Cities and their making understood and sometimes imagined .
There is no shortage of plans. Masterplans, strategic visions, policy frameworks, pilot projects – they exist in abundance, often produced with impressive technical rigor and supported by international expertise. Shelves are full, servers are crowded, and presentations circulate endlessly between ministries, agencies, and consultants. Yet the distance between what...
There is no shortage of plans. Masterplans, strategic visions, policy frameworks, pilot projects – they exist in abundance, often produced with impressive technical rigor and supported by international expertise. Shelves are full, servers are crowded, and presentations circulate endlessly between ministries, agencies, and consultants. Yet the distance between what...
Flight shaming has become a new sport among those wanting to change the world for the better. In their eyes everyone who boards a plane is indifferent to climate...
Last week, a court in Barcelona rules that the city’s super block program is unlawful. The response was immediate. Many blamed ‘dirty games’, a battle between political parties and...
Next to being a practising architect and urbanist, I am also an educator. One of the things I love when dealing with students is, that you get a preview...
I really like the German term ‘Zeitenwende’ that can be translated as turning point but with the connotation that radical, fundamental changes are happening. On Thursday this Zeitenwende took...
When in 1910 Adolf Loos gave his lecture and subsequently published his essay “Ornament and Crime” it was a reaction to the Arts and Crafts movement with its overly...
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...
Why Friction Matters in the Future of Urban Life The modern city is obsessed with comfort. Climate-controlled interiors, frictionless mobility, seamless services, ever more space per person, and an...
There has been an interesting debate going on in Dutch newspapers in the last couple of weeks. The government plans of building up to 1 million new homes were...
There is no shortage of plans. Masterplans, strategic visions, policy frameworks, pilot projects – they exist in abundance, often produced with impressive technical rigor and supported by international expertise....
I am not a Dutch citizen, and therefore I am not allowed to vote in the Netherlands – unfortunately. I am also not allowed to vote anymore in Germany...
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...
For more than thirty years, China’s property sector functioned not merely as an economic engine but as a governing mechanism. Housing construction stabilized local finances, absorbed surplus capital, and...
Rediscovering urban China after Covid Since more than 20 years I have been travelling to China several times a year. In this time I have seen the country developing...
I confess, I am a cycling enthusiast and every July – and since yesterday again, the Tour de France captivates me and many millions more as it snakes through...
The current Iran war is not only a geopolitical rupture; it is also a laboratory for understanding how cities, economies, and societies behave under conditions of sustained, technologically advanced,...
Next to being a practising architect and urbanist, I am also an educator. One of the things I love when dealing with students is, that you get a preview...
The world is part baffled, part outright dismissive of the projects that are all over the media. They present an urban vision that starkly contrasts with conventional expectations, challenging...
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.
