Prof.dr. J.C. Verdaas

Professor Urban Area Development – Department of Management in the Built Environment  

“Connect area development with other social issues. Don't get stuck in the debate about red or green, but link building plans to ecological objectives, energy transition, new forms of mobility and the use of big data. If we can develop new, applicable concepts for this, then my mission has been accomplished.”

As a professor of Area Development, Verdaas always keeps the broad social context in mind. Major themes for the coming decades that will translate spatially include the housing task, agricultural structure, the energy transition and mobility. Verdaas sees opportunities in this for the government to play a coordinating role, so that market parties know where they stand and where investments can pay off. At the same time, he sees opportunities in involving market parties in the Stichting Kennis Gebiedsontwikkeling (SKG), in order to further develop knowledge, insight and applications in the field. The connection between area development and other major social tasks creates the necessary perspective for thinking about how the bigger picture will function in the future.

By using the input of fellow scientists and the supporters of the SKG, new perspectives can be outlined in which the building programme is linked to ecological values. The connection with digitization and big data will also offer new opportunities with the emergence of smart cities. In this way concepts can be developed for sustainable urban areas.

Co Verdaas has over twenty years of experience in science and the workfield as well as in government. In all his official and administrative functions he has been involved in spatial developments. As of 1 December 2023, Co Verdaas has been appointed Delta Commissioner for the National Delta Program. 
He studied planology at Radboud University in Nijmegen and received his doctorate with a study on the functioning of the planning system in the Netherlands.
Co Verdaas worked at the University of Wageningen, the municipality of Zwolle and a housing corporation, was a member of the House of Representatives, deputy of the province of Gelderland and briefly State Secretary for Agriculture and Nature at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He has also been chair of the Water Authority of Rivierenland.

More information

Education, publications and secondary employment
Chair of Urban Area Development

Funding chair: 

• TU Delft 
• Stichting gebiedsontwikkeling