Herten, which is a neighborhood in Roermond, has lost part of its sense of place as a result of recent urban expansions. This thesis links the sense of place to the concept of time and concludes, through a literature review, that the sense of place and sense of time can be comprehended through static, dynamic, and collective elements. The thesis focuses on the dynamic elements, which are the urban rhythms, and explores how they can be used to create an urban design.

The main research question for this thesis is: How can urban rhythms be used in an urban design to enhance the sense of place in Herten. To answer this question, a historic analysis is conducted to understand how the sense of place in Herten has been changed in the past century. After this, fieldwork is used to observe what rhythms currently take place in the location. The results of these analyses are then used to create a small-scale urban design for a central location in Herten. This design consists of several areas inspired by a variety of rhythms, increasing the activities that can take place and allowing people from the neighborhood to meet. This strengthens the sense of place and sense of community in the neighborhood.

Additionally, the thesis presents a long-term strategy for the neighborhood which shares the same goal as the design: to enhance the sense of place in Herten. Because Herten shares many characteristics with the Dutch vinex neighborhoods, many of the interventions and conclusions from this thesis may also be applicable to other, similar neighborhoods.

Nature is declining rapidly. Recent research connected the natural decline with the intensive and monocultural way of dairy agriculture that is happening in North-Western Europe. As a result farmers are forced to stop and are left without a vision for their future. A change in the practice of dairy farming is necessary to reach the goals of the European Green Deal, but the current regulations fail to arch the missing link for providing a just transition. This report aims to bridge this gap by providing bottom-up interventions and a clear top-down vision and answer the question: “How can the goals of the European Green Deal be achieved in a fair way to facilitate the transition towards sustainable dairy farming in the non-urban area in N-W Europe?”

The studies in this report discusses a multiscalar strategy that focuses on farmers cooperating, upscaling of regenerative farming practices, crop-livestock rotation and localizing waste and resource loops. This transformation of the farming practice is grounded by the government establishing policies and defining green corridors and natural structures that connect natura 2000 areas. This will set the ground for farmers to join the provided pattern game. In the strategy a pilot project, De Kooi, will be used to convince farmers the transition is beneficial.

Considering the profession's vast environmental, social, and economic impacts, a balance between preserving nature and progressive dairy farming techniques is established by providing farmers with a vision for their future while giving biodiversity space to thrive.