Research. | Tom A. Daamen

RESEARCH

My passion is to help both students and professionals become (more) effective area developers—in the Netherlands and beyond. The evolution of cities and urban regions, and more specifically the work that politicians, planners, developers and investors do to shape that evolution, fascinates me. Understanding the mechanisms behind the work involved requires ongoing reflection and research. Combining strong academic rigor with high societal impact is important, and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) enables me to do just that. In Delft, I currently lead a research and impact program on area development (in Dutch: gebiedsontwikkeling): a governance strategy that advances public-private collaboration and civic engagement in planning, funding and organizing complex spatial projects. Since 2004, my own research experience has been built around three main themes.

Themes

1

Governing Urban Waterfront

Re/Development

For many people, today's ports are largely out of sight and often perceived as relics from an industrial past. Some may have an eye for the technological sophistication and the seamless logistical operation of the modern seaport, but most people only witness the historic maritime structures closer to the city center.

Today, some port areas may be in a fenced-off state of dilapidation, while others are opened up to offer basic but cheap space for startups and light manufacturing activities. Such areas may turn into 'hip' and vibrant sights of urban transformation, often leading to significant investments and land-use change.

In my governance research, I focus on the places where modern water-bound industries get surrounded by urban functions. Here, I pose Robert Dahl's famous question "who governs?", and focus on networks and arenas in which actors vie for the capacity to shape the spatial future of the port-city interface, i.e. the many sites where port and city intersect. My work uncovers the rules and resources that shape the (inter)actions and (thus) governance strategies that lead to major waterfront projects.

Spatial Governance

Strategies & Institutions

Waterfront development projects and other major spatial projects are long-term governance challenges that cut across public, private and third sector boundaries. They require a wide range and massive amount of resources, and need enduring input from a variety of professional disciplines, including planners, developers, designers and investors.

In research and practice, major spatial development projects have long been treated simply as projects of a large scope and scale. However, much of the project management literature will leave professionals in charge of these projects puzzled and ineffective. How are major spatial projects actually planned, funded and organized?

In my research, I study governance strategies that are attuned to the interdependencies between the variety of actors in contemporary spatial development. I am particularly interested in the rules and norms that shape—and are shaped by—the planning, develop-ment and investment work that leads to collaborative strategies and effective long-term partnerships for sustainable outcomes.

2

Dutch Area Development

Gebiedsontwikkeling

Area development emerged in the Netherlands in the 1990s, and has since evolved into a specific domain of practice and research. As a practice, it focuses on area-based solutions to multifaceted spatial development problems, often leading to plans that attempt to integrate public, private and civic elements into feasible spatial projects.

In research, gebiedsontwikkeling is an integrative spatial governance strategy. Studying and theorizing area development requires knowledge and experience from a broad range of disciplines, as well as different types of (both technical and organizational) management.

As associate professor, I am part of a community of scholars and practice experts that develops gebiedsontwikkeling as a transdisciplinary domain of research and education. I collaborate with my peers, learn from their respective area(s) of expertise, and participate in (inter)national science and practice networks in order to study and advance the field.

3

My Research Activities

Academic Research

Proposals & Grants

2025: EU Marie Curie Doctoral Network (MSCA) Proposal 'Adaptive Spatial Planning' in collaboration with professors Pelzer and Qu (TU Delft)
2020-22: NWA-ORC Proposal 'Real Estate Development & Building in Low Urban Environments (RED&BLUE)' in collaboration with academic and societal partners in The Netherlands - GRANTED

2019: NWO Transitions and Behaviour Proposal 'Changing Mobility Behaviour in a Transition Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Accessibility' in collaboration with professors Van Arem and Mugge (TU Delft)
2018: ESPON EGTC Proposal 'European Sustainable Urbanisation through Port City Regeneration (ENSURE)' in collaboration with Ecologic Institute Berlin
2017: Climate-KIC Sustainable Production Systems Loop Flagship Programme Proposal 'Circular Cities Co-Creation Platform' in collaboration with Chalmers University (Sweden)
2016: ERA-NET Cofund Smart Urban Futures (ENSUF) Pre-Proposal 'SITES: Smart and Integrated Transformations for Economic Synergies: Co-Creating Strategies for the European Port-City Interface' in collaboration wth the University of Antwerp (Belgium), Gdansk University of Technology (Poland), and the Univesity of Porto (Portugal)
2015: NWO Smart Urban Regions of the Future: Research Proposal 'Metropolitan and Mainport Economies in Tandem for Transition (MMETT)' in collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam
2015: EU Marie Curie Actions International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) Urban Knowlegde Network Asia (UKNA) - TRAVEL GRANT for a Case Study in Shanghai, China, in association with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
2011: Nicis Kennis voor Krachtige Steden [Knowledge for Strong Cities]: Proposal 'Katalysatorprojecten voor krachtige stedelijke regio’s' [Catalyst Projects for Strong Urban Regions] in collaboration with Erasmus Univesity and the Netherlands School of Public Administration
2007: European Research Counsel (ERC) Proposal 'PORTCITI The Development of the Port-City Interface: Dynamics in decision-making' in collaboration with the Institute of Transport and Maritime Management of the University of Antwerp (ITMMA).

Editorships & Peer Reviews

TU Delft is member of the Association of European Schools of Planning. Since 2005, I attended most annual AESOP or AESOP/ACSP conferences.

Editorial Board Member, Real Estate Research Quarterly, VOGON/PropertyNL, 2011-2018
Reviews for the Journal of Social and Economic Geography (TESG), Environment & Planning (EPA/EPC), European Journal of Spatial Development (EJSD, open access), Journal of Transport Geography (JTG), and Planning Practice & Research (PPR).

Contract Research

2025: Project Lead and Co-Researcher for the Research Project 'Grondbeschikbaarheid' for the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, executed in collaboration with Radboud University Nijmegen and the University of Utrecht
2025: Project Lead and Co-Researcher for the Applied Research Project 'Afwegingskader Rijksbetrokkenheid Grootschalige Woningbouw' for the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning

2024: Co-Researcher for 'Landschapsbewuste gebiedsontwikkeling', a Book Project for the 25th anniversary of the Haverleij project in 's-Hertogenbosch, for BPD, Heijmans and the City of 's-Hertogenbosch
2024: Co-Researcher in the Research Project 'Zelfinzicht voor Corporaties in Gebiedsontwikkeling' for Aedes, the Dutch association for housing corporations
2024: Co-Researcher in the Research Project 'Stedelijke Ringwegen & Ruimtelijke Ontwikkeling' for the Ministry of Infrastructure (I&W) and in collaboration with RVO, TU Delft DIMI and Vereniging Deltametropool
2023: Co-Lead of the Research Project 'Landschapsbewuste stadsrandontwikkeling: 25 jaar Haverleij' in collaboration with BPD, Heijmans and the City of 's-Hertogenbosch
2021: C0-Lead of the Research Project 'Infrastructuur voor Duurzame Gebiedsontwikkeling' in collaboration with Vereniging Deltametropool for the Ministry of Infrastructure (I&W)
2019: Project Lead and Co-Researcher in the Research Project 'Fondsen voor verstedelijking' for the Ministry of the Interior (BZK)
2019: Project Lead and Co-Researcher in the Research Project 'GebiedsInvesteringsZone (GIZ): naar een praktijkexperiment' for the Ministry of the Interior (BZK)
2019: Project Lead and Co-researcher in the Research Project 'Succesfactoren alternative bekostiging van openbaar vervoer en gebiedsontwikkeling' for the Ministry of Infrastructure & Water (I&W)
2018: Project Lead and Co-Researcher in the Research Project 'Ruimte voor bedrijven' for the Municipality of Rotterdam
2017: Research Proposal 'Innovatieve Stadshaven: Eilandje - Steenborgerweert' for Vespa AG Antwerp (not granted)
2016-17: Co-Resercher in the Research Project 'Area Transformations' for the Dutch Ministry of Internal Affairs (BZK)
2015-17: Project Lead and Principle Researcher in the Research Project 'Governance for Next Generation Waterfronts' for SmartPort Knowledge Institute
2013: Co-Researcher in the Research Project 'Kennismotor' for the Municpality of Rotterdam
2012: Project Lead and Co-Researcher in the Research Project 'Sturen tussen haven en stad' for the Municpality of Rotterdam/Programmabureau Stadshavens
2011: Co-Researcher in the Research Project 'REAP2' for Programmabureau Stadshavens
2011: Project Lead and Co-Researcher for the Research Project 'Sturen op Waarde 2' for the Municpality of Rotterdam
2010: Project Lead and Co-Researcher for the Research Project 'Sturen op Waarde' for the Municpality of Rotterdam (together with Erasmus University Rotterdam).

Since 2018: Co-Researcher and

Co-Author of the Research Essays on Urban Transformation for the National Program Stedelijke Transformatie.

Academic Expert & Review Panels

2024-25: Member of an Advisory Panel for a Study on the Dutch Rental Housing Sector commissioned by the Ministries of Finance and Spatial Planning
2024: Member of an Academic Supervisory Panel for a Water & Soil Security Study commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water
2020-22: Member of Academic Advisory Board for the Ministry of Infrastructure MIRT Study of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region’s ‘Bay Area’ Plans
2016: Reviewer for the Research Fund Flanders [Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, FWO], Belgium.