. The focus lay on measures that involved significant investment to reduce energy consumed for space and water heating. The questionnaire consisted of multiple choice and open ended questions divided into several categories; the adoption and planned adoption of energy saving measures, energy audits, the EPC, building regulations, the energy tax, financial incentives, information tools and socio-economic and dwelling characteristics. Data on motivations for energy use and perceived influences of instruments was also gathered. The questionnaire was used to meet several objectives. To survey the overall effectiveness of the national instruments available to owner occupiers at that time, to compare owner-occupiers who received an EPC to those who did not along several parameters and to compare owner-occupiers who received an energy audit to those who did not along several parameters. Required sample sizes were calculated on the basis of assumptions and several critical components of the questionnaire that required a set response rate to allow statistical comparison (See Appendix 2). Approximately, 30,000 households from the national EPC/energy audit database were sent a link to the questionnaire. The comparison group was created by sending approximately 16,000 members of the Home Owners Association a link to the questionnaire. Following a reminder, a response rate of 17% was received for the EPC/energy audit database and 10% for the Association of Home Owners database. Both descriptive and statistical analysis was conducted on response data. Descriptive analysis focused on whether householders reported an association between the adoption of energy saving measures and instrument use. Pearson’s chi square tests were used to identify whether an association between adopting measures and instruments could be statistically proven. The final research component consisted of a comparative study of several front-runner countries to gather knowledge and examine the instruments associated with success in meeting climate change targets for existing dwellings. Literature from comparative public policy was used to structure this research component. Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the UK were chosen as front-runner cases. Based on document analysis the instruments considered to dominate action in these front-runner countries were characterised. As with the first research component an evaluation framework was developed and the main instruments were assessed against concepts drawn from literature. Using concepts from literature was an effort to go beyond traditional ‘strength and weakness’ based evaluations by searching for how instruments tackle, or fail to tackle, salient issues in this policy domain. Therefore, ‘effectiveness’ of instruments was interpreted as both the documented results of goal achievement and the extent to which instruments deal with aspects unique to this policy domain. Results from document analysis and instrument assessments based on concepts were verified in phone interviews with national experts. Findings A qualitative evaluation of national instruments Instruments were evaluated using 1) elements from the theory based evaluation method and 2) a set of ‘ideal’ concepts. An overview of the first phase of the evaluation is presented in the table below. Fundamental problems with how instruments were implemented were identified in this phase of the evaluation. Most notable was how the EPC was implemented without an enforcement regime resulting in poor visibility, confusion and lack of confidence in the market distancing the EPC from its original ambitious theory and objectives. Similarly, the Meer met Minder sectoral agreement was associated with financial issues and lack of clarity on responsibilities. Economic incentives were heavily criticised by interviewees and found wanting from evaluations being described as ‘modest’ and ‘highly fragmented’. Meanwhile, the energy tax was unanimously described as revenue raising. Little could be obtained from published sources or expert interviewees on the impact of information tools although some interviewees believed that tools are designed for the already informed. Building regulations were found to lack the innovative dimensions visible within other countries, such as consequential works, though few interviewees saw potential to strengthen this instrument. The second phase of the evaluation examined how instruments functioned compared to normative concepts. Concepts chosen were: Policy instrument combinations Obligating/incentivising balance Long term programme Non-generic Primacy to energy efficiency Whole house/deep retrofit Energy sufficiency (the notion that instruments actually lead to energy use reduction) Elements of some concepts were present but far from pervasive. Instruments were: Typically stand alone instead of operating in combinations Largely short term instead of being embedded in a long term framework Almost entirely incentivising thus lacking the obligating balance suggested from theory Generic thus ignoring the great diversity associated with households Largely bypassing the important role of first securing energy efficiency before implementing other measures (i.e. renewable technologies) Piecemeal in place of whole house Disassociated from an end point of energy use reduction. Some ingredients for a successful strategy for existing dwellings were however present. The Meer met Minder subsidy was the only performance based subsidy in place at the time of research and was associated with positive results. With subsidy amounts linked to rating changes in the EPC/energy audit it also demonstrates a successful coupling of instruments. Furthermore, interviewees, though regretful of how the EPC had been progressing, remained hopeful for a better future for this instrument with scope for different manipulations for example, with links to property taxes.
De gevel – een intermediair element tussen buiten en binnen
This study is based on the fact that all people have a basic need for protection from other people (and animals) as well as from the elements (the exterior climate). People need a space in which they can withdraw from the rest of the world. The two states, inside and outside, public and private, contact with, or isolation from, the outside world, are relevant in fulfilling this basic need. People also want their home to have a certain appearance or status which they can identify with and which they can present to the outside world. This can also often be derived from the façade. The façade which is on a side which can be seen by the general public can be seen by the most people. Protection and appearance/status are two important characteristics of the façade. The term social filtering is used in this study to mean protection and face or mask to mean appearance/status. The means which can be used for protection embrace a broad spectrum, of which a fence, the doorstep (threshold), the door and shutters are just some initial examples. The means which can be used to lend status to a house are just as diverse. It is impossible to make a strict distinction between the means of social filtering and those of the face or mask and they often fulfil both functions. The façade as social filter and as face or mask of the residential building is the starting point of this study. Both the roles, as social filter and face of the home, have undergone great change as a consequence of the accommodation of several homes in the one building. The history of homes in the Netherlands shows that the individual house has only been one of many dwelling possibilities since the nineteenth century ; the ‘stacking’ of homes on top of each other in larger buildings, described as residential building, became a necessity in the cities. This is why this study is focussed on the residential building and its façade in the city in the Netherlands. Two questions formed the starting point for this study: 1. How can information about the need for contact or isolation, and the need for status, be read from the exterior of a house? 2. What happens to the face and the social filter of a building when we no longer look at it as a house for just one social unit but as a residential building which accommodates several homes? The two questions resulted in an investigation into the aspects by which the social filter and the face of a façade can be read. Residential buildings designed as such to meet the demand in cities began to appear more often in the second half of the nineteenth century. Initially, they were cheap and hardly innovative. By the start of the twentieth century, the entrance to homes in the residential building, an important element of the social filter, had become a subject of study for architects and various solutions were developed. The appearance of the residential building showed, on the one hand, pragmatic approaches, but on the other, architects tried to develop a face or mask for this relatively new type of building. Throughout the twentieth century, the period covered by this study, the residential building and its façade have undergone great change. This change reflects the cultural, social, technical and economic factors which have had an effect on the design of the residential building and the significance of the façade with its social filter and its face or mask. Today, the façade of the residential building has reached a freedom which reflects the possibilities, the architect’s creative expression and the client’s commercial needs. The façade hardly contributes to the communication between life outside and the resident and his or her home inside. Social filtering, which often takes place in a dynamic way between the exterior and the interior, is still important, but now takes place to a large degree behind the façade. The face shown is neutral, if not anonymous, and hides the number of homes behind the screen. In order to follow the changes in the residential building and its façade through the twentieth century and to understand with what means architects have developed the façade in particular, the research question has been formulated as: What factors and architectonic means have been decisive in the Netherlands in the twentieth century for the façade of the residential building as an intermediary element (as face/mask and social filter) between the exterior and the interior? The aim of this study is to learn more about the factors which lead to the decisions about the design of a façade and to understand the architectonic means which are applied to make a façade readable. This study also has the aim of providing an analytical approach to looking at a façade and making a contribution to the design of buildings and a broader study of the relationship between buildings and their façades. The study is organised in a theoretical framework and the analysis of ten projects. The theoretical framework in respect of façade, face and mask (chapter 4), a historical context of residential construction (chapter 5), a context of the development of public, exterior living (chapter 6), and private, interior living (chapter 7) are included in the theoretical framework. The analysis of the ten projects is presented in chapter 8. The framework and the analysis form one whole. The analysis of the case studies demanded a method which would illustrate the façade as social filter and face or mask. In order to make the role of social filter more comprehensible, the transition from the public space in front of the main entrance to the entrance to the home has been illustrated by means of two isometric drawings. The public space of the steps from the doorstep or pavement to the private home is also documented in a diagram, and the architectonic resources which make up this transition are recorded with photos. For the analysis of the façade as a face, the parts of the human face which are easily included visually are used metaphorically. The eyes are openings, the mouth is an entrance or door, the nose is a vertical feature, the head shape of the face is the most easily read form of the building and the profile supports the information because it shows depth. Visually striking aspects of the face which protrude, recede, frame or divide can be translated in the façade as, for example, bay windows, balconies, beams, framing lintels or windowsills. Visually distinguishing lines of profiles can be seen in the form of balconies or, for instance, a switch in material. In order to use the metaphor of the human face as the foundation for an analysis in architecture, an analytical framework has been assembled. The Gestalt laws, applied to buildings by Niels Prak, demonstrate how we visually perceive the built environment. The head shape and horizontal and vertical parts and sections are perceived faster than free forms or a complex picture with a lot of different information. These laws justify the choice of the subjects for analysis which have been drawn in a reduced form. The subjects for analysis for the façade as face are: the head shape, the profile, the openings for light and for the entrance (door), visible constructional elements in the façade (horizontal and vertical), decorative parts, protruding and receding parts, material and colour. In the analysis, the sociocultural background of the project will be described, summarised as building assignment, and all the architectonic aspects will be shown which make up the social filter and appearance, summarised as building form. Façade definitions (chapter 4) The term façade means the vertical exterior of the building, just as the face practically vertical is. The roof is governed by its own principles and is not always a part of the façade unless it can be seen. The horizontal roof, like the crown of a head, cannot easily be seen. The term façade carries several meanings. The façade is something that is presented to its surroundings and that is why it is often associated with the face. The term façade (Latin facies = face) makes the connection with the metaphor of the face clear: the façade of the building is meant to be the presentable side which is shown to the public. The human face communicates non-verbally by means of expression. The façade does not have this movement and can only be called a face metaphorically. The façade can still show what happens behind it to a degree, however, what the building is for, for example. The façade can also exhibit an idea or represent an illusion; the façade is then a mask. The term garment is used for both the protective and aesthetic role of the façade. A garment keeps you warm and protects, but it can also be decorative and the status of the person wearing it can be clear if the code included in the decoration is understood. The façade therefore also fulfils this role as the conveyor of information. The degree to which the façade has a filter role is determined by the degree to which it allows things to pass though it: light, air and temperature but also people and animals. This ability to allow things to pass through it is dynamically regulated depending on the means used. Depending on the building’s spatial configuration, there may also be a front façade, rear façade or side façade. The historic context of the residential building (chapter 5) The urban house changed almost imperceptibly until the nineteenth century into a building which accommodated several homes. The construction of the residential building designed as such intensified in the second half of the century, however, when the increasing demand for housing meant that it was necessary to provide more options. The ‘stacking’ of homes in such a building meant another means of entering the building. The immediate entrance to the home increasingly withdrew from the street and communal entrances and stairwells appeared. The most important change from the individual house to the shared building was the entrance. Architects often lent expression the communal entrance, perhaps to help the resident and visitor become more familiar with its new communal aspect. Various changes to the residential building and its façade can be seen throughout the twentieth century. While architects like Hendrik P. Berlage and his followers in the first two decades enriched the façade with details and news ideas for communal entrances arose, functionalists like Willem van Tijen designed residential buildings in the thirties and during the post-war reconstruction which showed what their function was without any embellishment. Architects reacted to social, economic and technical factors. Where the first residential buildings consisted of six to eight homes per staircase per floor, the introduction of galleries and then, in the fifties, the lift, meant that many more homes could be accommodated. This was particularly the case in the sixties after the first wave of post-war reconstruction. The residential buildings were so big that it was barely possible to see the whole form. They were also a product of mass production. The seventies, with the focus on individuality and consultation, saw the production of homes shift towards small-scale neighbourhoods with façades which made small groups of homes readable. The last two decades of the twentieth century were characterised by more sober façades and larger residential buildings. The façades project neutrality and the anonymity of living in the town or city. The diversity of the façades and the choice of material have increased dramatically and are also used to express the luxury of living in the city. The façade and the public (chapter 6) The gradual transition from street to house in the town or city in the Netherlands has been present for centuries. The border between the two was vague, people worked both in front of, and in the house. An important change for living in the town or city was the disappearance of city walls and gates after 1874 as a consequence of the vestigingswet [‘Settlement Act’], which allowed non-residents into the city or town without checks, and when the front door was established as the border between the public and the private. The façade became a necessary border between the public and the private. The street lost its importance as public space for those living on it as traffic increased. The introduction of the residential building only increased the distance to the street. The anonymization of the street also played a large role throughout the whole of the twentieth century. The functionalists rejected the street and wanted to connect homes with recreation and green spaces. Urban blocks of buildings were opened up as was the layout of residential buildings. This resulted in residential buildings which had several façades which were visible to the public. In the seventies, some architects, like Herman Hertzberger, returned the street to the resident and a pedestrian friendly zone in front of homes (the woonerf) was created. The house façades on the residential areas allowed openness and space to be seen, fusing the public and the private. This approach was quickly followed by a reintroduction of a distance to the street. The last two decades of the twentieth century were characterised by a withdrawal of the social filter role to behind the façade. The street’s role as part of the home can only be found in very protected environments. The façade and private living (chapter 7) Private living was initially led by an increasing embarrassment and hygiene. The need to retreat further into the house gave rise to a more differentiated layout even in the traditional house and this can be read from the façade. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the privacy of the home was lost when it was housed with several others in the one building and by the internal entrance in a relatively open landing on the upper floors. The first two decades of the twentieth century saw various entrances which made privacy possible such as the entrance stairwell and the gallery. The homes received their own front doors with a hall behind them. At subsistence level, privacy was reduced to a very small space and this would only change after the Second World War; regulations for minimum surface areas in the fifties contributed to this. Economic growth in the sixties and seventies allowed a need for individual development and private space within the family. Increasing preferences for homes resulted in a greater diversity but also in neutral houses which could be adapted. The façade reflects this. Privacy at the end of the twentieth century meant freedom of choice. The residential building showed the consideration for this freedom in a neutral façade. The case studies (chapter 8) The case studies reflect the various phases of the changes in the residential building and its façade. The ten projects chosen can be found in the Dutch town or city and have all been designed as homes. The projects chosen are: 1914 – The Hague portico Copernicuslaan, Den Haag, architect unknown 1911-15 – Dwellings in the Indische Buurt, Amsterdam, architect H.P. Berlage 1918-22 – Justus van Effen Complex, Rotterdam, architect M. Brinkman 1925–26 – Residential building Oldenhoeck, Amsterdam, architect P.A. Warners 1932–34 – Bergpolder Flat, Rotterdam, architect W. van Tijen 1955-58 – Dwellings Pendrecht IV, Rotterdam, architects J. en L. de Jonge 1962-68 – Dwellings Het Breed, Amsterdam, architect F. van Gool 1969–76 – Dwellings Molenvliet, Papendrecht, architect F. van der Werff 1978–82 – Dwellings Haarlemmer Houttuinen, Amsterdam, architect H. Hertzberger 1994–98 – City block De Landtong, Rotterdam, architect CIE, F. van Dongen The first two cases just have six to eight homes per staircase per floor and their entrances are richly decorated while the Justus van Effencomplex and, in the sixties, Het Breed project with a gallery bring many more homes together and their entrances are less expressively designed. At the end of the twentieth century, the Landtong connects the homes visually with each other by means of an internal corridor with a void allowing the other floors to be seen. The expression of the collective and the individual through the century is very different; the home cannot always be read from the façade. Conclusion The most important conclusion from this research is that the social filter between the public and the private today often lies behind the screens, so that the transition between the public space and the façade is less gradual and the expressiveness of the façade is different and achieved by other means. The façade is more of a mask to protect the anonymous home than a face that exhibits it. The line between a façade as a face or a mask is not always clear, however, because the perspective of the person looking at it can change. A façade can create an illusion in the distance, but show the home from close by. This study demonstrates the development of the residential building and its façade in the Netherlands with the focus on their development in the twentieth century. The relationship of the façade with the immediate public space surrounding the home and the relationship of the façade with the private home have been important starting points for this study. It places the façade as an important element in protecting the home and as well as an expression of it. The study demonstrates a way of looking at the façade which is very important for design decisions for new construction but also for maintenance and conservation.
De Landschapsarchitectuur van het Polder-boezemsysteem
The Dutch lowlands is an artificial landscape, created as a result of the wish to regulate the water that dominated the topography in the Delta. This ‘confined’ lowland water, the polder-boezem system12, features an enormously diverse range of water structures and forms, which largely dictates the spatial planning of the lower Netherlands. This dissertation concerns the polder-boezem system, a water system that was created by trial-anderror, has been adapted continually and now needs to be expanded to cope with the effects of climate change. The research focuses on answering the following question: What potential does the current polder-boezem system have, with the help of landscape architectonic design, to define (or redefine) the spatial identity of the lowlands? So that the lowland water can be discovered (or rediscovered) and reinforced as the spatial and compositional power of the (urban)landscape (chapter 1). The research into the landscape and landscape-architectonic quality and the potential contained within the polder-boezem system was carried out by reviewing drawings of both existing and self-produced charts (the overlay technique). The 4-form layer analysis method was used for the landscape-architectonic research. This research method, which was developed by the Chair of Landscape Architecture of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft, reveals the design tools for a design. The research showed that it can also be used to analyse a man-made (cultural) landscape (chapter 2). The water vocabulary that has been illustrated and described introduces, as the basic premise for the research, the water-technical role and position of all the water elements that combine to make up the water system (chapter 3). The boezem water as a cohesive network was illustrated on the basis of this inventory, and the polder water was analysed using a cut-out of the area under study (chapters 4 and 6). The boezem network map, drawn on the scale of the study area (northern Noord-Holland and the Randstad), generated insight into the relationship between the structure and design differences and the situational context of the boezem network for the landscape research. The structure and form differences in the boezem sections can be explained by the landscape types in which they are found - the sand ridge landscape (1), the river landscape (2), the marine clay landscape (3) and the peat bog landscape (4) - and the landscape layers to which they belong - natural landscape (1), man-made (cultural) landscape (2) and urban landscape (3). The original natural boezem sections, in particular, are unique to the area, and express the genius loci, the spatial identity of the location. They form the longest boezem structures in the Delta, are the main carrier of the network and have a perceivable ‘sphere of influence’. These areas with a recognisable identity are called boezem landscapes in the dissertation. They ultimately determine the context for the landscape-architectonic design of the water system (chapter 5). Prior to the landscape-architectonic research, carried out on the scale of a single boezem area, the term landscape-architectonic quality for every form layer was defined - the basic form (1), the programme form (2), the image form (3) and the spatial form (4). This was done on the basis of the 4-form layer analysis, a deconstruction method. The basic form of water has landscape-architectonic quality when the geometry of the water form corresponds with, or develops from, the original water form in the natural landscape and the way it has been adapted, which results in a decipherable, potent and ‘dramatised’ landscape-architectonic design. The programme form of water has landscape-architectonic quality when the water system that has developed from the natural landscape has a recognisable, comprehensible and visible structure and form that illustrates the negotium use that corresponds with, or develops into, the otium use. The image form of water has landscape-architectonic quality when the water image elements unite to form a clear, area-specific illustration that refers to the representation of nature and the relationship between nature, culture and urbanity. The spatial form of water has landscape-architectonic quality when the water that originates from the natural landscape, and the way it has been adapted, shows an articulated visual-spatial design in a cohesive sequence, as far as the eye can see. All the water elements in the study area that showed a degree of landscape-architectonic quality or landscape-architectonic potential were recorded on a conclusion chart, per form layer. The conclusion charts show the design tools used and those that could conceivably be used: the design strategies (1), the design technique (2) and the design elements (3). The qualities identified were used as the basis for recommendations for expanding the tools and reinforcing the landscape-architectonic composition of the boezem landscape (chapter 7). The specific features of each boezem area are expressed in the structure and form differences of the polder-boezem system and are based on the natural landscape. The cohesion of form within a boezem area serves as the basis for further transformation. The landscape-architectonic tools are specific to a boezem landscape but provide enough information to formulate recommendations for the polderboezem system as a whole. The best way to increase the landscape-architectonic quality of the polder-boezem system is to highlight the cohesion of the water system on the scale of the entire boezem landscape. The boezem system defines the spatial character of the system. This cohesion can be reinforced in the form of a link between boezem water and polder water, specifically in the lake bed polder landscapes, by means of the realisation of the water sequence - canal, mill or pumping station, outlet and boezem. The stronger the compositional cohesion between the water sequence and the other polder water in polder or water-level area, the stronger the cohesion of the system. The waterworks set the architectonic tone in the system and belong to the crucial details of the polder-boezem system. It isessential to give attention to the design and position of the waterworks as a visible and/or perceived spatial link between the various water-level areas. The network character of the water system provides countless opportunities to integrate existing and new ecosystems, nature developments and other water management challenges into the polderboezem system. This green-blue connection could give the water system a considerable boost and help it develop into the Novel Fine Dutch Waterscape. Experimental designs show how the design instruments that were detected can be used to allow the polder-boezem system to define (or redefine) the spatial identity of the lowlands (chapter 8).
This dissertation reports a PhD research on mathematical-computational models, methods, and techniques for analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of spatial configurations in architecture and urban design. Spatial configuration is a technical term that refers to the particular way in which a set of spaces are connected to one another as a network. Spatial configuration affects safety, security, and efficiency of functioning of complex buildings by facilitating certain patterns of movement and/or impeding other patterns. In cities and suburban built environments, spatial configuration affects accessibilities and influences travel behavioural patterns, e.g. choosing walking and cycling for short trips instead of travelling by cars. As such, spatial configuration effectively influences the social, economic, and environmental functioning of cities and complex buildings, by conducting human movement patterns. In this research, graph theory is used to mathematically model spatial configurations in order to provide intuitive ways of studying and designing spatial arrangements for architects and urban designers. The methods and tools presented in this dissertation are applicable in: arranging spatial layouts based on configuration graphs, e.g. by using bubble diagrams to ensure certain spatial requirements and qualities in complex buildings; and analysing the potential effects of decisions on the likely spatial performance of buildings and on mobility patterns in built environments for systematic comparison of designs or plans, e.g. as to their aptitude for pedestrians and cyclists. The dissertation reports two parallel tracks of work on architectural and urban configurations. The core concept of the architectural configuration track is the ‘bubble diagram’ and the core concept of the urban configuration track is the ‘easiest paths’ for walking and cycling. Walking and cycling have been chosen as the foci of this theme as they involve active physical, cognitive, and social encounter of people with built environments, all of which are influenced by spatial configuration. The methodologies presented in this dissertation have been implemented in design toolkits and made publicly available as freeware applications.
Adaptive thermal comfort opportunities for dwellings
The aim of the research presented in this thesis is to design the characteristics of an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System for Dwellings to achieve a significantly better energy performance whilst not compromising the thermal comfort perception of the occupants. An Adaptive Thermal Comfort System is defined as the whole of passive and active comfort components of the dwelling that dynamically adapts its settings to varying user comfort demands and weather conditions (seasonal, diurnal and hourly depending on the aspects adapted), thus providing comfort only where, when and at the level needed by the user, to improve possibilities of harvesting the environmental energy (e.g. solar gain and outdoor air) when available and storing it when abundant. In order to be able to create an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System to save energy knowledge is needed as to where, when, what kind and how much energy is needed to provide the thermal comfort. Therefore, this research aimed to gain insight in the dynamic behaviour of the weather and the occupant and the opportunities to design the characteristics of an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System for Dwellings to achieve a significantly better energy performance whilst not compromising the thermal comfort perception of the occupants answering the main research question; What are the most efficient strategies for delivering thermal comfort in the residential sector with respect to better energy performances and an increasing demand for flexibility in use and comfort conditions? To answer the main research question three steps were taken, which also represent the three parts of the research: 1. The dynamic information of the factors influencing the thermal heat balance of the dwelling was gathered in order to determine their opportunities for adaptivity. A multidisciplinary approach to Thermal Comfort Systems is followed taking into account the dynamic of occupancy profiles, weather, building physics, HVAC and controls. A different approach to the comfort boundaries used in modern standards was introduced, creating insight in the spread in activity patterns and the comfort demand in the context of individual preferences and vulnerabilities. Information of sociology and thermal comfort studies were brought together creating occupancy and thermal comfort profiles for the Dutch situation. By recognizing the differences in occupancy patterns it becomes possible to design adaptive systems to be able to deliver the comfort demanded only when and where necessary in different occupancy scenarios. This is an opportunity to achieve a significantly better energy performance. Furthermore, a method for dynamic analysis of weather conditions related to the thermal comfort was proposed in order to map the opportunities and threats of weather change. This makes the system able to seize upon every reasonably to be expected situation to create an optimal dynamic filter for the outdoor to indoor thermal environment at any time and place. This preliminary study was performed by presuming a simple shelter that can create shielding from wind and solar radiation without any form of thermal storage or insulation. In this study it is emphasised that there is no need for active cooling in the residential sector of the Netherlands if the dwelling is well designed; blocking solar radiation when needed and to allow built up excess heat to be discarded. An inventory is provided of the possibilities for adaptivity for a thermal comfort system which are used in common practice and which improvements and new techniques can be implemented to increase these possibilities for adaptivity of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System. 2. The effect of applying the detailed information and adaptive opportunities framed in step 1 on the energy saving and comfort delivery of the Thermal Comfort Systems was researched. Firstly, the most appropriate calculation methods for the research were determined comparing various levels of detail and approaches in calculation. Control algorithms and strategies are researched. The thesis uses both the lumped capacitance model 3R1C based on the EN-ISO 13790 to benefit from its generic properties to be able to stimulate new concepts for adaptivity of the thermal comfort system to be developed and the TRNSYS model to verify the conclusions from the lumped capacitance model and research the short term practical implementation. Through calculating various strategies in heating and prevention of overheating by using variable thermal insulation, ventilation and solar shading the advantages and disadvantages of the control strategies are researched. These calculations concluded that these can have a significant potential of reducing the energy demand of a dwelling whilst not compromising thermal comfort. The optimal behaviour of these building characteristics is described in part three of this thesis. The energy saving potential of the adaptive approach relative to the reference dwelling of AgentschapNL is very high regarding the following conditions; The total energy saving potential for heating of the adaptive approach is around 61% on heating demand for the living room and 99% for the bedroom compared to the situation with adaptive thermal comfort delivery (providing heating only when and where needed), minimised ventilation and high insulation values. This energy saving is achieved by adaptive and fast heating and adaptive increase of solar heat gain in case it would be possible in the future to harvest all solar radiation falling on the facade as heat. Applying the variable building characteristics as described the cooling can be eliminated in most situations and will be 10% of the reference situation at most. The remaining cooling demand will be low enough to cancel the need for installation of active cooling. It is most effective to use both an adaptive heat loss factor and solar factor; however, to counter overheating controlling the solar factor is most effective of the separate measures assuming all solar radiation can be blocked from entering the room as heat. In the reference cases the cooling load is significantly lower with higher thermal mass and the heating load does not significantly vary with thermal mass; this is due to the good basic insulation of the dwelling and sufficient solar gain which causes the drop in temperature during the non-heated periods to be very low regardless the thermal mass. The energy saving for cooling by the adaptive strategies is higher with higher thermal mass more drastically reducing the already much lower cooling demand for the references with higher thermal mass. In case of the North orientation it can be an option to build with lower thermal mass because there is significantly less solar radiation available to lower the heating demand; showing a slight increase in heating demand for the higher thermal mass variant. The advantages of adaptive solar shading are significantly lower with the North orientation due to the lower range of solar gain. As the definition suggests the control of the thermal comfort system adaptive to the occupancy and the variable thermal comfort demand resulting from it is an essential part of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System. This effect is most apparent in the case of adaptive heating; high occupancy means less heating demand than if a standard heating schedule is used because of higher internal gain while the heating demand with control for presence shows less deviation between the occupancy profiles and higher heating demands with higher occupancy. This means that the improvement of energy efficiency is larger the lower the occupancy level. Furthermore, the control algorithm designed in chapter 4 is significantly less accurate in case of the occupancy profile with highest occupancy especially because the temperature falls below the heating setpoint by the time the occupants re-enter the room resulting in higher heating demands than the reference, which can be prevented by prediction of the setpoint temperature. This effect decreases with higher thermal mass because of the slower temperature decrease during the night. Additionally, the occupancy has a great effect on the effectiveness of non-automated systems in case of overheating prevention meaning more effect of automation with lower occupancy rates. This emphasises the need for automated overheating protection by especially solar shading in case of larger periods of absence during the day. 3. The design recommendations for product development were provided and illustrated according to the design of an example dwelling with an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System, assessing some practical implementations. The guidelines and conclusions are categorised in 6 categories; Occupancy (§ 2.3) The occupancy schedule was used to determine the dynamic demand on which the behaviour and energy saving potential of the adaptive building characteristic are calculated in this thesis. It is not possible or necessary to determine the exact comfort temperature for the occupant. Instead, a range was determined which should be easy to reach in an energy efficient way. Great differences can exist in thermal comfort demand in occupancy of the spaces which makes the application of control according to presence a good way of increasing energy performance for thermal comfort. Relatively simple measures as occupancy sensors connected to the control of the heating can save up to 25% of heating demand depending on the occupancy profile. Weather (§ 2.4) This thesis confirms the fact that in the Netherlands virtually no overheating problems are caused directly by the weather and that the overheating occurring in dwellings is due to the trapping of heat from incoming solar radiation and internal gains due to minimised heat loss combined with insufficient solar shading and possibilities to discard excess heat. Spatial layout (§ 3.3 & chapter 6) According to this thesis there are some preconditions that will facilitate the functioning of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System. To ensure the effectiveness of the adaptive ventilation the layout should not hinder the air flow through the building. In case of a heating demand this free airflow can be temporarily disabled by (automatically) closing doors and vents. The ventilation can be aided by designing the dwelling with increased cross ventilation, increased stack ventilation or a "venturi" chimney. To be able to profit optimally from the adaptive solar factor the rooms with the highest heating demand and/or very variable comfort demand should be oriented in the direction where most solar radiation comes from; if possible considering the time of day of the highest heating demand. Materialisation (§ 3.4 & chapter 5 & 6) For energy saving in the heating season it is very effective to apply high insulation values and minimise ventilation to conserve energy together with allowing maximum solar radiation into the room. This can save up to around 80% in heating energy compared to the reference situation with constant ventilation and average insulation value in case it would be possible in the future to harvest all solar radiation falling on the facade as heat. These measures should be combined with adaptive solar gain and adaptive heat loss factor (more easily obtained by extra adaptive ventilation than adaptive thermal insulation) to prevent overheating problems outside the heating season. If it is possible to block all solar radiation this can eliminate practically all need for cooling. The Adaptive Thermal Comfort System increases the stability in air temperature by optimizing the adaptive characteristics for the room temperature to remain closest to the comfort temperature without energy expenses. Therefore, no extra benefit for adaptive thermal mass in an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System is detected. High thermal mass is preferable for a dwelling with an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System as it is for all (sufficiently insulated) dwellings. HVAC (§ 3.5 & chapter 5 & 6) To save energy in the heating season it is very effective to apply adaptive heating (around 25%); applying heat recovery has a significant added effect on energy saving (around 20% with a heat recovery efficiency of 60%). This needs to be regarded with the extra fan energy needed to operate the mechanical ventilation. Because the temperatures will fluctuate more than with constant heating and cooling the system needs to be able to heat up or cool down quickly, until approximately 6 °C in one hour. The extra energy saving gained by designing HVAC systems for an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System is applying techniques that, besides being energy efficient, can react fast and locally. Using high insulation in winter, high thermal mass and adaptive techniques as proposed in this thesis will stabilise the indoor temperature lowering the required heating speed to below 4 °C per hour with low thermal mass and below 0.5°C per hour for high thermal mass which increases the possibility of applying different heating systems. Controls (§ 3.6) It is very important to have a high level of automation in the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System because applying high insulation, no solar shading and minimised ventilation at absence of the occupant will lead to overheating problems. The energy saving potential of the automation for the adaptive ventilation decreases significantly for the profiles with least occupancy and lower thermal mass. The loss in effectiveness of the adaptive solar gain is dramatically decreased without automation with an average of 75% less energy saving. The energy saving potential for the combined measures without automation drops with 30% on average increasing the required heat loss factor to discard excess heat. This makes the automation crucial for the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System and mostly for the solar gain. Furthermore, prediction of the setpoint temperature in the near future (for instance with an Adaptive Model Predictive Control (self-learning control) (§ 3.6.4) system) can increase the efficiency of the system preventing the heating load to increase due to rapid temperature drop after a period of passive cooling especially with low thermal mass. Energy saving potentials and ranges of adaptive settings (chapter 5 & 6) The need for cooling can be effectively diminished using the proposed adaptive measures and so the energy saving potential is nearly 100% for cooling. For heating the energy saving is around 25% compared to the reference by applying adaptive heating depending on the occupancy schedule and consequent heating demand and 66% for the living room and 90% for the bedrooms in the 3R1C model if the heat loss is minimised during the heating season. TRNSYS calculates an energy saving of around 45% for adaptive heating. An additional 20% can be saved on heating energy with heat recovery in the calculations with TRNSYS. In the lumped capacitance model it is shown that an additional 20% energy saving can be obtained compared to the TRNSYS calculations by increased solar gain (in case it would be possible in the future to harvest all solar radiation falling on the facade as heat) resulting in a total heating energy saving of around 80% on average.
This thesis examines the development of technology campuses as built environments and their role in stimulating innovation. Technology campuses entail a variety of built environments developed to accommodate technology-driven research activities of multiple organisations. The science park is the most common type of technology campus. Other types include the campuses of universities of technology and corporate R&D parks. In industrialised countries, the demand for developing technology campuses to stimulate innovation has been growing in line with the attention given to knowledge in global, national and regional policies. There are over 700 technology campuses worldwide occupying hundred thousands of hectares in- and around cities. This type of built environments have emerged and developed during critical periods of technological advancements throughout the 20th century, to support technology-based development in industrialised countries. With the adoption of the knowledge- based economy, governments in many countries have encouraged research as an essential activity in their science, technology and innovation policies. The infrastructure that supports research is also gaining momentum. The number of registered science parks is steadily increasing since the late 1990s. The number of programmes supporting research infrastructure is growing in the European policy agenda. Municipalities are formally engaged with other public and private parties in the development of urban areas targeted to stimulate innovation. Governments, universities and R&D companies are investing billions of euros in developing the infrastructure that will not only support their core processes, but will help them to remain competitive by attracting and retaining the best talent. Part of these investments are targeted to develop new buildings or entire areas that often result in campuses as we know them: a concentration of buildings accommodating organisations, people, and their activities in a (green) field. The assumption that the concentration of research activities in one location stimulates innovation is promoting the development of technology campuses in many places. However, the capacity of these built environments to support the different processes associated with innovation is not well understood – i.e. Technology campuses are urban areas in the inner city and peripheral locations that have the capacity to support the processes of knowledge creation and diffusion, as well as of attracting and retaining knowledge workers. The existent knowledge about the relationship between the built environment and innovation at the area level is limited. This knowledge gap may lead to inefficient use of the resources employed to develop technology campuses including capital, land, and time. Also, this lack of understanding can have the opposite effect, because technology campuses could easily become problematic areas dealing with vacancy, poor spatial quality, and connectivity issues frustrating the societal goal of attracting and retaining talent in the knowledge economy. A potential way to address these problems is outlining the ways in which the built environment stimulates innovation in technology campuses. In this context, this research addresses as main question ‘How does the built environment stimulate innovation in technology campuses?’ This research is grounded in the field of corporate real estate management and its theoretical assumption that the built environment is a resource managed to support the goals of organisations. Research in this field has focused on the practice of real estate management from the end user’s view. Campus development is a comprehensive form of this practice, because it deals with activities that vary from developing real estate strategies, developing building projects, up to maintaining and managing the portfolio of an organisation. The relationship between innovation and the built environment has been addressed before in theories of corporate real estate management in a broad sense. Empirically, this has been explored on the supply side at the level of the workplace rather than at the urban scale. Although the contemporary discussion of innovation in complementary research fields focus on the urban level. Onthe demand side, the involvement of public and private parties in the development of these areas moves forward the organisational scope in corporate real estate management beyond the end-users in large scale built environments. This research provides an understanding of the relationship between the built environment and innovation at the area level. This research developed knowledge clarifying such relationship in the form of a conceptual model and recommendations for practitioners involved in the practice of campus development. This knowledge developed mainly throughout an inductive approach in two core studies. The first study is an exploratory research that uncovers and positions the link between innovation and the built environment by using inputs from theory (literature review) and empirical evidence (qualitative survey of 39 technology campuses). In this stage, the link between innovation and the built environment is provided in a form of a conceptual framework containing the proposition that the built environment is a catalyst for innovation. The second study is an explanatory research that clarifies the relationship between innovation and the built environment based on empirical evidence in the practice of campus development (theory building from case studies). In this stage, the theoretical constructs of the conceptual framework are applied and revised through the in- depth study of two cases in particular contexts (i.e. High Tech Campus Eindhoven in the Netherlands and the Massachusetts Institute of technology campus in the United States). As a result, the preliminary knowledge from the exploratory research was developed into a conceptual model bearing a hypothesis and five propositions closely linked to empirical evidence. The answer to the main research question is that the built environment is a catalyst for innovation in technology campuses demonstrated by location decisions and interventions facilitating five interdependent conditions required for innovation. The following propositions explain how the built environment facilitates each of the five conditions for innovation: Location decisions and area development facilitate the long-term concentration of innovative organisations in cities and regions. Interventions enabling the transformation of the built environment at area and building levels facilitate the climate for adaptation along changing technological trajectories over time. Large-scale real estate interventions facilitate the synergy among university, industry and governments. Location decisions and interventions supporting image and accessibility define the innovation area by emphasising its distinct identity, scale and connectivity features. Real estate interventions enabling access to amenities increase the diversity of people & chances for social interaction regardless the distinct geographical settings in which the concentration of innovative activities takes place. This research acknowledges that the location decisions of some technology-driven organisations have coincidentally determined the concentration of innovative research activities in particular places. Over the years, the accommodation of the research activities of these organisations has co-evolved with particular socio-economic processes in their hosting cities creating unique conditions for innovation. The concentration of innovative organisations can be considered as a primal condition enabling the co-existence of the other four conditions for innovation. Similarly, this research acknowledges the following interventions facilitating conditions for innovation at the area level and depending on the particular location characteristics in which each campus has developed: Transforming areas through urban renewal and redevelopment, Building, adapting and re-using flexible facilities, Implementing the shared use of facilities accommodating different functions and users, Developing physical infrastructure enabling access to amenities and connection between functions Developing representative facilities and area concepts that support image. The empirical evidence supporting the propositions in the model is structured and converted into information available to decision makers involved in the development of technology campuses in the form of tools. The so-called ‘campus decision maker toolbox’ provides instruments that can guide planners, designers and managers during different stages of campus development. The tool for planners comprises campus models to frame the campus vision during the initiation of the campus based on location characteristics. The tool for designers consists of alternatives to enhance the campus brief during the preparation of the campus. And the tool for managers contains an information map to steer the campus strategy during the use of the campus. This knowledge contributes to the existing understanding of the relationship between innovation and the built environment in theory and practice. In theory, this research adds to existing theoretical concepts connecting the fields of corporate real estate management, urban studies in the knowledge- based economy and economic geography. The conceptual model proposed a new combination of existing theoretical concepts addressing a new way to look at the relationship between innovation and the built environment. In practice, this understanding is expected to encourage the efficient and effective use of the many resources required to develop technology campuses. Particularly, by providing information that can help decision makers to steer such resources towards strategic decisions and interventions that -under certain conditions- facilitate innovation. The knowledge developed in this research clarifies a relationship between innovation and the built environment at urban area level, in which the built environment facilitates conditions for innovation.
Flavia Teresa de Jesús Curvelo Magdaniel
This thesis presents research into the possibilities for climate adaptation in Dutch urban areas. We want to know how cities can best prepare for extreme rainfall, droughts, and heat waves in future climates. These events are likely to become more frequent and more extreme. The focus is on heat resistance as this has been a neglected concept in Dutch urban planning. The aim of this study is to extend our knowledge of the effects of climate-adaptation measures and to stimulate the implementation of such measures in the design of public space. Anticipating on the effects of climate change, the research was guided by the question: Which urban design principles can be applied in specific Dutch neighbourhoods to respond to the effects of climate change, especially in terms of outdoor thermal comfort and water management? The three stages of the project are: A literature review of existing knowledge on climate adaptation and knowledge gaps Research into the specific field of urban climatology Applied research on the broader field of urban planning The urban climate and adaptation measures In the evaluation of measures for climate robust urban areas it is important to gauge the extent of the effects of such measures. These effects are generally expressed in terms of air temperature. However, the comparison of results of measures from various studies is not a simple matter: there are significant differences in spatial, climatological and methodological variations adopted in these studies. Bringing results together from very specific studies may give an impression of the potential of certain measures. For example, most studies support the idea that greening has the highest effect on thermal comfort as it provides both shade and active cooling due to ‘evapotranspiration’1. Nevertheless, vegetation can also retain heat, as we can feel after sundown. Other measures that were investigated for their effects are water, urban morphology, materials and colour. Simulations and measurements Contextual aspects and combinations of measures can seriously influence the effects of measures. To get a grip on such effects and their co-occurrence (interrelations), possible adaptations to an existing rural configuration were modelled and their effects on the microclimate were simulated using the numerical program ENVI-met. It is demonstrated that, for instance, trees combined with highly reflective façades do often not provide cooling, whereas trees combined with moderate façade colouring does. To assess the effects of a single measure, independent of its context, single parameter simulations of thermal comfort (PET) were performed. This is the first time that such a comparative study was undertaken in The Netherlands. The complexity of the situations was increased gradually from an empty field with only pavement or only grass, to pavement with grass and a single building, moving up to a building with a few trees to many trees, multiple buildings and built forms. During this study it became clear that airflow has a significant influence on the comfort temperature. However, cooling by means of creating drafts on a mesoscale is difficult to manage and control. The low wind speed, which is typical for Dutch heat waves, provides ventilation through thermal stratification. Airflow between warm and cool spaces only occurs with sufficient temperature differences and low wind speed. This principle was investigated on the side towards new measures because little is known about the effects of generating airflow as a result of façade colour. Measurements were performed first in a small-scale experiment in a controlled area and when results seemed promising this was extended to a full-scale situation on an average Summer’s day. Research design In current practice, urban design pays little or no attention to the urban microclimate and urban-heat stress. Designers indicate that they have insufficient knowledge and evaluation instruments. The design study discussed in the third part of this thesis provides examples of climate adaptive applications and suggestions for design strategies. Using urban typologies makes it possible to integrate the microclimate in the design without needing urban microclimate expertise. By analysing specific neighbourhood typologies applying a variety of microclimate indicators three simple distinctive parameters emerge: balance between pavement and natural surfaces; building height; built form. Design solutions were applied to reveal spatial implications for most of the neighbourhoods in the analysis and serve as examples and a source of inspiration. Promising and neighbourhood-specific measures were selected per neighbourhood type to support the design process. To demonstrate how microclimates can be managed with design choices, a design case was developed in more detail for three cities. Prioritizing measures at the design stage depends on many external and intrinsic factors. The three designs in this thesis follow the same path: analysis > maximisation > optimisation > integration. When maximization focuses on thermal comfort only design measures concerning this aspect are applied. Prioritization can be applied in a three-step strategy of: warming prevention, passive cooling and active cooling. The design process is an iterative process in which promising combinations may be found in the optimization and this may require additional analysis. This thesis hopes to build bridges between knowledge and science and the practice of the design of public space. That goal is approached with a product that unfolds from the three parts of the study: Factsheets to simply check and evaluate mechanisms and affordances of measures; Guidelines for the further development of knowledge of and design with urban microclimates; A categorized set of measures to be able to select the right measure for the right neighbourhood typology. The study is part of a consortium of complementary research projects and stakeholders with the aim to generate knowledge through research as input for councils and other stakeholders. In addition, three participating municipal councils have gained further insight into cases that were proposed by them.
Developing a Framework for Qualitative Evaluation of Urban Interventions in Iranian Historical Cores
Iranian historic city cores are important parts of modern cities because of their valuable monuments and morphology but are also significant because of their population density, location and the major governmental functions they house. Since 1920, modernisation policies and urban development trends in Iran have justified spatial transformation and redevelopment and the demolition and destruction of traditional urban fabrics as a way to provide contemporary requirements and hygiene improvements for the residents. As the UNESCO recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape argues, historic urban cores can only sustain their role in the daily life of the city by getting prepared for and participating in this transformation process. Disagreement over the value of historic urban cores on the one hand and inevitable modification of urban areas in a developing country like Iran on the other, creates a problematic condition for the preservation of the historic environment. The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Urban Areas states that historic towns and urban areas require an integrated approach including their “protection, conservation, enhancement and management as well as their coherent development and their harmonious adaptation to contemporary life”. In order to support the process of reaching a balance between these spatial targets in Iran, this research discusses the relation between urban transformation projects and their heritage context. In doing so it connects international literature on urban quality and traditional Iranian urban forms to contemporary Iranian urban design practice. To achieve this integration between urban heritage and spatial development, a framework of quality attributes has been developed to evaluate urban interventions in a heritage context. The three main pillars of this framework have been extracted from and inspired by international literature and guidelines. Place-making theories have proved to be especially helpful. An analysis of traditional urban forms in Iran and their main characteristics - especially for the urban type of the bazaar – has provided a list of specific and relevant parameters. The framework has been tested by evaluating two case studies in Shiraz that illustrate two different approaches to heritage intervention on an urban level. The outcome has led to modification of the framework and new research questions.
Integrating Building Functions into Massive External Walls
Well into the twentieth century, brick and stone were the materials used. Bricklaying and stonemasonry were the construction technologies employed for the exterior walls of virtually all major structures. However, with the rise in quality of life, the massive walls alone became incapable of fulfilling all the developed needs. Adjacent systems and layers had then to be attached to the massive layer. Nowadays, the external wall is usually composed of a layered construction. Each external wall function is usually represented by a separate layer or system. The massive layer of the wall is usually responsible for the load-bearing function. Traditional massive external walls vary in terms of their external appearance, their composition and attached layers. However, their design and construction process is usually a repeated process. It is a linear process where each discipline is concerned with a separate layer or system. These disciplines usually take their tasks away and bring them back to be re-integrated in a layered manner. New massive technologies with additional function have recently become available. Such technologies can provide the external wall with other functions in addition to its load-bearing function. The purpose of this research is to map the changes required to the traditional design and construction process when massive technologies with additional function are applied in external walls. Moreover, the research aims at assessing the performance of massive solutions with additional function when compared to traditional solutions in two different contexts, the Netherlands and Egypt. Through the analysis of different additional function technologies in external walls, a guidance scheme for different stakeholders is generated. It shows the expected process changes as related to the product level and customization level. Moreover, the research concludes that the performance of additional insulating technologies, and specifically Autoclaved Aerated Concrete can provide a better construction compared to the traditional external wall construction of the Netherlands and Egypt.
A knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis
Enhancing our knowledge of the complexities of cities in order to empower ourselves to make more informed decisions has always been a challenge for urban research. Recent developments in large-scale computing, together with the new techniques and automated tools for data collection and analysis are opening up promising opportunities for addressing this problem. The main motivation that served as the driving force behind this research is how these developments may contribute to urban data analysis. On this basis, the thesis focuses on urban data analysis in order to search for findings that can enhance our knowledge of urban environments, using the generic process of knowledge discovery using data mining. A knowledge discovery process based on data mining is a fully automated or semi-automated process which involves the application of computational tools and techniques to explore the “previously unknown, and potentially useful information” (Witten & Frank, 2005) hidden in large and often complex and multi-dimensional databases. This information can be obtained in the form of correlations amongst variables, data groupings (classes and clusters) or more complex hypotheses (probabilistic rules of co-occurrence, performance vectors of prediction models etc.). This research targets researchers and practitioners working in the field of urban studies who are interested in quantitative/ computational approaches to urban data analysis and specifically aims to engage the interest of architects, urban designers and planners who do not have a background in statistics or in using data mining methods in their work. Accordingly, the overall aim of the thesis is the development of a knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis; a domain-specific adaptation of the generic process of knowledge discovery using data mining enabling the analyst to discover ‘relational urban knowledge’. ‘Relational urban knowledge’ is a term employed in this thesis to refer to the potentially ‘useful’ and/or ‘valuable’ information patterns and relationships that can be discovered in urban databases by applying data mining algorithms. A knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis through data mining can help us to understand site-specific characteristics of urban environments in a more profound and useful way. On a more specific level, the thesis aims towards ‘knowledge discovery’ in traditional thematic maps published in 2008 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality as a basis of the Master Plan for the Beyoğlu Preservation Area. These thematic maps, which represent urban components, namely buildings, streets, neighbourhoods and their various attributes such as floor space use of the buildings, land price, population density or historical importance, do not really extend our knowledge of Beyoğlu Preservation Area beyond documenting its current state and do not contribute to the interventions presented in the master plan. However it is likely that ‘useful’ and ‘valuable’ information patterns discoverable using data mining algorithms are hidden in them. In accordance with the stated aims, three research questions of the thesis concerns (1) the development of a general process model to adapt the generic process of knowledge discovery using data mining for urban data analysis, (2) the investigation of information patterns and relationships that can be extracted from the traditional thematic maps of the Beyoğlu Preservation Area by further developing and implementing this model and (3) the investigation of how could this ‘relational urban knowledge’ support architects, urban designers or urban planners whilst developing intervention proposals for urban regeneration. A Knowledge Discovery Process Model (KDPM) for urban analysis was developed, as an answer to the the first research question. The KDPM for urban analysis is a domain-specific adaptation of the widely accepted process of knowledge discovery in databases defined by Fayyad, Piatetsky-Shapiro, and Smyth (1996b). The model describes a semi-automated process of database formulation, analysis and evaluation for extracting information patterns and relationships from raw data by combining both GIS and data mining functionalities in a complementary way. The KDPM for urban analysis suggests that GIS functionalities can be used to formulate a database, and GIS and data mining can complement each other in analyzing the database and evaluating the outcomes. The model illustrates that the output of a GIS platform can become the input for a data mining platform and vice versa, resulting in an interlinked analytical process which allows for a more sophisticated analysis of urban data. To investigate the second and third research questions, firstly the KDPM for urban analysis was further developed to construct a GIS database of the Beyoğlu Preservation Area from the thematic maps. Then, three implementations were performed using this GIS database; the Beyoğlu Preservation Area Building Features Database consisting of multiple features attributed to the buildings. In Implementation (1), the KDPM for urban analysis was used to investigate a variety of patterns and relationships that can be extracted from the database using three different data mining methods. In Implementations (2) and (3), the KDPM for urban analysis was implemented to test how the knowledge discovery approach through data mining proposed in this thesis can assist in developing draft plans for the regeneration of a run-down neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu Preservation Area (Tarlabaşı). In Implementation (2), the KDPM for urban analysis is implemented in combination with an evolutionary process to apply a regeneration approach developed by the author; a computational process which generates draft plans for ground floor use, user-profile and tenure-type allocation was developed. In Implementation (3), students applied the KDPM for urban analysis during the course of an international workshop. The model enabled them to explore site-specific particularities of Tarlabaşı that would support their urban intervention proposals. Among the outputs of the thesis three of them are considered as utilizable outputs that distinguish this thesis from previous studies: The KDPM for urban analysis. Although there have been other studies which make use of data mining methods and techniques combined with GIS technology, to the best of our knowledge no previous research has implemented a process model to depict this process and used the model to extract ‘knowledge’ from traditional thematic maps. Researchers and practitioners can re-use this process model to analyze other urban environments. The KDPM for urban analysis is, therefore, one of the main utilizable outputs of the thesis and an important scientific contribution of this study. The Beyoğlu Preservation Area Building Features Database. A large and quite comprehensive GIS database which consists of 45 spatial and non-spatial features attributed to the 11,984 buildings located in the Beyoğlu Preservation Area was constructed. This database is one of the original features of this study. To the best of our knowledge, there are no other examples of applications of data mining using such a comprehensive GIS database, constructed from a range of actual micro-scale data representing such a variety of features attributed to the buildings. This database can be re-used by analysts interested in studying the Beyoğlu Preservation Area. The Beyoğlu Preservation Area Building Features Database is therefore one of the main utilizable outputs of the thesis and represents a scientific contribution to the research material on the Beyoğlu Preservation Area. A computational process which generates draft plans for ground floor use, user-profile and tenure-type allocation, using GIS and data mining functionalities with evolutionary computation. This output of the thesis was generated by Implementation (2), which aimed to investigate Research Question (3). The overall process involved the successive application of Naïve Bayes Classification, Association Rule Analysis and an Evolutionary Algorithm to a subset of the Beyoğlu Preservation Area Building Features Database representing the Tarlabaşı neighbourhood. Briefly, the findings of the data mining analysis were used to formulate a set of rules for assigning ground floor use information to the buildings. These rules were then used for fitness measurements of an Evolutionary Algorithm, together with other fitness measurements for assigning user-profile and tenure-type information (defined by the author according to the regeneration approach developed by the author). As a result, the algorithm transformed the existing allocation of the ground floor use in the buildings located in Tarlabaşı in accordance with the given rules and assigned user-profile and tenure type information for each building. This computational process demonstrated one way to use the data mining analysis findings in developing intervention proposals for urban regeneration. A similar computational process can be implemented in other urban contexts by researchers and practitioners. To the best of our knowledge, no prior research has used data mining analysis findings for fitness measurements of an Evolutionary Algorithm in order to produce draft plans for ground floor use, user-profile and tenure-type allocation. This is, therefore, the most original scientific contribution and utilizable output of the thesis. As a result of the research, on the basis of the data that is available in the thematic maps of the Beyoğlu Preservation Area, the potential of a knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis in revealing the relationships between various components of urban environments and their various attributes is demonstrated. It is also demonstrated that these relationships can reveal site-specific characteristics of urban environments and if found ‘valuable’ by the the targeted researchers and practitioners, these can lead to the development of more informed intervention proposals. Thereby the knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis developed in this thesis may help to improve the quality of urban intervention proposals and consequently the quality of built environments. On the other hand, the implementations carried out in the thesis also exposed the major limitation of the knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis through data mining, which is the fact that the findings discoverable by this approach are limited by the relevant data that is collectable and accessible.