The ecological, climate and urban crisis globally takes place in anthropocene landscapes. Human settlement interacts with the landscape in creating a new topography and draw on resources. This explorative research looked into four landscapes of extraction, drink water, geothermal water, wood and iron, in which different forms of critical relationship between nature (biotic/abiotic) and culture exist. By reading and mapping ongoing trends and projecting future change, the research engaged with a main research question which has the purpose to turn the negative effects of extreme ecologies around:How can ecosystem participation perform as a design catalyst for healthy and climate proof urban extraction landscapes? The research projects show how to move from considering ecosystems as a service towards going back into the system as a participant. Next result is then how does this affect the living in these landscapes. By working on different situations there is a methodological understanding of how this affects the field of urban design. @en

The ecological, climate and urban crisis globally takes place in extreme landscapes. Events like tsunamis, hurricanes, extreme drought and cold, or extreme urbanizations even the Netherlands as extreme is taken as starting point for explorative research. The research looked into a wide spectrum of six cases of extreme landscapes: drought, hurricane, tsunami and temperature which gives an overview of the different forms of critical relationship between nature (biotic/abiotic) and culture. By reading and mapping ongoing trends and projecting future change, the research engaged with a main research question which has the purpose to turn the negative effects of extreme ecologies around: How can ecosystem participation work as catalyst for healthy, climate proof extreme urban environments? The research guides the quest into how to move from considering ecosystems as a service towards going back into the system as participant and how does this affect the living in extreme situations. By comparing different extreme situations, there is an methodological understanding of how this affects the field of urban design. @en

Ports provide an essential link to the world market, enabling countries to trade their goods and strengthen their economies. However, the global and regional benefits of port developments do not always translate into benefits to local stakeholders. There is often a mismatch between the positive global and regional effects of port development and the impacts that can be experienced locally. Port development requires a paradigm shift from a conventional economic and engineering oriented approach to a stakeholder-inclusive and environmentally, economically and socially integrated approach to become sustainable. The research project ‘Integrated and Sustainable Port Development in Ghana within an African Context’ aims to learn how to develop integrated and sustainable African ports that meet economic, social and environmental needs now and in the future. The Port of Tema, which has evolved from a small fishing village to Ghana’s leading industrial centre and seaport in the last decades, forms the focal case study of the research. A specific objective of the governance component of the project is to find out what local stakeholders value as a sustainable port. This book is an outcome of this endeavor, seeking to present and share the voices of a range of stakeholders on Tema and its port.@en

Multifunctional flood defenses protect areas against flooding, but serve other functions as well. Although these types of defenses can be seen almost everywhere, they pose special technical and governance challenges. This book is about a unique interdisciplinary research program developed to tackle some of the issues designers and managers of multifunctional flood defenses are confronted with, and also to provide some practical solutions. The book discusses a variety of case studies, but also considers the difficulties involved in setting up an interdisciplinary study with PhD students from different fields. Interviews with some of the end users and reflections by researchers involved in the field make this book a ‘must read’ for everybody who is involved in protecting societies against flooding.@en