Courses and Master Thesis Supervision
Teaching philosophy: In my view, good teaching poses fundamental and critical questions about the world around us (in particular cities and neighbourhoods, in my courses) and teaches students to answer questions and simultaneously coming up with new questions. This starts with enthusiasm and an academic attitude from the instructor. I feel that both characteristics are absolutely necessary to create an inspiring ‘flow’ in the delivery of teaching. In my view, university teaching should be targeted at the better and more motivated half of the students.
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The concept of constructive alignment has helped me realise that it is productive to be very explicit and precise about your expectations of students’ learning activity and assessment, and to tell them this upfront. This is not to be confused with rigidness. Knowledge is constructed as a result of the learner’s activity, and we all know that students differ strongly in terms of motivation, skills and tactics. For this reason, I consciously apply various active teaching methods that cater to this variety. I believe that the best way to have students master the course material is to let them ‘chew’ on the material by various active learning methods, although I do not refrain from explicit direct instruction and (basic) knowledge transmission. I am against a trend that devaluates ready knowledge and unilaterally favours students’ ability to apply methods, without a proper embeddedness in relevant theories.
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I am one the four designated Delft Education Fellows 2020-2021. My focus is on community engagement through research & design.
Social Inequality in the City, Diversity &Â Design (AR0095)
2016 - Present
This 4000-level master course takes a socio-spatial view on migration, social inequality and diversity, and how these phenomena impact on neighbourhoods and cities, but also on individual people. The focus is on the interchange between the built environment, population composition and residential behaviour. On a theoretical and empirical level, the course will address various forms of neighbourhood change over time, in particular socio-spatial segregation and urban regeneration, and their implications for neighbourhoods and individuals, in particular ‘neighbourhood effects’.
Moving on to policy and design, the course will identify how the concept of diversity is alternately considered as either a problem or a solution (or both) in various domains of urban development. We will address various urban policies and strategies addressing social inequality with an explicit diversity component (such as social mix / tenure mix). Special attention will be devoted to the roles of relevant actors in these contexts. In doing so, the course tackles the question to what extent urban policies and design can contribute to absorbing negatively perceived outcomes of diversity and strengthen its perceived benefits. Apart from unravelling relevant theories, the course will provide examples of recent policies that have attempted to address city- and neighbourhood-based issues around migration and diversity.
Cities, Migration and Socio-Spatial Inequality (Minor)
2018 - Present
This is a 3000-level minor consisting of three courses (15 ECTS in total).
International migration flows create a large array of integration challenges (language, education, employment, housing, social cohesion) in cities and neighbourhoods. Increasing population diversity coincides with growing socio-economic deprivation and patterns of socio-spatial segregation. Deepening divides and growing social inequality within and between cities and neighbourhoods are generally considered as undesirable and harmful towards life opportunities and social mobility of individual people.
Consequences of social inequality and diversity manifest themselves on the level of cities and neighbourhoods. These consequences pose challenges to the planning, (re)design and management of neighbourhoods, in particular housing, public space, and facilities. Consider for example the management and restructuring of declining urban neighbourhoods, redevelopment of vacant office buildings into temporary shelters, and (re)design of public space in ‘super-diverse’ areas.
This minor is intended for students who are highly motivated to develop an interdisciplinary perspective on socio-spatial inequality, spatial justice, migration, diversity, identity, and spatial design. You must have a passion for social scientific research and combine a strong academic curiosity with a determination to apply interdisciplinary knowledge in real-life situations of complex urban planning and design cases in the Netherlands.
Design of Urban Restructuring Strategies (SEN1421)
2013 - 2019
Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management.
This 4000-level master course deals with urban restructuring and area redevelopment strategies in Dutch cities. The focus is on restructuring of existing urban neighbourhoods. The course delves into policy, governance, and planning aspects of restructuring and new forms of area (re)development. Strategies and behaviour of various actors are taken into account. The theory will be illustrated with several real-life cases. A key element is the Management Game in which the students create a strategic plan to complete the urban regeneration of the Poptahof in Delft.
Honours Program TU Delft, Personal Leadership Module
2017 - present
Delft University of Technology.
Guest lecturer, enabling the selected bachelor students to provide their PLM projects with a scientific/theoretical basis. I also supervise individual students in the development and elaboration of their personal leadership projects.
Empirical Research Skills (BK4AC2)
2014-2017
In this bachelor course (2000 level, 10 ECTS) at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, I led workshops in which I supervised approximately 20 students working (in groups of three) on designing, conducting and reporting their empirical research projects.
Master Thesis Supervision
2011Â - present
I have supervised a number of master students at various universities and departments in their design, execution and reporting of their master thesis projects, including:
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Lieke Marijnissen, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urbanism. Title: ‘Unsafety: Improving Perceived Safety Through Spatial Design in Pendrecht’.
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Aijing Sun, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urbanism. ‘Diver-City. Designing for Just Publicness. Inclusive Design Towards Hyper-Diversity, Hackney’.
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You Wu, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urbanism. Title: ‘The Death and Life of Chinatowns. Towards an Integrated and Authentic Transformation of ‘Chinatown’ in Amsterdam’.
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Misha Gorter, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Management in the Built Environment, TU Delft. Title: 'Iconic projects as a catalyst for brownfield redevelopments’.
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Céline Janssen, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urbanism, TU Delft. Title: ‘Self-organisation and refugee integration. Spatial strategies supporting the role of self-organisation in integration policies'
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Christiaan Rijneveld, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, TU Delft. Title: ‘The transition process from social housing to cooperative housing in the Netherlands’.
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Nine Krul, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, TU Delft. Title: ‘Intergenerational collective living in a participation society’.
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Tim van Veelen, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, TU Delft. Title: ‘Crowdfunding in small urban redevelopment projects’.
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Dirk Jan van Arkel, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Department of Sociology. Title: ‘Zelfredzaamheidsbevordering in een achterstandswijk’.
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Robin Boelsums, Faculty or Architecture, Department of Urbanism, TU Delft. Title: ‘Living next to a flagship development’.
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Janneke ten Kate, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Department of Sociology. Title: ‘Gentrificatie in de Kinkerbuurt en de ontwikkeling van het buurtvertrouwen’.
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Wikash Ganga, Faculty or Architecture, TU Delft. Title: ‘Waterbedeffecten van het herstructureringsbeleid’.
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Joren Swart, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Department of Sociology. Title: ‘Transvaal, wie wil daar nou wonen? Leden van de middenklasse aan het woord’.