Spatial planning relates to policy interventions that aim to steer spatial developments in such a way that societal and environmental conditions are improving, whilst also meeting other objectives related to, for example, economic development, water management and biodiversity conservation. Reconciling these often conflicting objectives is an extremely demanding task that calls for: clear undisputed information on current developments; insight in possible future trends; the preparation of alternative policy measures and an understanding of their impact. Spatial analysis can provide the required information on past, current and projected spatial developments as well as indicate the impact of existing and proposed policy measures as is demonstrated in this thesis. See the figure on this page as an example of an analysis result (Source: Koomen and Dekkers, 2013).
SPINlab combines various forms of spatial analysis with newly available and highly detailed spatial data sets in research that supports the formulation of spatial polices in domains such as:
- open space preservation
- rural vitality
- urban intensification
- sustainable urban development
- attracting knowledge workers
Updates
Eric Koomen lecturing about Sustainable Urban Planning in Sweden for the AESUS-project
For the NWO-funded project on Sustainable Urban Development (AESUS), SPINlab-researcher Eric Koomen visited Sweden to participate in a research seminar and the transfer knowledge in the form of a guest lecture and computer practical on urban planning.
See his project blog (in Dutch) to read more about...Read More »