1 February 2015

TU Delft University professor and architect Dirk Sijmons was invited to hold an open lecture on "New Planning Perspectives".

Planning may be undergoing an identity crisis, but paradoxically the environmental, spatial and economic problems of the urbanized world we face are in need of strong responses from urban planners and designers. Planning in this sense is interpreted as a triangle that involves policy making-design-research and that can produce integrated solutions.

The lesson briefly sketched out the history of planning in the Netherlands, achievements, limitations and different perspectives with focus on the lessons learned. The lesson focused on how urban planning and agricultural planning are two sides of the same currency: development. In the last two decades, planning has undergone a change of character under the prevailing neo-liberal trend, where the Netherlands has shifted from master planning to a more open and strategic model.

Various examples illustrated design concepts, plans, projects and research designs with design trajectories that have incorporated this open and adaptable approach. Particular attention was paid to the concept of urban metabolism, infrastructure planning and developmental paths of agriculture and tourism.