Participative urban regeneration is a growing concept in the development of urbanism. There are also other terms describing a similar phenomenon, such as inclusive urban regeneration, bottom-up urbanism, community self-organization and organic planning. The motivation behind this trend is to seek a sustainable way to regenerate the current built environment, which has given rise to community involvement and bottom-up initiatives. In China, where planning has traditionally been top-down, participative approaches are also emerging, exemplified by Shanghai's micro-regeneration initiatives. These endeavors focus on small-scale interventions, where smaller collectives and individuals playing pivotal roles. However, development of micro-regeneration is still in an early stage. This research, through case study analyses and comparisons, seeks to explore the participatory experience in recent micro-regeneration projects in Shanghai, aiming to bridge the gap between practical and guideline-oriented approaches in urban regeneration governance and provide generalized favorable conditions for optimizing participative approaches, thereby contributing to the discourse on urban regeneration in both Chinese and Western contexts.

The sustainable development of cities depends significantly upon the effectiveness of housing policies, particularly in fostering social integration and inclusive communities. Within this context, the integration of status holders, poses a multifaceted challenge for Dutch housing policies. Beyond the provision of shelter, successful integration entails fostering harmonious relationships, reducing social disparities, and promoting a sense of belonging among status holders within their newfound communities.
This thesis investigates the impact of Dutch housing policies on the social integration of status holders, focusing on how housing allocation systems, spatial dispersal policies, and municipal decision-making processes influence social integration outcomes. Through a combination of literature reviews, case studies in Utrecht and Westland, and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, the research provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and strategies associated with housing refugees.
The study reveals that Dutch housing policies prioritize status holders through centralized allocation systems, quota-based distribution, and collaborative initiatives aimed at increasing affordable housing and community integration. Spatial dispersal policies, designed to prevent segregation and promote diversity, present challenges related to individual preferences and potential isolation. Municipal decision-making is influenced by factors such as social housing scarcity, community resistance, and the need for greater input from status holders.
Social integration is found to be closely linked to housing's connection to employment, education, health, and community support. The research highlights the importance of place attachment, access to (familiar) amenities, and public transportation in facilitating integration. Additionally, the role of community attitudes and political environments significantly impacts the social integration process.
The findings underscore the need for flexible and informed housing policies that balance practical considerations with the well-being of migrants. Recommendations for future research include exploring community-based support initiatives, understanding local residents' perceptions of refugees, and utilizing AI algorithms to improve housing placement decisions. The study contributes to the broader discourse on refugee integration and offers insights for policymakers, housing authorities, and community stakeholders. It seeks to offer valuable insights into the dynamics shaping inclusive communities and resilient cities in the Netherlands and beyond.

This thesis focuses on the critical gap in understanding and operationalizing social sustainability within URPs, in the context of private-led developers. While the significance of social sustainability is acknowledged, its application in urban development projects, especially by private-led developers, remains underexplored. This research aims to bridge this gap by exploring how social sustainability objectives are assessed and documented within the context of urban transformation projects. The main research question will be: “How do private-led urban developers interpret and implement social sustainability in URPs, and how do these interpretations impact communities from the perspective of both developers and end-users?”. The research primarily employs a qualitative approach, using literature review, document analysis and semi-structured interviews with experts and residents. Two case studies, Le Medi and The Hudsons, situated in Rotterdam's Bospolder neighborhood, were selected for comparative analysis. The selection of the projects, developed by the same developer, ERA-Contour, but at different times, provides insight into urban planning strategies and their effects over time. Findings show that both projects emphasize social well-being, quality of life and sense of place, addressing various aspects of social sustainability. However, challenges remain, including perceptions of living in a bubble and limited integration with the broader community. Despite municipal guidelines to attract new populations, integration efforts are gradually evolving, with community initiatives showing promise. Analysis of the case studies reveals the strong influence of public and semi-public parties, especially municipalities and housing associations, in shaping urban development agendas. The collaborative nature of Dutch urban governance is considerable. This collaborative nature of Dutch urban governance and its transition to people-centered regeneration underscore the importance of community involvement and bottom-up approaches. The developer's profile, exemplified by ERA, reflects an integrated approach with a focus on concept development, community engagement and on long-term social welfare enhancement. Both projects demonstrate a commitment to design quality and strategic decision-making aligned with the neighborhood context, although the approaches to social inclusion somewhat differ. The study concludes with a theoretical framework that summarizes indicators and contextual factors of social sustainability in URPs. This framework provides a valuable tool for analyzing and understanding the implementation of social sustainability by private developers in URPs. Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness and implications of these strategies for promoting inclusive and equitable urban environments for other types of private-led developers.

In the coming years, the Netherlands is expected to face various climate change-related challenges. Until 2030, the Dutch government has set the goal for the development of nearly a million dwellings (De Jonge, 2022), whereby 600,000 dwellings are being carried out in areas prone to flooding (Deltares, Bosch Slabbers, & Sweco, 2021; Groenemeijer & van der Lelij, 2021). In literature, work has been done regarding the current use of adaptation pathways, policies and their impact on decision-makers and practitioners (Restemeyer, van den Brink, & Woltjer, 2017; van Alphen, Haasnoot, & Diermanse, 2022; Yousefpour & Hanewinkel, 2016). However, limited efforts have been made regarding their practicality in the real estate sector. This research seeks to address the fundamental question, “who pays what, when?”. At its core, this research revolves around the influence of climate risks on the investment decision-making process in polder-area developments in the Netherlands and examines the research question: “In which way do water risks impact the investment decision-making process in polder-area development projects in the Netherlands?”. In this qualitative study, the urban area development projects Westergouwe (Gouda) and Gnephoek (Alphen aan den Rijn) are compared and analyzed. With the use of explorative interviews, and semi-structured in-depth interviews, the research strived to answer the research question. Afterward, an expert panel is held to bridge the gap to standard practice. This research found that the integration of adaptive measures into the investment decision-making process is currently insufficient. There is a need for clear policy, clear distribution of responsibilities and prioritization of water safety over financial considerations in the investment decision-making process. By navigating this complexity, driven by collaborative efforts, a holistic approach becomes imperative to forge a path toward a more resilient built environment.

The 15-minute city is an urban planning concept which seeks to enhance social sustainability by improving accessibility. In this master thesis accessibility in Amsterdam Nieuw-West is explored to better understand the link between the 15-minute city concept and social sustainability to answer the research question: To what extent is the 15-minute city able to enhance social sustainability? Empirical research is conducted to identify the indicators that truly affect accessibility. Literature regarding the subject has pointed out two scale levels which affect accessibility. The macro scale relates to accessibility of the infrastructure network and availability of facilities while the micro scale relates to the indicators affecting the accessibility of a place. There where also two categories of accessibility indicators defined. Physical accessibility indicators experienced directly because of the built environment and social accessibility indicators experienced because of the behaviour of people inhabiting the built environment. This creates an interesting dynamic of the designed physical accessibility and the social accessibility resulting from it. After the initial literature review, three research methods were used in the case study in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. First two project mangers affiliated with the municipality were interviewed which alongside case study documents aided the framework of known accessibility indicators in Nieuw-West. Thereafter, the way accessibility is experienced was studied on both scale levels. The macro scale by interviewing residents about their decision making process regarding their routes and destinations utilising mental maps and the micro scale by street interviews with users of Osdorpplein. The findings show that the 15-minute city concept is not applicable as a one size fits all solution for urban development as that would be discriminatory because of the different desires and capabilities of inhabitants. However, indicators of the 15-minute city on their own are able to improve accessibility and thus social sustainability.

The Netherlands has been in a serious housing crisis for the past few years. The current housing shortage is estimated at 315.000 units and house prices have increased significantly. Especially first-time buyers experience a decrease in accessibility to the Dutch owner-occupied housing market, and their position on the housing market deteriorates. The government has implemented several regulations in attempt to increase this accessibility, and organizations have introduced alternative purchase instruments that are designed to increase the accessibility of first-time buyers to the market. Despite all these efforts, access to the housing market remains a serious challenge for first-time buyers.
The accessibility of first-time buyers to the owner-occupied housing market is highly relevant to the functioning of the housing market as whole, since it stimulates the housing market flow. Additionally, the inaccessibility to the owner-occupied market results in households not being able to build equity through homeownership, stimulating a prosperity gap. Although studies have researched the position of first-time buyers on the housing market, as well as provided a comparison between several alternative purchase instruments, there is a lack of research on how these instruments enhance the accessibility of first-time buyers to the housing market and which factors form a barrier in this enhancement. Therefore, this research identifies the factors limiting the access of first-time buyers to the housing market, and establishes through a comparative study the enablers and barriers of four alternative purchase instruments in the Netherlands with regard to enhancing the increase in the accessibility. The identified barriers are transformed into suggestions for alterations of the alternative purchase instruments to increase the impact they have on enhancing the accessibility of first-time buyers to the market. Literature study on first-time buyers, their limitations, and alternative purchase instruments in the Netherlands was complemented with interviews, providing several perspectives on the alternative purchase instruments. The main limitation of first-time buyers in acquiring homeownership is their limited financing capacity. The group of first-time buyers with an income between €40.000 and €60.000 (equal to 1 –1,5 modal income) experience the greatest limitations since their income is too high to be eligible for social rent, but too low to get access to enough financial resources to purchase a property on the owner-occupied housing market. The analysis of the empirical data shows that on the small scale that the instruments are currently deployed in, they are successful in increasing the accessibility of first-time buyers to the housing market since they lower the necessary funding capacity. However, the deployment capacity of the instruments is being influenced by external factors, limiting the ability to increase the deployment capacity of the instruments and therefore the impact on the increase of accessibility of first-time buyers. By making a purchase instrument individual bound instead of property bound, the deployment capacity is no longer dependent on the supply side of the housing market. This also lowers the desire to apply an instrument to the same property for multiple households, allowing households to pay off the instrument’s rights and acquire the bare property rights. Finally, the division of financial benefits should be in equilibrium, meaning that the financial benefits should be high enough on the supplier’s side for the instrument to be viable, but also on the user’s side since financing capacity is the main problem these instruments try to tackle.

This thesis examines the impact of the formalisation process on recipient households in peri-urban areas of Albania, by employing a multi-dimensional framework, adapted from Frediani and Hansen (2015), which uses aspects of both the Capability Space and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. The main research question explores the impact of formalization on recipient households, while sub-questions delve into aspects such as tenure security, socio-economic characteristics, asset accumulation, and the influence of external factors on the benefits of formalization. It adopts a case-study approach, where different qualitative methods are used to study two cases in different cities in Albania, Kamëz and Durrës. A total of 36 recipient households were selected as participants, taking part in a qualitative door-to-door survey, where subsequently, five of which were part of semi-structured interviews. Alongside this, several experts and government officials were interviewed as well, to gain a better understanding of the issues and to assure the triangulation of the data.
The data analysis utilized Excel for the survey data and ATLAS.ti for interview transcripts, employing both deductive and inductive coding techniques. The findings reveal that the obtaining of ownership certificates had limited overall impact on the access to livelihood assets amongst recipient households. While there were some enhancements in financial capital for a few participants, the changes were not present in the rest of the sample population. Moreover, for those few participants that observed any changes following formalisation, the possession of other assets and skills prior to the process, played a significant role in their ability to capitalise on the legal status of their properties. This thesis highlights the importance of considering multiple dimensions of well-being, and accounting for the local socio-economic contexts, to fully understand the impact of formalisation on recipient households. It emphasizes the need for further research into gentrification and formalisation, the need for longitudinal and comparative studies, as well as further academic research into policy measures that can address the broader socio-economic challenges concerning formalisation. Lastly, the findings can inform future initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable development and inclusive urbanisation in Albania and similar contexts.

Top-down solutions toward Incremental Housing have been criticized because the government has imposed unrealistic and unaffordable standards. On a bottom-up approach, Social Enterprises have been recognized for their contribution to global challenges by implementing service and product innovation and their intermediary role in the processes related to the Built Environment. Theory on Incremental Housing (i.e., process, elements) and Social Enterprises (i.e., characteristics of the organization, intermediary roles) are used to identify three types of Social Enterprises and their contributions to Incremental Housing. A typology was constructed from a cross-case study of 6 cases to answer the following research question: To what extent does the type of Social Enterprise and deployed Roles contribute to Incremental Housing? Firstly, type A: technical-led is a socially driven organization adopting roles as an implementer, emphasizing design and material solutions. Their intervention is sporadic, facing challenges such as a limited network, resources, and motivation to achieve goals. Secondly, type B: community-led, is a socially driven organization adapting roles as a catalyst and partner, focusing on the bottom-up process of self-organization and building social networks on a local scale. Barriers faced by this actor are; the lengthy decision-making process among groups and the minor involvement of the users. Thirdly, type C: project management-led; adopting roles as catalysis, implementer, and partner, has an extensive network with strategic allies. Barriers faced are limited access to the best talent and actors not having a shared vision towards Incremental Housing. Shedding light on these organizations aims to attract the attention of policymakers towards these actors to propel their practice and inspire new ventures towards assisting the Incremental Housing process.

In recent years, Barcelona has been a pioneer in the implementation of PRO-Housing Right policies. Unfortunately, these measures can be considered too radical and not necessarily efficient in a long-term scenario. Private landlords are at the center of this challenge, being that they are the stakeholder that might potentially be the solution and negotiate a balance between the two sides of the coin. On the one hand, a housing rental real estate market is shown that depends on the owners and investors, so its stability is dictated by the interest and the ttractiveness it has. Cases such as Real Estate Investment Trusts are the financial
mechanism that allows indirect investment to come to the city and higher tax collection that is reflected in the infrastructure of the city. On the other, big private landlords such as opportunistic private equity funds are responsible for managing the properties and, therefore, responsible for the conditions of the tenants. Which, in recent years, have been affected the adequacy of the house. In this way, the question that will guide this research arises, what are the challenges between real estate management models and securing housing rights for low-income tenants in Barcelona? Articles, policy documents, and annual reports will be investigated to explore the investment practices of different companies (to be defined). To establish a complete view of the local investment practices of the SOCIMIs studied. The research will be divided in three sections fallowing the logic of the research questions.

Dutch Housing associations (HA’s) are responsible for producing, maintaining, and managing about 30% of all Dutch housing stock. HA’s draw up their investment forecasts yearly for the next 5 years to construct, improve or maintain homes and other real estate investments. Since 2013, the realization rate of new construction plans by HA’s, which is the comparison of forecasts (dPi) against realized plans (dVi) decreased due to HA’s not realizing new build homes within the time they propose to realize them in their forecast plans. HA’s currently use valuation methods which assist them to mitigate emerging risks that affect new build plans of HA’s. However, valuation methods have been found to focus on indexable risks and capture financial loss while excluding time effect of risks. This means that new build investment forecast as currently conducted yields inaccurate results and are considered too optimistic. Forecasts that are too optimistic lead to disappointments from tenant organizations and municipalities, reduced financial guarantees from lenders, long waiting times for tenants and affects financial feasibilities which rely on accurate prediction of time to completion of projects.
The aim of the research is to explore how new build plans can be made more realistic by accurately predicting the delivery time of investment forecasts. The study results in the identification of risks that lead to delay of new build investment plans and their subsequent indicators. The risks include long permit procedures, long land acquisition processes or lack of land positions to build, long tendering procedures, contractor related delays, rise in construction costs and lack of capacity at municipal level in dealing with development projects. The indicators of risks which statistically significantly predicted project time are construction costs, change in input price index of material and labour costs as of date when decision was made to tender, municipal location, and type of construction i.e., on empty ground or existing site that needs demolition. The project indicators can be used by HA's to accurately predict project time via stochastic decision tree models (SDTA) that rely on multiple linear regression (MLR) and Monte Carlo simulations (MCS). Supervisory bodies can also use these to gauge realism of new build investment forecast.

As part of the larger urban context, informal settlements belong to the realm of formal urban governance while simultaneously possessing governance systems of their own. In the Mexican context, a shift in urban governance has facilitated elements of a networks approach, which places community participation as central to upgrading interventions, to coexist with a historically dominant hierarchical approach. Community participation involves dwellers in the process and is a means for community empowerment, but its validity is put into question as expert-driven and technocratic approaches persist. Therefore, informal settlement upgrading finds itself at a crossroads at which the formal and informal governance systems and hierarchical and networks governance approaches converge. This thesis focuses on identifying factors of government-led upgrading programmes that enable community participation to promote a process of empowerment; taking the Campana-Altamira Initiative in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon as a case study. In this research, community participation covers a broad range of activities and is seen as a means for community empowerment, defined as the ability to gain access to resources, democratically participate and gain a critical awareness of reality. The methodology used to conduct the research was a literature review, followed by empirical research focusing on the Contextual, Socio-Spatial, Planning, and Stakeholder dimensions. The data
was collected through document analysis of socio-urban diagnostics and planning instruments of the case study, as well as interviews and focus groups with public, private, civil society, and expert groups. Through the review of planning documents, analysis of stakeholder relations, and power dynamics, seven factors are identified and presented, namely the Planning Process and Policy, Transparency and Reliability, Networks and Support, Leadership, Stakeholder Collaboration, Community Collectivity, and Contextual Implications. In addition, contributions of this research, recommendation for further research, and a reflection on the topic and process are presented.

Redevelopment of inner-city areas is a complex process involving multiple stakeholders, extensive timelines, and a variety of governance structures and financial mechanisms. The public party is primarily responsible for the quality of public space in the Netherlands. However, the municipalities face increasing financial challenges while private developers gain more land and thus more benefits from a high quality public space. To create those high quality and attractive places, placemaking can be introduced in the area redevelopment. It can be temporary and strategically applied to increase the attractiveness of the area, which results in increased private real estate values while it is publicly funded or subsidized. If private developers engage in placemaking, municipal spending can be reduced and the expenses and benefits of placemaking can be more evenly distributed. Therefore, this research examined a type of financing method, called ‘land value capture’, that might be utilized to engage private developers in placemaking projects. The research question that is addressed is as follows: To what extent can land value capture be applied in governance of area redevelopment to involve private developers in placemaking projects in the Netherlands?

Biodiversity is declining worldwide because of population growth and the rising demand for goods. Biodiversity is needed for our ecosystem services which provide us with fresh water and medicine which means people are dependent on a healthy biodiversity. Cities want to greenify to battle the urban heat island effect and the bad water infiltration. If these cities want to connect to nature on the outside of the city there are often business parks situated in between. These Business parks are large grey areas that create a barrier between the green and the city and add onto the urban heat island. To change a business park from a barrier to a corridor there is a need for change. This brings us to the question “What are design tools an urban designer can use to improve biodiversity and human well-being on a business site and how can this be implemented? Using case study location Spaanse Polder.” Twenty design tools have been created to enhance biodiversity and improve human well-being. These tools have been divided into three categories wherein each category biodiversity will be enhanced and human well-being will be improved. These categories are blue, green, and grey. To understand how these tools interact with each other and their surroundings and what effect these tools have they have been implemented on the location site. In conclusion, multiple elements should be taken into consideration if these tools will be implemented. These are combining design tools, effect on different scale levels, the size of the location, and it is still a business park with private properties. By implementing these design tools in the Spaanse Polder the Spaanse Polder will function as a corridor with multiple patches on its site which are connected to the ecological networks instead of the barrier it is now.

The Corona crisis highly affected socio-economic circumstances, and this was expected to have changed housing preferences. Understanding what needs to be built in quality in addition to quantity is key to a sustainable housing market. Hence, this thesis researched whether and how housing preferences of (aspiring) owner occupiers in the Dutch housing market have changed due to the Corona crisis. The change in housing preferences was researched through a survey inquiring expressed stated preferences for dwelling attributes. Quantitative and qualitative data of 1458 useful respondents combined showed that due to Corona, for 17.8% their housing preferences changed for one or more housing attributes, and thus their preferred dwelling had changed. Per attribute, an average of 3.4% of the respondents changed their preference. Most changes relate to working from home, which severed the link between the home and the workplace, enabling as well as causing people to move further away, and which necessitates space in and outside the dwelling. Accordingly, the crisis has had the biggest effect on the preferred number of rooms in a dwelling. The number of rooms is imperative, not the size. The apartment decreased in popularity, and the preference for dwelling types with a garden increased. The functionality which respondents seek of their outdoor space are enabling social possibilities, providing entertainment and supporting mental health. The living environment for which people are willing to move further away should provide greenery, nature nearby, space, tranquility and privacy. It appears that due to the crisis the willingness to pay has increased as housing has increased in importance. The Corona crisis has had more effect on the housing preferences of multi person households with children than on other households. The crisis has had an excessive effect on households living in highly urban places. Four out of five respondents expect their changed preferences to be permanent, in particular regarding the number of rooms, the dwelling size and the preferred outdoor space. The preferred price range is expected to change again as the micro and macro level financial circumstances change. It needs to be kept in mind that this regards expectancy of respondents and thus regard uncertainties. The results need to be interpreted with caution as the data suggests a discrepancy in the level of ideality or reality which respondents have conjugated in their expressed preferences. Lastly, the effect of Corona on housing preferences might be bigger than currently observed, since identifying Corona as the cause for changing preferences seemed to be difficult when the preferences concerned diffuse attributes. Additionally, the current extremely high macro level constraints constrain respondents to the point where their new preferences might not be able to manifest.

This research investigated the determinant effect of public green spaces (PGS) on high-rise housing prices in Rotterdam. The growing population and tendency of people to gravitate towards city centers, have led to an increase in high-rise residential buildings in The Netherlands. It is therefore of high importance to optimize the integration of these buildings within its surroundings to increase the liveability, an important aspect of this is PGS. The gap in literature and social problems showed that there is a current mismatch with the desired and current needs of PGS regarding residents of high-rise buildings. The importance of PGS for residents of high-rise buildings is reflected by the housing price. The housing price indicates how much residents are willing to pay for certain variable of PGS and was used to evaluate different variables of PGS. The variables of PGS are divided into five domains: the environmental, social, cultural, functional and safety domain. Each of the domains indirectly affects the liveability of residents and citizens. The domains are identified by a comparison between international studies and Dutch municipal vision documents. The identified variables of the domains are further analyzed by a quantitative research, performed by a hedonic pricing model (HPM). Within this HPM, nine high-rise buildings were selected in the city of Rotterdam that provided an input of 977 apartments for the HPM. The regression showed a generally positive determinant effect of PGS on the housing price for high-rise buildings in Rotterdam. The strongest effect is the presence of having a PGS within 300m from the apartment, which impacts the housing price with a maximum of 17.7%. The view effects included in the HPM show a positive effect for both the number of green views and the specific PGS. The effects of the other PGS domains are correlated with the distance and view variables which makes it complex to quantify the effects of these domains separately. Interviews with developers of high-rise buildings, Stichting Hoogbouw and the municipality of Rotterdam were conducted to validate the results of the regression analysis and to assess the variables and aspects that are more difficult to objectively measure, such as the attractiveness of PGS. The main take-away of this research is that PGS have a positive determinant effect on the housing price of high-rise buildings which emphasizes the importance of having PGS nearby high-rise buildings. This study could be used as part of a reference approach for marketing research or during approval sessions regarding investment decisions to make stronger argumentations to implement PGS in the surrounding of high-rise buildings.