DIMI Stories

Restoring port culture to the city

For centuries, ports have been important to cities and to the hinterland. Yet the maritime mindset has disappeared from many port cities, researcher Carola Hein has concluded. This development represents a danger for the future of ports. She is applying historical research in an effort to restore the link between port and city. “We cannot design a sustainable future without considering the past.”

‘As a student, you simply cannot get closer to the professional field’

Fitting new infrastructure into our densely built-up country is becoming increasingly complex. The Integrated Infrastructure Design minor teaches students how to handle this complexity. “This helps us to train a completely different type of engineer,” says minor coordinator Hans de Boer.

Dutch lessons in the Chinese Pearl River Delta

The Pearl River Delta in the province of Guangdong in southern China is one of the most rapidly urbanising deltas in the world. More than sixty million people now live in an area approximately half the size of the Netherlands. The pace of developments, combined with the consequences of climate change, are creating a complex set of issues. How can a small country like the Netherlands help out?

Sustainable aviation starts on the ground

Flying needs to become more sustainable, quieter and more efficient.
For this you need to think far beyond the aircraft itself: airports for example, can contribute as well. In the newly launched Airport Technology Lab, TU Delft researchers are testing their ideas, from better weather forecasting models to faster baggage handling. All of these ideas contribute to improved efficiency in aviation, and a more sustainable industry.

There is still room on the water!

Freight transport by water is cheaper and uses less energy than by road. What’s more, there’s more room on the water than on our congested roads. We could fully exploit these benefits by first solving a few notorious bottlenecks, such as container ships that aren’t loaded to capacity, suboptimal vessel navigation and congested locks.

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