Nitrotopia
53°13'21.2"N 6°32'57.2"E
Regional Strategy | Regional Design | Future Perspectives
*Full Report TU Delft Repository
Regional Strategy | Regional Design | Future Perspectives
*Full Report TU Delft Repository
Academic Supervisor
Caroline Newton
Irene Luque Martín
Location
The Netherlands | Groningen
Institution
Urban Design | TU Delft
Spatial Planning | TU Delft
Collaborators
M. Deffner, F. Kovacs, F. Schepel, Y. Zhai
About the Project
Nitrotopia explores how to address the nitrogen crisis caused by dairy farming in North-West Europe, particularly in the Netherlands. Starting from the Dutch government’s National Rural Area Program, the research rethinks current policy options (quitting, transforming, or relocating farms) by applying extreme scenario analysis, stakeholder engagement, and spatial layering of environmental and social factors.Our team concludes that a major spatial and societal transition is needed to restore balance in the nitrogen cycle. To achieve this, we propose a toolbox of eight strategic interventions within a policy framework, guided by the principles of just and sustainable transitions. Our approach is multi-scalar: testing new farming typologies at different levels—from the national scale, to regional focus areas , down to a local municipality and then extending to North-West Europe.
This idea reframes nitrogen not just as pollution, but as a resource to be managed, aiming to influence policy and spark new discourse on sustainable farming futures.
| “By 2100, cow farming in the Netherlands will have completely transitioned to a new economically viable, environmentally sustainable and socially just model, by combining processes of quitting and transforming” |
Vision & Process
The vision of Nitrotopia combines the new gradient of dairy farming from quit to transform determined during the previous process, while also highlighting the consequences of this land use shift regarding other spatial and social elements of the country. The bigger urban centres create a network of knowledge and human capital reaching across borders. A significant difference in character can be noted between the Randstad (mostly quitting) and the areas around Groningen (mostly transforming) based on the parliamentary letter.Zoom-in and test
Within a multi scalar approach, three different areas emerged where points of interest such as superfarms and research campuses are located. The intention was to zoom in again, conduct further research and make area-specific proposals according to our overarching typological strategy. These three areas were those of Heerenveen (peri-urban), Oosterwolde (rural) and Groningen (urban). We decided to focus on one and propose a more elaborate strategy on a smaller scale, emphasising this time on the phasing and the human perspective of the interventions.Transitions over time