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The Dutch market for owner-occupied houses and mortgages is getting off to a good start in 2020. At the same time, it is clear that the owner-occupied market will be affected by the corona crisis during the year 2020. However, it remains to be seen how big the effect will be.

Growth, innovation, and liveability in Dutch cities is the goal of Agenda Stad. Three new research projects of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment are using education to accelerate the development of innovative solutions to these social issues. As part of the 'City Deals Knowledge Making' programme, the projects are working on heritage workshops, connections between universities and municipalities, and a management game.

How can citizens be involved in urban data issues? Within the Data Empowerment Design Studio, researchers, local residents, designers, and neighbourhood initiatives discuss and develop new ideas.

Alfons van Marrewijk has been appointed as professor of Construction Cultures at the faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft. “The construction industry is packed with rituals, which people are hardly even aware of. By paying attention to the how and why of these rituals, you create space for change.”

How can the energy transition be connected to creating a circular economy? Using a circular renovation module for the energy-retrofitting of housing offers a combined answer to the two challenges.

Energy simulation models are often used to help improve the sustainability of homes, but there is a slight problem with that: in reality, the predictions they make are often wrong. PhD researcher Paula van den Brom analysed actual and theoretical energy consumption in more than a million homes and developed a calibration method to improve the models at housing stock level.

Smart construction leads to better buildings and better cities. At least, that is the intention. But this will only happen if we learn from mistakes and work together to find solutions, says professor of Design and Construction Management Paul Chan in his inaugural address. The experts can’t create the perfect future on their own.

To measure is to know, especially in the energy transition. But, as professor Building Energy Epidemiology Laure Itard argues in her inaugural address, we will only truly benefit if we process the measurement data using automated systems. The smart use of big data can prevent energy systems from continuing to underperform.

At the end of 2019, the number of transactions in the market for existing owner-occupied homes is stabilising and purchase prices for existing owner-occupied homes are growing less rapidly. The number of new-build homes sold has even fallen slightly over the past two years.

New Horizon 2020 project UPLIFT aims to provide insight into the structural drivers of intergenerational inequalities within the European Union, focusing on vulnerable young people. Researchers from Management in the Built Environment will coordinate the participatory action research, involving the young people themselves to develop innovative policy solutions.