Living in Deltas creates a Delta paradox: there is a tension between safe living in Deltas and living in natural areas without human interventions. TU Delft explores ways to overcome this paradox, by exploring options for careful integrated designs. Flood defences have to be integrated within a spatial context, both in urban and rural areas. Landscaping the flood risk reduction measures in the spatial and social (future!) context is essential, or the other way round: assessing flood risk reduction of landscape measures is even more essential. This is a struggle, because the funds are available for flood risk reduction, but not yet for other societal objectives, such as ecology and recreation. The NWO project All Risk supports the Dutch national program for flood defence and consists of a group of researcher withing differet connected field. This specific part of th estudy aimes to overcome the struggle for integration by researching how landscape measures can be optimized for flood reduction and spatial quality.

The postdoc will be working in a large multidisciplinary team focussing on two topics:

1.  Vision on the environment. This Vision is important for integration of all disciplines, but the question is: what will this vision encompass? The current available provincial area visions are often too broad, in spite of recent attempts to develop a more specific regional dike vision. Research questions are therefore: What should be the scope of such a vision to adequately and effectively support spatial integration of measures and functions? What is the legal status of such a vision? How can it be used in practice?

2.  Research by design: especially in built-up areas, design of dike reinforcement is complex; this approach supports finding good solutions by design workshops where designers and hydraulic engineers interact. Often, design sessions are deployed to understand each other and to develop smart solutions. In some cases this is very successful, but the full potential benefits of such sessions need to be further explored. The research objective is to identify the success factors and lessons for this type of approach.
The research method is to make an inventory and comparison of different approaches that have been employed in the past ten years with respect to spatial quality.

• A PhD degree in a relevant cognate discipline (e.g. landscape architecture, urbanism) with an evident interest in water management;
• Excellent research and methodological skills, especially in advanced qualitative methods that support interdisciplinary design;
• Experience in organising and coordinating research projects;
• Strong drawing skills (adobe, gis, autocad);
• Strong academic writing and presentation skills;
• Excellent communication, social, and organisational skills;
• An ambition to do both academic research and engagement work that translates research into actionable outcomes;
• A substantive interest in working with stakeholders to drive behavioural change in sustainable transitions;
• An excellent command of the English language and (preferable) the Dutch language;
• The ability to work independently, and as part of a team.

Fixed-term contract: 2 years.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, a discount for health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.
Coming to Delft Service organizes diverse events for new international employees and their accompanying partners, like Partner Career Workshops and Dutch Culture Workshops. Located on campus are the International Children’s Centre and an international primary school which are subject to availability as well as several bilingual schools in the nearby surrounding. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.

Technische Universiteit Delft

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is a multifaceted institution offering education and carrying out research in the technical sciences at an internationally recognised level. Education, research and design are strongly oriented towards applicability. TU Delft develops technologies for future generations, focusing on sustainability, safety and economic vitality. At TU Delft you will work in an environment where technical sciences and society converge. TU Delft comprises eight faculties, unique laboratories, research institutes and schools.

Faculty Architecture & the Built Environment

The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment in Delft University of Technology strives to make significant contributions to solving some of the world’s most pressing societal problems. It does so by conducting original design, engineering and management research in and for the built environment, and by providing Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programs to students from all over the world. The faculty’s internationally-renowned position (ranked 3rd in world and 1st in the Netherlands according to the QS subject rankings 2018 and 2019) highlights the excellent facilities, offering an interdisciplinary network for its 500 employees and 3.000 students. The faculty generates ideas, solutions, and knowledge for and with all relevant industries in the pursuit of a sustainable, resilient and enabling built environment.

The more than 100 members of the Urbanism department are united in contributing to the Urbanism mission, namely to advance, share and apply knowledge on how the built environment interacts with humans and their behaviour, and how design, planning and engineering interventions can better satisfy human and societal needs. Here ‘advance’ refers to our research, ‘share’ to our education and dissemination and ‘apply’ to our conviction that Urbanism needs to be an action-oriented, forward-looking practice. The department has a global reputation for excellence in research and education and is particularly known for the ‘Delft Approach’ that brings together the creativity of design with academic research methods. This integral urbanism enjoys high international esteem in professional practice, research and education.

Delta Urbanism is an interdisciplinary research program at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) which investigates the possibilities to combine flood protection, soil and water management strategies with urban design, landscape design and spatial planning, aiming to improve spatial forms and structures and innovate urban systems in urban and metropolitan delta regions.

https://deltaurbanism.org