Most contemporary cities are currently unable to adapt fast enough to the constant change in demands. Rapid technological advances have significantly altered the way humanity interacts with its surroundings – with a sedentary lifestyle becoming more common – while climate change and ecological degradation threaten to do unrepairable damage to our urban ecosystems. These trends will – without drastic change – ultimately lead to increased social isolation, more people living an unhealthy lifestyle, an uncomfortable urban microclimate, and a lack of resilience regarding environmental shocks and stresses.

This study aims to determine how urban green – with its different qualities and attributes – can be applied to mitigate these potential future effects and develop a future city that is more liveable, resilient, and biodiverse. In this context, urban green can be defined as all urban land covered by vegetation of any kind – irrespectively of size, function, and ownership.

To effectively research the diverse benefits of urban green, a case study approach was applied, in which the city centre of Schiedam was selected. Additionally, the following research question was chosen: ‘’How can the implementation of urban green in the inner city of Schiedam contribute to resolving issues related to ecological degradation, climate adaptation, social isolation, and vacancy in an integrated and inclusive way?’’

Literary research and case study reviews were conducted to assess the different ways urban green can be implemented, with their subsequent benefits. Furthermore, spatial analysis was conducted to gain a better understanding of how the aforementioned problems are manifested in the case of Schiedam, together with how the literary findings can be implemented in a real location.

The research showed that a multiscalar development strategy is required in order to utilise the concept of urban green to its full potential. On the scale of the inner city, five distinct types of pocket parks were developed that each focus on a specific target group. The goal of these park types is to minimise the barrier for people to come outside – giving them a high-quality social green space for whatever purpose they need within a five-minute radius. Furthermore, pocket parks contribute to creating a continuous ecological network, as well as provide environmental benefits.

On the street scale, an objective evaluation method was developed, which can be used to assess the current social, environmental and ecological quality of any street type. Additionally, an intervention toolbox was developed that provides the necessary tools to redevelop the street types accordingly.

By utilising the different potential qualities of urban green through a multiscalar development approach, the future inner city of Schiedam will become a rich, biodiverse urban territory that promotes social interaction and a healthy lifestyle – all while being resilient and climate adaptive.

Currently, the agricultural system of South Holland causes many externalities including subsidence, increased flood risks by poor water management, a loss of biodiversity, air pollution and economic problems due to the nitrogen tax. Given these problems, the following research question is chosen: can improving ecological conditions and livability in South Holland be accomplished by creating a circular agricultural system where livestock farming is severely limited? The goal of this project is to respect and work with the underlying landscape system to con-struct a new circular agricultural system which is beneficial for the ecological system and livability in South Holland. This will be achieved by reducing livestock farming by over 90%, which will still leave us with the right number of animals needed for sufficient manure production. On the remaining land, new types of protein rich, eco-friendly agriculture will be introduced. Furthermore, ground remediation will be done, in peat areas the ground water level is increased to battle subsidence and double dikes will be realized to limit the long-term flood risk in a natural way while producing seaweed at the same time. To create a stronger economy, knowledge on the new forms of farming and producing meat replacements in the newly introduced meat replacement hub will be created and exported. Lastly an ecological network will be created to strengthen the ecosystem and increase biodiversity. By these interventions, a stronger ecosystem is created that will be integrated into people’s lives. To make these interventions happen, scientists need to work together with policy makers and designers to discuss the details of the projects. They will initiate the processes, and then give nature time to heal and achieve the sought-after ecological results. Overall, the following recommendations are given to the province of South Holland: •Initiate natural changes that will lead to a stronger ecology and underlying landscape •Give strong incentives for entrepreneurs to be circular: facilitate, stimulate but also regulate. •Take externalities into account when making economic calculations, then a sustainable way is likely to also be the most profitable way. This report is interesting for policy makers and spatial planners at a national, regional and city scale level looking for spatial solutions to problems with a linear agricultural system as well as policy makers wanting to improve the subsoil conditions. The report is specifically interesting when one is interested in south holland but can also be applied broader to the Netherlands and countries with similar climates, soil types and ecosystems.