The international agreed upon UN COP21 Paris Agreement argues the urgent need of a shift in greenhouse gas emissions. This has been one of the reasons for the Dutch government to establish goals that comply with these agreements. One approach that is being used is the implementation of heat grids. Literature shows the importance of acceptance from tenants, but fails to provide information regarding the effects of communication strategies on the willingness to adopt heat grids. This research explores the current willingness and openness of tenants to adopt new technologies and its barriers to this, as well as the influence of the role of involved stakeholders and its communication strategies. The main research question therefore is: ‘How can actively involved stakeholders enhance communication to improve the adoption of heat grids among housing association tenants?’ The current gap will be researched through an explorative qualitative study, using literature, (intercept-) interviews, and case studies to identify the key problems. The findings show that a well-tailored narrative, aligned by the views of all stakeholders, helps to lower the social, behavioral and economic barriers related to heat grid adoption, where establishment of trust between tenants and organizations should be the principle for the communication strategy. This research contributes to the already existing literature by providing new insights in organizational barriers among the engaged stakeholders, as well as how certain communication strategies can be enhanced to create a successful project and helps in achieving energy transition goals.

In alignment with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, particularly Target 11.3 on inclusive and sustainable urbanization, many countries and regions now regard public participation as a cornerstone of human settlements planning. China’s recent neighborhood rehabilitation initiatives likewise prioritize resident engagement, though the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new obstacles and reconfigured participatory processes. Against this backdrop, this thesis investigates resident participation for neighborhood rehabilitation in post-pandemic China. Drawing on established theories of public participation and neighborhood revitalization, it proposes a conceptual framework centered on stakeholder concerns, power relations, and information sharing, and examines mechanisms that foster sustained resident involvement. Wuhan, the initial epicenter of COVID-19, serves as the case study. Results identify 37 key concerns, each subject to varied stakeholder perceptions. Power operates through multiple channels, shifting across project phases. Despite frequent information sharing, exploitation and competition persist. Organizers, particularly community-based organizations, play a critical role but face resource constraints, shifting power dynamics, and information manipulation. Straightforward participatory activities, early engagement, and greater influence increase resident willingness to stay involved. Nevertheless, opacity and exclusion, amplified by power imbalances and selective information control, remain pressing issues. Synthesizing the lessons and insights, the thesis concludes with short- and long-term measures to “enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management (SDG 11.3).”@en

This research focuses on developing a comprehensive approach to integrating health and well-being strategies into the design and construction of office buildings within the Dutch context. While international standards like the WELL Building Standard offer guidelines for enhancing indoor environmental quality, their applicability in the Netherlands is limited due to differences in local regulations, environmental factors, and cultural expectations. To address these challenges, this study combines insights from literature reviews, expert interviews, and a detailed analysis of Dutch building codes to identify critical elements affecting occupant health and well-being, such as air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, and biophilic design.

The study proposes a framework that bridges the gap between international standards and Dutch building regulations, incorporating local practices and stakeholder perspectives. It guides project teams, well-being consultants, and stakeholders through key project phases— from project definition and KPI selection to construction and post-occupancy—ensuring that well-being considerations are integrated at every stage. The framework allows flexibility in selecting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) while maintaining mandatory health requirements and promoting real-time feedback and stakeholder engagement.

Validated by well-being experts and industry professionals, this framework provides a scalable, practical solution for enhancing the health, satisfaction, and productivity of occupants in Dutch office buildings. The research contributes to the growing demand for healthier, more sustainable office environments, offering a context-specific solution that aligns with both global best practices and local needs.

The research questions reads: “How to increase the adoption of sustainable renovations in listed cultural heritage buildings by providing insight into the decision-making process of owner-occupiers?” The research method first includes a theoretical study about the factors that influence the rate of adoption. Second, semi-structured interviews were held chronologically with 7 professionals, 9 LCHB owners and 7 professionals. And lastly, a workshop about the barriers of sustainable renovation in LCHBs attended by 25 Dutch professionals. The first round of interviews with 7 professionals and the interviews with 9 LCHB owners led to the creation of a sustainable renovation decision-making process for owners. And the interviews with 9 LCHB owners, the second round of interviews with 6 professionals and the workshop results led to the drivers, barriers, opportunities and recommendations
Furthermore, LCHB owners were asked questions about their sustainable renovation personality, the answers hereof resulted into two very different persona types. These persona types are also based on the characteristics of owners and the barriers they encountered. A recommendation is to take these personas into account when forming a strategies to increase sustainable renovations.
The other recommendations are to: add a building technology professional to the cultural heritage committee, make municipalities communicate more with LCHB owners, make municipalities use infra-red cameras to take some thermal images of before and after a sustainable renovation as inspiration for other LCHB owners, make LCHB owners use infra-red cameras to check if everything is installed properly, subsidize local community-organized information gatherings for LCHB owners, subsidize owners that can realize the sustainable renovation themselves (DIY) but face a lack of money as their main barrier and, lastly, emphasize making LCHBs beautiful and future proof.

Starting January 1, 2024 the environmental permit requires a new aspect in the application for an environmental permit: participation. The government requires transparency on the used methods and involved stakeholders herein, though specific guidelines are lacking. This research investigates on implementing these participation practices efficiently and effectively through a cross case analysis in tendered projects with a lessons learned approach. Findings indicate that participation can improve project outcomes, reduce objections from local citizens and bring forth innovation in a project. However, barriers include stakeholder management, involvement, attitudes between stakeholder groups and resource allocation. For effective implementation early involvement as early as the tender development is recommended, along with using different types of participation methods, emphasising formulating an official participation plan and clear communication & transparency.

The building sector's substantial environmental impact, responsible for 40% of total energy consumption and one-third of CO2 emissions globally, emphasises the urgency to enhance energy efficiency. While there are potentials for energy savings, there are still challenges that need to be faced. In particular, a significant ‘performance gap’ exists between the predicted and actual energy usage in buildings. This gap, observed during the operational phase, poses challenges for realising high-performance buildings. The focus of this thesis will be on renovated office buildings, acknowledging their significance in sustainability efforts. A critical aspect of the performance gap is attributed to the operation and maintenance of the energy systems compared to the intended usage. The research will therefore address the critical main research question: “How can operation and maintenance-related energy performance gap in renovated office buildings be effectively addressed to meet the Paris Proof commitment targets?” By conducting literature reviews and employing a mixed-method approach, including both qualitative and quantitative methods combined, the study will utilise interviews and a case study, using data from advanced systems. Focusing on the complexities of influencing factors, specifically in operation and maintenance, the research aims to address the energy performance gap. Findings indicate that the main challenges are knowledge gaps among stakeholders due to fragmented collaboration, inadequate commissioning and monitoring, and tuning practices, including the lack of a feedback loop. A strategic roadmap of a restructured redevelopment process is proposed, emphasising enhanced commissioning practices, continuous monitoring, and improved stakeholder collaboration. The strategic roadmap therefore suggests practical steps for addressing the performance gap, fostering more energy-efficient building operations, and aiming for redeveloped office buildings to achieve the Paris Proof standards.

Globally, the aging population results in a large group of elderly people and not enough healthcare employees to take care of this group. Aging-in-place, the goal for older individuals to age in their homes is considered vital for their quality of life and to unburden the healthcare facilities. The demand for age-friendly houses is growing, necessitating a proactive approach to renovating homes for the elderly. Housing associations are expected to take the lead in the energy transition of the existing building stock, necessitating renovation of their portfolio to meet the energy requirements. Integrating aging-in-place features in the renovation plans of housing associations can help motivate the elderly to cooperate and approve of these plans continuing the energy transition, since 70% approval needs to be reached according to Ministerie van Algemene Zaken (2023), and responds to the needs of the aging population. This research will answer the question: how can aging-in-place features be integrated in energy renovations of social housing in The Netherlands? This study is researched through a literature study and (expert) interviews. The goal is to balance the needs for aging-in-place and energy improvement renovation projects to maximize the impact on the housing association and the elderly. The following strategy is proposed to overcome the barriers identified in the process of integrating aging-in-place features in energy renovations (1) collaboration with municipalities, elderly care providers, and housing associations to create urgency and align ambitions; (2) living coach and counseling to prepare aging social tenants for the future; (3) extra communication and guidance effort for elderly to mitigate resistance towards energy renovations; (4) collaboration and alignment with municipality and market parties to reduces barriers to implement aging-in-place initiatives and innovative care technologies.

The Dutch government's 2050 initiative to transition all buildings from natural gas to sustainable heat systems underscores the critical role of stakeholder alignment in energy transition projects. Despite its importance, existing literature lacks a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms required for effective stakeholder collaboration in heat grid projects. This study addresses this gap through an explorative qualitative analysis, employing interviews and a representative case study to examine: How can collective decision-making be orchestrated to overcome the barriers of low carbon heating grid projects in mixed-use neighbourhoods? The findings identify the primary barriers to project success as political-legislative uncertainty, lack of transparency & trust, and lack of participation & cooperation, and propose a collective decision-making framework for enhancing stakeholder decision-making processes outlining which stakeholders should be involved during barrier/stakeholder intensive moments. The research contributes to the literature on collaborative innovation for heating grids by outlining strategies for overcoming obstacles in heat grid project implementation, highlighting the significance of coordinated action among diverse stakeholders for achieving energy transition goals.

The quest for environmentally conscious practices has become a paramount concern in the real estate sector, with a growing emphasis on reducing carbon emissions, as they are found to be responsible for a significant 36 percent of total global energy consumption. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) play a crucial role in advancing energy efficiency and facilitating the seamless transition toward achieving overarching national and EU regulatory energy goals. A growing body of research has explored the connection between energy performance attributes and the impact of EPCs. Although these studies consistently reveal the existence of a pricing effect, more recent investigations suggest that the relationship is intricate and inconclusive, especially when considering data constraints and varying model specifications.

In this research, compelling evidence is presented regarding the economic advantages of EPCs in the Dutch retail market. The study draws from the principles of Industrial Ecology, with a specific emphasis on understanding the systemic relationships between society, the economy, and the natural environment. By analyzing historical rental and sale market transactions from 2015 to 2021, this research presents some of the earliest evidence on the economic value of energy certification in the retail sector. Stationary premia for higher EPC-certified rental transactions are roughly 11 percent, on a price per square meter basis. Selling prices of energy-efficient transactions are more marginal and complex, especially in light of data constraints and changing model specifications. This linkage between sustainability and financial benefits creates a strong incentive for investors, and businesses, alike to adopt energy-efficient measures, since currently, substantial upfront, often on-balance, capital costs are incurred to carry out energy retrofits of existing building stock. This study also stands out as one of the first to conduct spatial analyses of EPCs for the retail sector, providing valuable insights for informed policy-making while considering geographic variation. The absence of a concrete plan within Dutch national regulations for enhancing energy efficiency in retail buildings and aligning them with overarching climate goals in the built environment underscores the importance of this study. In the new age of economic activities where transparency is the zeitgeist, this research provides empirical evidence to mobilize responsible investments into energy-efficient buildings and shift the paradigm from merely managing downside risks to benefiting stakeholders and improving capital efficiency.

Due to rising energy prices, an increasing number of households are experiencing difficulties with the affordability of their energy bills. As a result, households are unable to heat or cool their homes, or use electrical appliances as desired. This is known as energy poverty. This research focuses on energy poverty within housing associations. As two-thirds of households experiencing energy poverty live in housing association homes, this research is specifically targeted at housing associations. The research examines the possible gap between what housing associations are doing to combat energy poverty for their tenants, and what tenants would like to see housing associations do for them. Since renovation is simply too expensive and takes several years, it is excluded from consideration. As a result, housing associations will need to take other measures to help their tenants. This research will look at these taken measures and provides recommendations to housing associations to reduce and possibly solve the gap between what they can do and what tenants want to happen. The main question of this thesis is: What can housing associations do to close the gap between them and their tenants in the social housing sector regarding combating energy poverty?
This research will be carried out based on a qualitative study in which literature will be reviewed, and housing associations and tenant organisations will be interviewed. The aim is to identify the gap between what is desired by tenants and capable of housing associations and to draw up recommendations for housing associations to assist their tenants as well as possible. The recommendations of the research indicate that many of the gaps found during the comparison of the focus groups have to do with communication, both improving communication itself, and setting up communication between tenants and the association to reduce energy poverty.

Despite the efforts made in the World and the Netherlands for the energy transition of the building stock, policies and research have been mainly focusing on housing, leaving the non-residential building stock lacking in keeping up an adequate pace and in need of additional efforts to catalyse its transition. The retail sector represents the highest share of the non-residential building stock, with shopping centres as the building typology with the highest energy retrofit potential. However, despite its potential, data gathered from previous research have demonstrated that the complex multi-stakeholder governance structure of these buildings makes the decision-making process for an EER difficult. Several barriers have already been identified in the literature about this issue. Yet, they are scattered and not identified within the decision-making process and the complex governance system of a shopping centre. Therefore, this research aimed to reveal stakeholders’ behaviours during the EER within a process perspective, finding the interrelationships between the different parties involved during the different steps of the process, and giving light on the areas that need to be addressed in other to guarantee a smoother process. To achieve it, exploratory qualitative research was carried out for which the following main research question is proposed: “How can retail owners support a better decision-making process to steer EERs of shopping centres?”. The methodology included a mixed approach between literature study and qualitative empirical research from three case studies of shopping centres in the Netherlands. The results demonstrate shopping centre owners have a crucial role in optimizing the EER decision-making process and overcoming barriers. Key recommendations for achieving optimal and holistic solutions that enhance energy efficiency and sustainability in shopping centres include developing a cohesive and integrated sustainability strategy, optimizing its governance structure, investing in centralized building data systems, addressing tenant-related barriers in EERs, and fostering collaboration among internal and external stakeholders, among others.

Renovation of existing buildings is proposed as a solution for buildings that do not fit the Climate Target Plan 2030. In the Netherlands, there is a new mandate requiring Dutch office buildings to attain a minimum EPC class C rating by January 1st, 2023. Recent studies indicate that 10% of Dutch office buildings are currently rated at EPC class D or lower, while numerous existing office buildings have yet to obtain an EPC rating. This situation necessitates a surge in renovation projects in the near future. However, a complex relationship exists between energy-efficient measures and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) post-renovation. Healthy buildings, characterised by adequate IEQ, contribute to heightened overall satisfaction and productivity among their occupants. This research is centred on crafting an advisory report aimed at guiding the decision-making process preceding office renovations for owners of Dutch owner-occupied offices. The following main research question relates to the goal of this research: “How can the renovation decision-making process, prior to renovation, of private owners of Dutch owner-occupied office buildings be guided with a focus on improving energy efficiency and Indoor Environmental Quality?”. The objective is to surpass the EPC class C requirements while concurrently prioritising IEQ enhancements to boost employee satisfaction and productivity. To achieve this, several case studies were conducted through in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in the renovation projects. This approach sought to gain insights into the decision-making processes of office owners prior to the execution of renovation practices. The findings of this research hold significance for those initiating future office renovation projects, project managers, and public authorities seeking strategies to accelerate the rate of energy-efficient and healthy office renovations. The study’s outcomes indicate that the decision-making process preceding office renovations can indeed be steered towards achieving both energy efficiency and improved IEQ. This can be accomplished through a comprehensive and cooperative approach that emphasises awareness, education, regulation, and financial security.

This paper examines the characteristics of urban environments that contribute to modal shifts away from cars and towards active modes of transportation, specifically e-bikes. Given the push towards sustainable transportation, much of the roadmap in the United States is still focused on electric vehicles. However, e-bikes offer an alternate solution as a healthier and more environmentally friendly mode of active transport.
Incorporating best practices from successful bicycle-friendly cities, and insights about San Francisco as a case study of a city, this study demonstrates that San Francisco is making appreciable strides towards sustainable transportation, but progress in limited primarily by political will. The research was carried out by performing literature review around e-bikes in cities and San Francisco, as well as through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders local to the San Francisco Bay Area. The data then was mapped to the Functions of Innovation Systems framework (FIS) in order to characterize the inner workings of the mobility ecosystem in San Francisco.
This study purports that political will, the natural and built environment, and human characteristics are the core pillars that influence a modal shift within a mobility ecosystem. Of these pillars, and in San Francisco specifically, it is shown that political will ultimately influences policies directing infrastructure, public outreach, and equity for all residents within a city. Without the political will to influence projects, funding, and accessibility, continued adoption of e-bikes and other modes of sustainable mobility is unlikely to reach an appreciable scale.
This approach and research could be replicated for other cities, in order to assess the proclivity for a modal shift towards more sustainable transportation. Additionally, future results can compare the pros and cons of various mobility ecosystems in order to assess the characteristics most favorable for a modal shift towards e-bikes and other forms of active transportation.

Following the Paris agreement and the agreements with the EU, the Dutch government has made their climate agreement with the goal for the whole built environment to be energy-neutral and free of natural gas by 2050. The Dutch government has tasked the municipalities to lead this process as they are the most suited party. The Dutch building stocks for housing consist of a substantial part of condominium associations where only 25% scores an energy label B. Especially in the bigger cities, the building stock consists of a large part out of condominium associations. As municipalities can not force them to renovate, they have a slow decision-making process, and there are complex ownership situations, the energy transition for condominium associations is a big challenge. This research focuses on the larger associations (6+ members) as group dynamics also start to play a role. This research aims to advise the municipalities on their approach and position in the energy transition for condominium associations. To achieve this goal, the research focusses on the following main research question:

‘How can municipalities enhance their approach for stimulating condominium associations to renovate their dwelling for the energy transition?’

First, to answer this question, a literature review was carried out to create the theoretical framework. The literature review looked at public policy, energy-efficient governance and different types of policy instruments governmental bodies can use to stimulate people. In addition to that, the literature review also looked at the customer journey of condominium associations. The review on the customer journey also includes transaction costs, collective decision-making processes and stakeholder analysis. With this literature review, two frameworks have been created. First, one framework has been created to study the approaches of different municipalities and one to discover the different barriers that condominium associations encounter in their process. Second, with the framework for the customer journey as a basis, the first round of interviews was held with actors close to condominium associations. This discovered where the barriers lie for condominium associations and what municipalities could do about that. This focuses on the three different types of barriers that condominium associations can encounter: transaction cost barriers, collective decision-making barriers, and barriers to comprehending and applying for the help of municipalities. Third, the second round of interviews was held with representative stakeholders to study Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht approaches. By looking at the research variables of the framework, it was possible to compare and analyse the approaches. From this analysis, lessons were drawn about the approaches of the municipalities and the barriers. Fourth, the barriers encountered by the condominium associations in Amsterdam were compared with the analysis of the approaches of the different municipalities to see if the approach of the municipality of Amsterdam could be enhanced. This piece of advice was generalized to enhance the approach of municipalities for stimulating condominium associations for the energy transition which states that:

The municipalities should become the facilitator of the energy transition, and condominium associations should be assisted wherever they can be in the customer journey. Municipalities should look for ways to make this possible. Five tasks are given to do this;

Instigating
Municipalities should raise awareness and engage condominium associations to stimulate more condominium associations to renovate their building.

Teaching.
More adequate boards and well-functioning condominium associations must be created by ensuring basic understanding with condominium associations of what it means to be one.

Guiding ans assisting.
Municipalities must assist and help condominium associations in their customer journey to help them overcome barriers to ensure that more condominium associations finish their journey.

Take away barriers.
The municipalities should look for general barriers for all condominium associations and see if there are ways to make this process easier.

Communication and Collaboration.
To prevent them from all inventing the wheel, municipalities must start working together with market parties and each other. This collaboration helps with sharing and understanding the problems and barriers better.

The full advice, together with practical recommendations, answers the main research question.

Recently, the implementation of prefabricated housing (PH) has become prevalent in China to achieve sustainability while ensuring green construction, innovative products, and higher quality. However, numerous challenges arise, such as the overrun costs, inexperienced workers, and the inefficient management process. High transaction costs (TCs) occur in the PH project supply chain since additional efforts are consumed for overcoming these challenges. This study aims to seek insights into TCs of PH and investigate strategies for minimizing the TCs thus smooth the development process of PH projects. Three key elements have been addressed throughout the thesis: supply chain, stakeholders, and transaction costs. Four-step research is employed to uncover the TCs in the PH supply chain, collect the stakeholders’ perceptions, investigates the causes of TCs, and explore decisions for reducing TCs. This thesis identifies three types of TCs in Chinese PH projects by their nature: due diligence costs, negotiation costs, monitoring and enforcement costs. Private stakeholders in China’s PH industry put more of their attention on TCs related to the specificity of prefabrication. The simple and joint strategies are provided for reducing their benefits lost from the unexpected TCs. Additionally, the value of the governmental TCs has been revealed for reducing the TCs of PH, which inspires and supports the policymakers to develop a healthy policy environment.@en

The relationship between the city and railway development is fascinating. In Europe, railway stations were originally placed at urban periphery. Step by step, as the urban dense core area expands outwards, the railway station areas were pulled in and now absorbed by the urban fabric. Because of large-scale and special facility form, Railway surrounding Area (RSA) always acts as a boundary breaking urban in pieces. The physical fragment and even social segregation lead to compromises in both urban operations and quality of urban environment. At the same time, ongoing trends of train station area redevelopment and ambition of tripling the current network (White Paper of Transport, EU) further exacerbate the seriousness of this problem. It is time to rethink our city's relationship with the Railway Surrounding Area (RSA). Can we solve those existing problems? Can we attach new meanings to a station and its facilities? Can we improve the pedestrian-friendly and livability around RSA for meeting the request for redevelopment? The Netherlands offers a valuable model- Since 1998, 6 major railway stations have started to be redeveloped. These projects which not only the stations are transformed, but also their connecting surroundings. A railway station and its surrounding were seen as one entirety to be designed. Whereas in China, The rapid development of high-speed railway is not only facing the request of technological updates and urban development in the city center, also are acting as a driving force to promote the new town growth in the rural area. In last 30 years, more than 800 stations were built up, new or upgraded. Even though China is the biggest railway construction site right now. But due to this very early stage of HSR and urban development in China, the impact is still blurred. The methods I adopted in this research is that by clarifying the multiple barrier elements and collecting the current design patterns, I can build up an interpret that how Dutch projects perceive and design connectivity issue in RSA. Then, based on the different context, the application of Dutch experience to China could be explored. The results obtained in this research include Barrier Elements Clarifying, Dutch experience summary and Application Design in Shanghai Station area. Hopefully, this research could contribute to solving the current physical fragment and social segregation problems around railway surrounding area, and also offer new thinking for railway area redevelopment, both theoretically and practically.