*Celebrating Spatial Planning at TU Delft: 2008-2019. Edited by Stead, Bracken, Rooij & Rocco

Urbanism . TU Delft 25
[RESEARCH]
SPS Research
Focus
DOMINIC STEAD
The Spatial Planning and Strategy
Section is concerned with the
formulation, implementation, and
evaluation of policies, visions, strategies,
plans, and programmes for urban regions.
Members of the Spatial Planning and
Strategy Section are involved in research
to understand and advise how to coordinate
and manage spatial development in
large urban regions including those in the
Global South. A central focus is the issue
of governance. Research is often interdisciplinary
in order to address the complex
interactions between different policy
sectors (e.g. transport, housing, water),
different levels of decision-making (e.g.
local, regional, national), and different
types of actors (e.g. governments, NGOs,
and citizens). Research frequently addresses
the performance of urban regions
in terms such as environmental sustainability,
social cohesion, and economic
competitiveness. Members of the Section
regularly employ comparative methods to
examine international case studies and
to understand how lessons for policy and
practice can be transferred. The research
carried out in the Section seeks to be
relevant and accessible to the needs of
policy-makers and practitioners involved
in urban and regional transformation. The
researchers in the Section are well connected
to communities of practice across
many parts of the world including Europe,
Asia, and Latin America.
The three research topics which are central
to the Spatial Planning and Strategy
Section comprise:
1. Environmental and spatial justice.
Environmental issues, including adaptation
and mitigation strategies in relation
to climate changes, are amongst the
most urgent challenges across the globe,
especially in rapidly urbanising societies.
Threats in relation to environmental
quality are not evenly spread across societies
which make spatial justice an even
more pressing issue than it already is.
2. Planning tools, systems, and cultures.
Planning systems in many countries are
changing due to processes of decentralisation
and deregulation. New forms of
effective and legitimate territorial governance
tools are in high demand and
there is a great need for learning across
different cultures and contexts.
3. International urbanisation and
development planning. The emphasis
here is on sustainable urbanisation in
the Global South. Key planning issues
include rapid economic growth, high
urbanisation rates, weak institutions, low
planning capacity, and/or post-conflict
situations. Research aims to inform the
preparation of plans and strategies that
tackle these issues, including the application
of frameworks for sustainable
urban development, such as the New
Urban Agenda (2016) and the Sustainable
Development Goals (2015).