I am an associate professor in Economic Geography, in the Human Geography and Spatial Planning department at Utrecht University. I have a passion and reputation for innovative research and teaching in Urban and Regional Studies. I try to creatively combine insights from urban planning, economic and urban geography, politics, public management, environmental studies, regional science, urban economics, cultural geography, media studies, regional studies and policy sciences. Much of my work aims to develop empirically underpinned territorial strategies that make cities and regions better able to satisfy human and societal needs. Key themes I am focusing on include:
- Institutional, Behavioural and particularly Network perspectives on (uneven) urban and regional development;
- Systems of cities, with a paticular focus on Polycentric Urban Regions (e.g. Randstad);
- Electoral geography, Geography of Discontent and Spatially Distributive Politics
- Metropolisation (‘metropoolvorming’): the process through which institutionally, functionally and spatially fragmented urbanised regions integrate and emerge as connected systems at a higher spatial scale;
- Metropolitan governance;
- Agglomeration benefits and costs, particularly from a person/household and technological perspective;
- Spatial distribution of retail, amenities and urban functions more generally;
- Theorizing on ‘borrowed size’ / 'agglomeration shadows’;
- Territorial identities and place-making;
- Tourism;
- Methodologically, I am very interested in the possibilities of data science in answering geographic questions.
I am committed to knowledge dissemination through actively seeking co-operation with communities, governments, industry and other scholars. My work has appeared in many different journals and books, and has attracted attention in academia and policy practice. I have obtained many larger and smaller research grants, including the highly-competed for VENI and VIDI personal grants, and have a track record in leading research teams. Until the end of 2020, I was employed at Delft University of Technology, where I acted as the research director of the Urbanism department. I was also previously associated with the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions as course coordinator. I strongly believe that student learning should be activating, varied and fun.