Cucuta is a border city between Colombia and Venezuela with complex dynamics due to its location and historical background, affected by drug trafficking, guerrilla warfare, and Venezuela's most recent multidimensional crisis. The city's structural plan (POT) is under review, trying to adapt to the local and global challenges: mass migration; social integration of communities in a post-conflict transition; an economic shift from a commercial dependency of the border into a self-productive region; the demand for housing and the occupation of high-risk areas, are some of the main aspects. These issues are more evident in the fringe areas of the city (edges), where informality is the main pattern of urban growth, with a later upgrade by the local government.
Then, how to achieve an inclusive urban development in the edges of a border city with rapid social and economic transformations?
This graduation project explores the process of urbanization in the edges of Cucuta and the implications of the border in the city's growth. The intention is to question the disparity between spatial planning and the spontaneous consolidation of the city's peripheries. In particular, this research focuses on one of these edges called 'El Rodeo', where more than 5,000 families have settled illegally during the last 20 years. Currently, there is a community development project for this area that involves multiple stakeholders, including the mayor's office. However, there is not a spatial strategy that envisions El Rodeo in the coming years.
Hopefully, the outcome of this work can be used as feedback for the planning office and inspire interventions in similar contexts.

Managing building supply chains is significantly challenging due to its temporary nature, design to order, fragmentation and overall complexity of processes. As the built environment strives to achieve a circular domain, there is an increasing need for solutions that close product and organisational systems together with the material and information flow running through them. These flows currently ‘leak’ and waste materials due to classic linear approaches they have been based on for decades. Furthermore, the context of a circular supply chain is still under research, and it mainly consists of fragmented information over various topics. Therefore, this thesis explores how circular economy principles could be implemented and enhanced within the whole construction supply chain
by investigating also its control environment. This thesis’s scope is the circular supply chains and the information/ material flows needed throughout the process and the respective actors involved in such flows.

The modelling of a supply chain was observed as an appropriate approach to the representation of a circular supply chain environment, as it visualises in a simplified way the complex nature of supply chains. The proposed model provided insights within three levels of analysis: process, organisations and product. The process level identified the additional process phases that are needed in the reverse loops of information and materials. The organisation level elaborated on the traditional stakeholders and new circular specific stakeholders that could be introduced into these processes. Within this level
traditional stakeholders were observed to adapt their operations by introducing some of the circular specific stakeholder activities internally. The third product level, investigated the control environment and the data residing within it, both provided and required data information. Identifying the data, processes and the involved actors facilitated into the design of a Modular Circular Supply Chain Model (MCSCM). In addition, the modular structure of the model enables the adaptability of any of the modules, whether this be adding or modifying modules and functionalities to suit a wide range of circular supply chain situations. The MCSCM is expected to introduce a general image of a circular supply chain environment by making this concept more tangible into nowadays society.

Low-income gated communities have become increasingly popular in Bogotá, despite the contradiction that lies at their core: that life in a self-sufficient and closed type of housing is an unsustainable endeavour for a population that cannot pay for a privatised life. To navigate through this paradox, residents constantly negotiate those regulations that keep communities closed (which they cherish as source of order and tranquillity) with their own experience and needs. This negotiation derives into actions of “overflow” that challenge the planned space and, under current conditions, are destined to remain unrecognised by formal institutions.

This research explores the ways in which these actions can be translated into and enhanced through a spatial and regulatory “framework for negotiation.” The goal is to create the conditions for the growth of open living environments through actions that prioritize horizontal interaction and spatial flexibility. In this scenario, residents become the main agents of production of social, political, and economic complexity of their neighbourhoods.

Pearl river delta is undoubtedly the most promising area and a very dynamic tidal zone, especially in the southeast part of the delta, Zhuhai province, Modaomen estuary. The whole area of Zhuhai is a remote island scattered outside the mouth of the Pearl River，when after several generations of reclamation and these days, 20% of marshland in Modaomen estuary is replaced by aquatic dyke ponds, The small fishing tribes in Modaomen estuary developed into promising productive villages based on the dyke pond system during decades of reclamation. However, the dyke pond system and excessive fish farms on the one hand lead to ecological destruction and increase vulnerability to many natural disasters. On the other hand, dyke ponds system as the manmade wetland provides potentials for future alteration, such as ecological restoration and city development.

To provides the condition for the city transformation and solve many coastal natural disasters and ecological problems, such as salt water intrusion, soil subsidence, ecological destruction, etc., a new landscape framework for dyke pond systems, water safety, ecological development, and urbanization is needed. The adaptive landscape framework is a bold experiment to solve multiple problems of urban, agricultural, ecological issues using interdisciplinary knowledge.

Taking into account the extremely dynamic natural process of the estuary, which were originally regarded as resistance, and the traditional dyke pond system, the landscape framework creates the scenario of 3 structures, the natural brackish water wetland, the freshwater reservoir controlled by the double dyke system, the urban area integrating with the dyke pond system. The structure provides multi-function and values from ecological, social, and economic aspects. In terms of ecology value, the proposed landscape framework functions as a dynamic process rather than a static object, interacts with natural conditions to form a variety of habitats, creating a suitable environment for flora and fauna. In terms of social value, the proposed water system could restore, retain, and recharge freshwater to improves the site’s disaster-resistant and facilitates city development. It solves salt water intrusion, soil subsidence, lack of drinking water, etc. In terms of economical value, the improvement of the ecological environment, and the increasing resistance to natural disasters in this transitional area also provides the condition for the city transformation. It provides local residents with opportunities for entertainment, education, culture, and community construction.

The proposal, strategies, principles could provide the insight of using landscape as framework on the coastal area not only in Modaomen estuary but also in other coastal areas all over the world in time and space dimension, to deal with the spatial-social-ecological problems brought by the dyke pond system and city expansion.

The process of globalization of the economy created the idea of a global urban hierarchy. Within this context, the Olympic Games and its legacy started to be seen as a tool for cities to attract large scale investment and be projected in this global economic perspective. In the case of the 2016 Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, massive dislocation of people and substantial public investments in exclusive areas left behind a legacy of empty venues, gentrification, and real estate speculation, further contributing to increasing the already existing social-spatial inequality within the city. This project proposes building upon this legacy of the Olympics to create more inclusive planning for the city of Rio de Janeiro, reintegrating segregated areas into the city and designing strategies for better use of Olympic venues. It focuses on the possibilities of acting on the legacies left behind once the Games are over in order to revert the negative social and spatial impacts of hosting such a mega-event and put them in the agenda of future urban plans.

In the past two decades, two big processes have changed the urban configuration of Jerusalem: The construction of the West Bank separation barrier, leaving the majority of the Palestinian neighborhoods of the city completely cut out from their hinterland and neighboring Palestinian cities, and the ongoing planning and construction of the light rail project in Jerusalem. The light rail project is a part of a transportation infrastructure upgrade that came as a response to the city’s urban sprawl and its heavy traffic problem. These two processes seem to be of a contradictive nature: one is of absolute separation and segregation, and the other is of interconnection and integration. The truth, as always, is more complex, and these two processes are deeply rooted in the colonization of the city. This thesis researches the relations between urban planning and the process of colonization, and, in particular, the role of transportation infrastructure in manifesting colonization patterns in the urban space in the city of Jerusalem. It analyzes the dynamics that influence urban planning in a divided city that is subjected to urban conflict and examines the problems, urban damage, and social injustice that are caused by it. The design part of this thesis explores the potential of urban planning and design as a means of a decolonization and reconciliation process and proposes a transition to a transit-oriented development framework to support it. From the understanding of the powerful role that transportation infrastructure plays in the colonization and segregation of the city, the main research question of this thesis is: How could Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) serve as an instrument for decolonization and inclusion in Jerusalem? To answer this question, this thesis takes the approach of alternative planning – grounded on the existing spatial and social conditions of the city while exploring alternative urban planning and design given a different political framework. This approach enables a critical debate about existing narratives and assumptions, stimulates discussion, and imagines a different future beyond existing political constraints. The design part of the thesis consists of three levels: Strategic planning, in the form of a city-scale urban vision that explores a transit-oriented development framework to the city as a means for decolonization. Governance design, exploring implementation strategies and governance transformation to support the urban vision and implement it on the local scale. Urban design: Two key projects on a local scale are designed in important nodes of the urban vision. The design of the key projects examines the implications of the urban vision on the local scale and explores the potentials of decolonization on the urban form and public space.

Rio de Janeiro has become a ’broken city’ (Ventura, 1994): rapid urbanization processes, wealth concentration, market-oriented development, governmental neglect and socio-spatial segregation have been enlarging the societal gap between rich and poor in Brazil. Those processes have shaped the fragmentation of the city, where multidimensional borders and subsequent conflicts construct a divide between the so-called formal and informal city. However, the consequences of this partition mostly affect the groups that low capacity to withstand the pressures of the city. The research intends to design strategies that can increase the permeability of the multidimensional borders of the city, by promoting the integration and increasing the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable groups in Rio de Janeiro. Finally, this research proposes that the co-production of spaces can create places of potentiality, that can enhance social interactions and support the self-development of the local population. Carried out as an open project, an exploratory design, the proposal has been translated to an extensive set of independent, but complementary, socio-ecological strategies that vary according to scale, program and involved stakeholders. The flexibility of the project intends to construct an alternative development process, open to changes and adaptive to uncertainties; that can satisfy local demands and promote the integration between the polarized communities in Rio de Janeiro, as well as enhance their adaptive capacity towards future fluctuations.

Taking into consideration that ancient Greece is highly correlated to the democratic public space, the aim of the present thesis is to regain public space in modern Greece, by having as a testing location a medium-sized city, Chania. Public space was an important part of Greek people’s lives in the different chronological periods of its history. Starting from antiquity, the ancient agora and the Greek polis were considered as prototypes of democratic public spaces. In more modern years though, the relationship between Greek people and public space was gradually lost, leading to the present-day function of the Greek public spaces. Nowadays, most Greek people spend their free time in cafeterias and bars, neglecting so public spaces, such as squares, parks etc. Even though it is undeniable that cafeterias play an important role in the sociability, liveability and the economic vitality of an area, the way they function in Greece leads to the extreme privatization of public space due to coffee tables, the absence of people in areas where there are no cafes or the occupation of the empty public spaces by marginalized groups. Hence, the present thesis is dealing with the problematic use and the poor quality of public space in the Greek context, and especially in the city of Chania, as a case study. Many of the public spaces are extreme privatized, causing problems of accessibility and walkability, while others are not used at all or used by specific social groups developing urban voids or ghettos in the city. This existing defective Greek reality results in social exclusion and poor social interaction among different demographics, questioning the serving of needs of the different users. Taking into consideration the above-mentioned problem statement and the results by the different research methods used, it is concluded that the enhancement of sense of security, social interaction and inclusion are the main goals to be achieved in the project. Since these three concepts are more social than spatial related, design patterns are used as a method for their translation into space and urban environment. Moreover, they function as a bridge between research and design. In the end, to avoid generic solutions the definition of the patterns is a forth and backwards procedure between research and design.

The studio that I chose to participate was ‘Dutch Housing: Stronghold Amsterdam’. The topic of this studio as mentioned in its studio manual concerns problems with ecology, climate, overpopulation, mass-migration, a shifting global power balance, changing demographics, etc., cities like Amsterdam will face in the future. But the question is: how do we want to live and what kind of buildings do we need to make that possible? Stated tin the studio’s manual ‘In the Dutch Housing Graduation Studio you will formulate a vision on the future of the city of Amsterdam and design a housing project that exemplifies this vision.’ First of all, my graduation project theme deals with the problem of the lost connection between people and their food and their lack of awareness about how food can shape the urban fabric and people’s lives nowadays. Therefore my projects research question was: How the architecture of a housing complex can contribute to raising of people’s food awareness inside the urban fabric?
Furthermore, by researching different case studies of urban agriculture I came to the conclusion that food production in urban environments is a subject that is closely connected with both social and technical issues. From the research I realized that if future cities need to reach to a level that they are self-sufficient and self-sustained in the case of food supply, people need first to be more conscious about it. That meant for me that people had first to start being more aware about the problem of their lost connection with their food, and when they succeed to be aware about it, then they can move forward to the next step, which is to start creating self-sufficient neighborhoods and dealing with more technical issues. Therefore the most important factor for my design was that of educating people about the food supply problem and urban food production in general. And that could be achieved by having some food-based activities situated in the premises of the building and which have an educational character.