TU Delft Planning and Design for the Just City

The CENTRE FOR THE JUST CITY at the Department of Urbanism of the TU Delft  and the Chair of Spatial Planning and Strategy organise the Summer School Planning and Design for the Just City every July.

The CENTRE FOR THE JUST CITY is a dynamic platform situated within the Department of Urbanism at TU Delft. This innovative hub brings together a multitude of initiatives that are intricately linked to the exploration and advancement of critical research and pedagogy on the concept of SPATIAL JUSTICE. By fostering a collaborative environment, the Centre engages with diverse perspectives and endeavours to unravel the complex interplay between space, fairness, and equity, with an emphasis on governance via a number of initiatives. This platform not only facilitates the exchange of knowledge but also seeks to inspire transformative ideas that contribute to the ongoing dialogue surrounding the creation of more inclusive and equitable cities.

This Summer School COMBINES spatial planning, urban design and environmental technology to tackle issues of spatial justice, sustainability, climate adaptation and water management in urban transitions to sustainability.

It invites students to put SPATIAL JUSTICE at the centre of urban development and to understand the theories and practices that bring together spatial justice and sustainability, and to apply the knowledge acquired in the elaboration of a vision and a spatial strategy and design for an area in the city of The Hague in The Netherlands.

The Summer School focuses on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and The New Urban Agenda, launched in Quito in 2016, as well as the European Green Deal as frameworks for sustainable urbanisation. It also focuses on theories of Spatial Justice and Social Sustainability as bedrocks for overall sustainability.

The aim of the Summer School is to explore the integration of spatial justice and sustainability into urban development within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda and the European Green Deal, and to explore the Dutch tradition of planning and design with water.

The Summer School is organised by the Centre for the Just City in partnership with the schools of Architecture and the Built Environment (also known as (BK) and the school of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM) of the Delft University of Technology, in collaboration with the Delft Design for Values Institute, the TU Delft Global Platform, the Resilient Delta Initiative, as well as national and international partners, including the City of The Hague, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Dutch Delta Programme, ARCADIS, Deltares, the City of Delft and other private and public partners.

This school includes site visits, talks with professionals and academics and a short studio-based exercise, where students and teachers will explore possibilities through the elaboration of a spatial vision, the design of a spatial strategy and spatial interventions in a Dutch city located in one of the most important Urbanised Delta Regions of the world.

TU Delft is one of the world’s leading schools of architecture and urbanism . We are located in the city of Delft, in The Netherlands.