Urbanism Next - Opening - Niels van Oort, Geiske Bouma, Diana Vonk Noordegraaf

Geiske Bouma is Senior Researcher in the field of Urban Planning and Governance Innovation. Her projects are focused on urban, spatial and environmental planning and the policy interface. The working field she is focused on is the connection of urban planning in relation to the mobility and energy transition gearing towards climate neutral and smart cities. She combines this with supporting policy development on the local, regional and national/EU level. Geiske is active in several European projects aimed at climate neutrality: NetZeroCities, MOVE21 (hubs for people and goods), ATELIER (positive Energy Districts).

Niels van Oort (1978), the conference chair of Urbanism Next 2024, works as an associate professor Public Transport and Shared Mobility at Delft University of Technology and is co-director of the Smart Public Transport Lab. He has been involved in public transport projects and research for over 20 years. His main fields of expertise are public transport planning and data-driven design, with special interest in the passenger perspective, multimodality and societal impact. Learn more about his research, courses and (media) exposure via https://nielsvanoort.weblog.tudelft.nl/

Diana Vonk Noordegraaf (PhD) is senior consultant Strategy and Policy at TNO Vector, Center for Societal Innovation and Strategy, department of Sustainability and Spatial Governance. Diana has over fifteen years of experience in applied scientific research and policy advice in Mobility Policy, Governance, Urban Innovation and Strategy. Her main research topic is broad welfare and how this concept can be applied in policy practice to ensure that policies (also) contribute to sustainability and equity. She works on establishing new (public-private) partnerships, building knowledge agendas and participating in various projects in which innovation and societal challenges are key. In her work she connects strategy and governance with technical and methodological knowledge and insights in the impacts of societal transitions. Furthermore, she can bridge the gaps between various disciplines and align the interests of different stakeholders. Diana is capable of shaping and managing multidisciplinary design and research processes and facilitating complex policy and multi actor processes. Diana is the 2024 Urbanism Next Europe Co-chair, secretary of the steering committee and member of the program committee.