What strategies and policies can enable regenerative cities, and how can they be applied across diverse contexts? How can urban planning and design balance climate resilience with the promotion of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems? How do community engagement and citizen empowerment contribute meaningfully to the transition toward climate-proof cities? What bold or radical actions must cities take to truly commit to climate mitigation, adaptation, and regeneration?
Through my work, I am dedicated to advancing the transition towards regenerative cities. These cities are climate-neutral, climate-resilient, and places where nature and the environment are enhanced rather than depleted. In this way, I contribute to promoting and actualizing the healing potential of cities.
I am a Qiuchi Professor at Zhejiang University in China, an Honorary Professor at the Australian National University, and the owner of my consultancy firm UGo Research and Training in the Netherlands.
In these roles, I research the actions, activities, and governance approaches that best catalyze the transition towards climate-resilient, sustainable and regenerative cities. This research builds on my earlier large-scale, international comparative research projects on urban climate governance and action involving cities from developed economies and low- and middle-income countries. These projects map, explore, and interrogate the governance trajectories and climate actions that are most promising for accelerating the transition to environmentally sustainable and resilient cities.
In my immediate previous role as Chair in Regulatory Practice at the Victoria University of Wellington (2018-2023), my research was broadly focused on innovations in regulation and how effective regulatory practice can deliver on New Zealand’s critical policy objectives, particularly emphasizing regulatory stewardship. This research sought to consolidate evidence about the state-of-art in regulatory governance worldwide.
In my other roles, including positions at Wageningen University, the University of Amsterdam, and Delft University, my primary focus has been on unraveling the virtues and practicalities of innovative forms of urban climate governance. My current work continues this trajectory and also shifts the focus to studying the transition pathways towards regenerative and resilient cities.
I have published extensively on cities and urbanization in the context of climate change, including over 80 peer-reviewed articles in leading academic journals, more than 70 peer-reviewed book chapters and papers, and a series of books. These books include Governance for Urban Sustainability and Resilience (Edward Elgar, 2014, monograph), Innovations in Urban Climate Governance (Cambridge University Press, 2017, monograph), and Urban Climate Politics: Agency and Empowerment (Cambridge University Press, 2019; edited with Bulkeley and Certomà). My next book will be about the (radical) actions the cities need to take when they genuinely want to commit to climate mitigation, adaptation, and regeneration. Stay tuned!
I act as Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning; Editorial Board Member of Environmental Hazards; and Editorial Board Member of Buildings & Cities.
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Curriculum Vitae and publications
The last major update of this website was carried out in September 2023. Please download my CV and overview of publications for the most recent updates.
Professor Jeroen van der Heijden PhD 