Many road managers face the question whether a certain junction design is and will be adequate on a specific location and time. In order to determine the optimal junction design, one should not only focus on optimal traffic flows, but also take into account the effects on traffic safety en environmental issues. Furthermore, junctions can no longer be optimized in an isolated manner. A network approach is necessary. Existing state-of-the-art models are incapable to face these issues. In this research a model is developed which determines the optimal junction design in urban traffic networks taking into account the effects on accessibility, safety and environment (air quality and energy). The research approach can be described as an multi-objective optimal network design problem where the decision parameters are determined by the junction designs. The research results in an user-friendly software tool which will be tested in urban traffic networks like Zwolle-Kampen, Stedendriehoek en Twente.

Freshwater is essential for the well-being of people and planet, but water resources worldwide are being overexploited. I estimate how much water we use globally to produce food, clothes, and more, and assess what values apparently underly current water footprint patterns. Applying various ethical perspectives on water use, I investigate when and where water can serve multiple functions simultaneously or where tough choices have to be made to avoid or reduce water-related problems. My research furthermore supports policy processes that strive to give due attention not only to economic but also societal and environmental values of water use.

While building information models (BIM) are becoming available for many buildings, they are not used for supporting deconstruction, re-use and recycling of buildings. Badly understood information needs, the fragmented way in which building information is handled and differences in BIM knowledge and skills among stakeholders are hindering this. This research investigates information needs of project teams and looks for barriers and drivers that influence actual use of BIM. Using several theories and a combination of methods, a model will be developed and tested that describes and explains interorganizational use of BIM for deconstruction, re-use and recycling of building components.

Shallow coastal seas are subject to an increasing pressure by offshore operations, like sand mining and the construction and operation of offshore infrastructure. This proposal aims to develop knowledge and design rules for smart and sustainable use of the sandy seabed. The sea bed topography, seabed life, sediment dynamics and hydrodynamics form a coupled system. When disturbed, this coupled system needs time to recover. Anthropogenic disturbances will affect the (local) ecosystem. Moreover, these changes will affect the sediment-water interaction and the potential of the seabed to store fine sediments. Consequently, the potential of the system for recovery may be affected. The project will lead to a better understanding of the functioning and stability of the coupled system during the lifetime of the offshore operation. This requires integration of knowledge from ecology, geomorphology and fine sediment dynamics. Simultaneously, we will study how we can take advantage of offshore operations to make the local marine environment more attractive in terms of biodiversity by introducing the practice of ecological landscaping (smart design). Field experience will be obtained by creating different bed forms and combinations of sediment characteristics after an offshore operation which provides ideal habitat circumstances for target species. The project will provide the knowledge and tools (combined in an interactive SANDBOX) required for the design and implementation of sustainable offshore operations. Strong cooperation with endusers from the private sector, government and non-governmental organizations is embedded in the project via several implementation cases where offshore operations are planned.