Infrastructure projects undergo multiple changes throughout their lifecycle, adapting to new mobilities, technologies and environments. We build on the System of Systems (SoS) theoretical concept to understand the implications of such infrastructure transformations, specifically when projects move from a single purpose to hosting multiple functions. Using multiple case studies in Europe, we investigate which functions will likely be added to the original infrastructure and the rationale for adding these functions. Therefore, we expand upon the theoretical concepts of circularity, resilience, and social sustainability, wherein multifunctional infrastructure adapts, renews, and complements existing infrastructure.

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The paper discusses the necessary integrated approaches and design actions aimed at fostering a future-proof built environment through the (re)design, retrofitting, and transformation of public spaces into sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and attractive areas for inhabitants and visitors. It emphasizes the importance of adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change, as well as addressing spatial advantage and quality, social well-being, and ecological balance. Can we leverage climate adaptation and the urge for the energy and mobility transition as catalysts for spatial transformation to benefit inhabitants? Can this lead to improving attractiveness and use of public space within their neighbourhood? Can design thinking, with a focus on societal values, overcome governance’s preoccupation with costs? The City x Space design study demonstrate that an integrated design approach from different perspectives and disciplines can tackle the multitude of transitions in diverse urban settings, with public space -including its subsurface- playing a pivotal role in improvement or even transformation. Six design cases in different Dutch and Flemish cities, spanning historical, post-war reconstruction, and post-industrial contexts, showcase tailored solutions that contribute significantly to creating a more attractive and inviting future-proof built environment. The combination of a more formal setup, a clear Research-by-Design approach with included assessment criteria, and the involvement of multidisciplinary design teams from practice provides both directions from a policy perspective and freedom from a design viewpoint to explore and envision plausible futures for selected locations. The main conclusion is that policy makers, architects, urban designers, and landscape architects must deal with new and shifting conditions with a focus on societal, spatial, and ecological values. For policy makers, it is relevant to translate insights from designs produced by Research-by-Design into their policy processes for developing a prospect for action. Both professional practices and education need to foster innovative and interdisciplinary design strategies in a more holistic and integrative approach within their cultural-historical architectural and urban contexts. For both current and future spatial designers, the task -but above all the opportunity- is to position themselves more as integrators and agents of change contributing to a paradigm shift that can drive tangible adaptation and improvement in our living environment at the local scale.@en

The design study The City of the Future addresses the major challenges that our cities are facing. Ten teams of professionals from a broad range of disciplines conducted research by design into a square kilometre of one of the five largest cities in the Netherlands - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and Eindhoven. Their outcome is inspiring visualization and concrete prospects for action suggest ways in which the major transitions of our time can play out in our cities. They show a city of the future thet is climate-proof, energy-, and mobility-smart, thet stimulates encounter and is a pleasant place to live and work for everyone. 'The City of the Future: Ten Design Strategies for Five Locations' presents the results of the study in word and images. The work of teams is accompanied by articles and interviews with those involved in The City of the Future project. It is supplemented with work by students from Delft University of Technology. The study shows the city of the future through the eyes of designers and offers challenging views that we can start working with today.@en