Cities and their making understood and sometimes imagined .
Many urban planners have developed a habit they rarely question: the reflex to load every project with every possible virtue. Sustainability, resilience, inclusivity, net zero, circularity, walkability, car-free living, nature-based solutions, social equity – the list grows longer with every conference, every framework, every new acronym – from sponge...
Many urban planners have developed a habit they rarely question: the reflex to load every project with every possible virtue. Sustainability, resilience, inclusivity, net zero, circularity, walkability, car-free living, nature-based solutions, social equity – the list grows longer with every conference, every framework, every new acronym – from sponge...
A bit more than a year ago, the German term ‘Zeitenwende’ – watershed moment – was frequently used to describe the Russian attack and the war unfolding in Ukraine....
Beyond Peak Indifference #4 – Our time is often dubbed the Anthropocene – the earth age influenced by mankind in such a way that it profoundly changes our natural...
Riyadh has never been a city at rest. From tribal camp to oil capital, from desert silence to the roar of six-lane highways, it has lived many lives. Today,...
A Novel Paris Before the Line On the mornings when the light arrived softly over the Seine, Leonie Moreau believed the world might yet be persuaded. She lived on...
A celebratory – and not entirely serious – reflection for the 61st ISOCARP World Planning Congress Every year (or in ISOCARP’s case, for the 61st time), planners from around...
Urban planning is often described as a technical discipline, a creative endeavour, and a guardian of long-term societal interests. Yet decisions about cities ultimately rest in the hands of...
Geneva’s conference halls fell silent last week as the United Nations’ much-anticipated negotiations for a global plastics treaty collapsed in disarray. Three years of painstaking diplomacy unravelled in a...
Urbanization today is a test not only of infrastructure but of institutional strength, professional competence, and societal readiness. Cities grow ever more complex, their challenges more interconnected, and their...
Many urban planners have developed a habit they rarely question: the reflex to load every project with every possible virtue. Sustainability, resilience, inclusivity, net zero, circularity, walkability, car-free living,...
Why Saudi Arabia’s next phase of urban growth depends less on how much it builds, and more on where it points its momentum For more than two decades, urban...
Yesterday the results of the international ideas competition for Berlin and Brandenburg 2070 was announced. The competition was explicitly branded as a tool to develop a future vision of...
How migration politics is drifting away from urban reality—and what that means for policy and design Cities are being asked to solve problems they did not create—and are denied...
About every second book about cities starts with the announcement that we are now living in an urban age with more than 50 percent of the world population calling...
Riyadh’s ambitious municipal reform offers a rare chance to move beyond mega-projects. The city’s future depends on whether new districts and Madinty offices become engines of urban quality, not...
Alert: Unlike what many claim, it is not the end of consultancy! Broken Promises in the Land of Vision Saudi Arabia has long been a magnet for the world’s...
It definitely was a grand opening – the Ministerie van Maak’s exhibition at Ferrodome in Rotterdam. It reminded me of the techno temples of the 90s in Berlin –...
When discussing climate change, we – Architects and Urbanists – most of the time talk about materials that should be less carbon intensive, and we talk about processes that...
BMG, a Georgian news outlet interviewed me about my view on the City of Tbilisi and what problems need to be solved there. Comparing international urban development concepts like the 15 Minute City with what the urban fabric of Tbilisi offers lead to a discussion about the right concepts to use locally: learn – don’t […]
BMG, a Georgian news outlet interviewed me about my view on the City of Tbilisi and what problems need to be solved there. Comparing international urban development concepts like...
On 05 October 2023 I bid farewell to the role of Head of Urbanism at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture. In my speech, I looked back on six years in that role and what has been achieved, but I also looked forward to what the future of urbanism and urbanism education holds. After that my […]
On 05 October 2023 I bid farewell to the role of Head of Urbanism at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture. In my speech, I looked back on six years...
I have spent my career moving along the boundaries of architecture, landscape, and urban planning—spaces where disciplines overlap, cities evolve, and new ideas emerge. From London to Shenzhen, Semarang to Accra, my work is driven by a fascination with how places grow, adapt, and shape the lives of the people who inhabit them.
Writing, speaking, and teaching are essential parts of that journey. They allow me to question assumptions, share what I’ve learned, and learn from others in return. I write to make sense of the forces shaping our cities, to communicate ideas clearly, and to provoke thoughtful debate. I teach because every new generation of urbanists brings perspectives that push the field forward. And I speak publicly to connect practice and policy, bridging the gap between technical expertise and the broader conversations cities need.
Today, alongside my work with MLA+, I serve as Chief Technical Adviser to a nationwide spatial planning reform in Saudi Arabia with UNDP and UN-Habitat. When time and context allows, I am also teaching and have been heading the Urbanism Department at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture and at the Shenzhen International School of Design.
Cities are constantly changing; my motivation is to help steer that change – in words and deeds – toward more resilient, thoughtful, and inspiring futures.
