The Healthy Inclusive City: Addressing Socio-Spatial Inequalities

By 2050, it is projected that at least two-thirds of the world’s population—nearly seven out of ten people—will live in cities. Urban design and planning policies play a critical role in shaping how people live, move, and interact in cities, determining the form and function of neighbourhoods and influencing everyday behaviours, environmental exposures, and lifestyles. However, many contemporary planning approaches contribute to unhealthy urban conditions. Traffic exposure, noise and air pollution, social isolation, low levels of physical activity, and sedentary behaviour are driving global epidemics of injury, chronic disease, and mental ill health.

These health impacts are not distributed equally. The design and governance of urban environments often exacerbate social and spatial inequalities, disproportionately disadvantaging or excluding vulnerable populations—including women, children, older adults, migrants, disabled people, and low-income communities—thereby undermining health and well-being. The objective of this minor is to address socio-spatial inequalities in urban environments by promoting a holistic approach to creating healthy and inclusive cities.

What is THIC about?

You will develop an interdisciplinary perspective on designing healthy and inclusive cities by working on a real-life case study with a complex set of problems related to urban health and inequalities.

For the second quarter, the minor Sustainable Urbanism (15 ECs) is recommended.

This minor enables students to:

• acquire a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that contribute to the development of a healthy and inclusive city

• develop an interdisciplinary perspective on socio-spatial inequality and the factors that contribute to inequities in access to resources, opportunities, amenities, and exposure to burdens/stressors

• apply methods and techniques that are essential to analyse socio-spatial inequalities at various spatial scales

• create strategic plans and interventions to address socio-spatial inequalities

Registration for this thematic minor is on a first-come, first-served basis and available places. (No lottery draw).

This minor is intended for students who are highly motivated to develop an interdisciplinary perspective on designing healthy and inclusive cities. You must have a passion for social scientific research and combine a strong academic curiosity with a determination to apply interdisciplinary knowledge in real-life situations of complex urban planning and design cases in the Netherlands.

Student at Leiden University, TU Delft or Erasmus University Rotterdam?
Check the eligibility matrix to see if your bachelor’s degree programme offers access to this and other minors at https://www.tudelft.nl/minor.
BSc students from TU Delft: BSc programme of Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences, Civil Engineering, Technology, Policy, and Management, and Industrial Design.
BSc students from Leiden University and Erasmus University: students from Public Administration and Sociology at the Erasmus University and students following the interdisciplinary bachelor programme Urban Studies at Leiden University (Faculty of Humanities). For all BSc programmes from Leiden University and Erasmus University with which you can apply for this minor please check the eligibility matrix.

Student at another educational institution?
External students cannot register via EduXchange. Interested in this minor, read the whole registration procedure at https://www.tudelft.nl/minor.
BSc students from other Dutch universities: students with backgrounds in human geography or urban planning (Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Utrecht) and urban sociology (Amsterdam, Utrecht).
BSc students from HBO: this minor is not open to HBO students.

For information about the courses, visit the TU Delft study guide.
For additional information on this minor, visit the TU Delft minor page.

For the second quarter, the minor Sustainable Urbanism (15 ECs) is recommended.

Teaching Methods
This course will utilize a combination of interactive lectures and workshops, studio feedback sessions, desk research, fieldwork (observations, interviews with citizens and professionals), policy evaluation, and design strategies.

Assessment
This minor will consist of a combination of summative and formative assessments.
Formative assessment: Students receive feedback for the required deliverables which will be embedded throughout the course (e.g., tutor meetings with the literature review paper, peer feedback, and weekly in-class feedback for the action research and design strategies course).
Summative assessment: Students will be evaluated on a literature review paper (individual), action research report (group), and design report (group). For some group projects, students will be required to independently demonstrate their perspective, understanding, observations, and analysis of (and contributions to) the group process. The nature of this minor requires regular, continuous attendance to optimize the in-group collaboration process. Assessment will take into account student participation, which involves actively engaging in discussions, group activities, and class interactions, along with regular attendance and the demonstration of professional behaviour.

Check the detailed overview of courses, learning activities and study load at https://www.studyguide.tudelft.nl/