by admin_user | Sep 22, 2026 | Engage, Governance, Perspectives, Reflections
Governance begins where the difficult decisions are Last night I spoke with members of the Zaanstreek-Waterland subregion at the Purmerend City Hall, about a deceptively simple question: how can national government, regional authorities and market actors develop a...
by admin_user | May 26, 2026 | Engage, Inspiration, Mobility, Reflections
Using soft maps as an art-based planning intervention In the past two years we have been working with visual artist Jan Rothuizen and colleagues from the city of Amsterdam to develop critical art-based methods for planning. Our main interest is how artworks can be...
by admin_user | Apr 29, 2026 | Governance, Perspectives, Reflections
Why planners should pay much more attention to State Avoiders There is an increase in people who are discontented with the Dutch State and no longer trust that state institutions work for the common good (de Ridder, 2025). This can be explained by recent failures of...
by admin_user | Apr 15, 2026 | Environment, Inspiration, Reflections
Where the City Burns: A Visit to Amsterdam’s Waste-to-Energy Machine Cycling to AEB. Image by Emma Griffith. On a windy and grey afternoon, we cycled to the far west side of Amsterdam, following the long line of the Haarlemmerweg out of the city. The journey to the...
by admin_user | Apr 7, 2026 | Governance, Inspiration, Reflections
Strengthening democracy beyond ‘participation’: informal politics and inclusive urban development This project investigated Planning Conflicts, focusing on how citizens informally claim their right to the city in ways that formal participatory urban planning processes...
by admin_user | Jan 19, 2026 | Inspiration, Reflections
UP Postdoc Community kicks off 2026 with a Writing Retreat For the second year in a row, we’ve taken advantage of January to come together as postdocs, get away from the city, and dedicate some time to being together and writing. It’s a great way to “break the ice”...
