The project aims to enhance the focus on Just Labor Transitions in the repair sector by examining various factors. These include economic aspects (like upskilling and payment structures), social dynamics (such as acceptance, stigma, and the perceived attractiveness of repair jobs), technological considerations (comparing high-tech and low-tech repair roles), and institutional challenges (including legislative gaps). The motivation behind the project is to launch empirical research into the repairsector and to validate the Just Transition concept through practical research activities like Repair Labour Imaginaries and a Fair Practice Code. Additionally, the project aims to establish potential collaborations with various stakeholders, including policymakers, practitioners, and academia, to explore labor transitions within the Circular Economy framework in the Netherlands.

Who are the researchers?

The project is managed by Ilaha Abasli, PhD researcher, International Institute of Social Studies, EUR and the other project members are Ellen Loots, Assistant professor, Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, Peter Knorringa, Professor of Private Sector & Development, International Institute of Social Studies, EUR & Academic Director of the International Centre for Frugal Innovation, Karlheinz Samenjo, PhD Researcher, TU Delft.

Rotterdam Tech Inoculation is an exploration of the use and associated risks of generative AI (genAI) within the municipality of Rotterdam.

Together with innovation platform VONK, researchers engage with policy makers to assess how genAI is used by municipality employees or how they are otherwise confronted with genAI.

Ananalysis is made of the strengths and weaknesses within the organisation. Based on this analysis, behavioural interventions will be developed and evaluated to increase the organisation’s resilience.

Who are the researchers?

The project is managed by Evita Goossens, Project coordinator, behavioral scientist BIG’R, EUR.

Co-applicants for this project are: Mattijs Taanman, GovernEUR, Projectcoordinator, Science, Technology and Society, Udo Pesch TUDelft Project advisor, Ethics of technology, Mike Duijn, EUR, Project advisor, education & participation, Gerard Nijboer, Vonk, Gemeente Rotterdam, Project lead, procesmanagement & innovation.

The project Mapping for Climate Resilience – a Collaborative Approach focuses on the perspectives of local communities on decision-making processes around climate adaptation in Rotterdam South. We aim to capture the perceptions and experiences of communities of those processes, complementing existing climate riskmaps through the use of creative methods and embodied mapping. Accordingly, a series of ‘mutual learning experiences’ (i.e. workshops or other sessions) between residents and other climate adaptation stakeholders will engage in a dialogue around the notions of trust, agency, control and stewardship. The resulting maps function as ‘boundary objects’ among various stakeholders involved in climate change strategies for Rotterdam, while aiming to enhance residents’ ownership in urban climate decision-making.

Who are the researchers?

This project is led by: Dr. Janna Michael, Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR),Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, Dr. Céline Janssen, Delft University of Technology (TUD), Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), department Management in the Built Environment (MBE), Dr. Donagh Horgan, Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, LivingLab Lead, Urban Leisure and Tourism Lab, Inholland University of Applied Sciences. Co-applicants: Dr. Maryam Naghibi, TUD; Dr. Theresa Audrey O. Esteban, TUD; Dr. Amanda Brandellero EUR; Dr. ir. Tom A. Daamen, TUD /Stichting Kennis Gebiedsontwikkeling.

The KIDGREENS project aims to empower children to take an active role in shaping their neighborhoods through participatory action research (Cox and Robinson- Pant, 2008). By placing children at the forefront, this project will investigate, plan, and implement an innovation to strengthen children’s experiences in their neighborhood. Through co-creative development sessions, we will support children in voicing their concerns and devising solutions for their neighborhoods and communities from their perspectives.

The project’s aim is to empower children to take agency in their neighborhoods and involve them as co-researchers. By investigating resilience in urban neighborhoods, children will propose manageable and innovative adaptations. This project seeks to expand methodological knowledge of collaborative research with children and gain experience in motivating young citizens to take collective action.

Who are the researchers?

This project is led by: Julia Steenwegen, Youth & Family, Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, EUR. Co-applicants: Dr. Joyce Weeland, Assistant Professor, Youth & Family, Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, EUR, Annabel Vreeker, Researcher Erasmus MC and Assistant Professor Youth and Family, Dr. Lore Van Praag, Assistant Professor Governance and Pluralism EUR, Mathieu Gielen, Assistant Professor Design for Children’s Play TU Delft, Dr.ir.NikoVegt, Senior Researcher, EUR & TU Delft, Julia Ham Locatiemanager IMC weekendschool Delfshaven.

Life-wide precarity and the overall well-being of citizens differ between neighborhoods. From this perspective, understanding precarious employment over time requires considering how one’s work relates to the local spatial clustering of inequality. Within the Netherlands, detailed longitudinal and geo-coded individual level register data includes information on citizens’ labor market positions and broader life statistics is available. This combination of data is suited for enhancing our understanding of precarity over time, while also focusing on local and individual dynamics.

Understanding why people in the same neighborhood, with comparable employment situations, experience different levels of vulnerability in other life domains, may provide valuable tools for individuals and policymakers to break the ‘cycle of vulnerability’. This research project aims to better
understand whether register data can be used to study if, how and why precarious employment is associated with vulnerability in other domains of life and to explore the underlying dynamics within specific neighborhoods and districts.

Who are the researchers?

This project is led by: Joris Beek, ESSB. Co-applicants: Menno Fenger, ESSB, Frank van Oort, Professor at EUR, Maarten van Ham, Professor at TU Delft.

The project has two interconnected objectives. One is the definition and the introduction of D4D as a new design concept. This includes determining what it means to design for dignity and what are the basic considerations for designers who will design for dignity in the future. The second objective is the operationalization of D4D via designing a community digital platform that fosters a sense of dignity, autonomy, and community for diverse citizens in the Greater Rotterdam-Rijnmond region.

This platform will enable inclusive participation, allowing citizens, regardless of their background orability, to engage with their neighborhood, stay informed, and participate in decision-making. Defining the concept and prototyping the digital platform will follow a participatory design approach, where citizens are involved throughout the design process. This is based on our assumption that the key part about defining dignity is to let the people decide what D4D means for them, and what they need to see in the platform.

Climate change is making heatwaves more frequent all over the world and the Netherlands is no exception to that. The National Heatwave Plan, which serves as an early warning system, is not able to address extreme heatwaves without adequate mitigation and adaptation measures at the local level.

In this Kick-Starter project, we will stress-test Rotterdam’s heat plan/adaptation measures to understand its vulnerabilities in the face of extreme heatwaves in the future while considering different uncertainties such as the duration and severity of the heatwave, population growth, economic growth, climate change, anthropogenic activities, etc.

Once the vulnerabilities are identified, we will co-design a pathway for equitable heatwave resilience in Rotterdam with relevant stakeholders that will prioritize robust strategies for adequate heatwave response in different scenarios.

Climate change does not unite us; rather, it exposes and amplifies the huge inequalities between people. In the Rotterdam neighborhood Oude Noorden, we already see that climate-related issues impact residents unevenly, with some facing heightened heat stress due to limited green spaces or health problems from mold linked to rising energy costs. These issues are not always visible in this neighborhood, as they don’t show up in the average statistics, and might get lost amid a broader focus on infrastructural improvements.

The study A Thing for Change investigates these climate injustices in Oude Noorden, as experienced by its inhabitants. We do this in collaborating with local networks—artists, social initiatives, and citizens—through co-creative visual methods like participatory photography and design. Together, we’ll create a “Thing”—a manifesto, object, or event—to represent the neighborhood’s needs and address these existing inequalities.