Snapshot
Meet the students
This november, 23 students from the University of Antwerp and the University of Ghent started projects to investigate the effects of the seven Nature Smart Cities pilot projects. Seven master students and sixteen bachelor students will write their theses and dissertations on different aspects of the pilots. They will help to analyse the ecosystem services provided by the pilots and work on methods to measure and monetize these benefits. Welcome to you all!
Latoya Bogaert (Master Industrial Engineer Bio-sciences in horticulture, University of Ghent) will quantify the ecosystem services for the City of Bruges' pilot. She will compare different tools for this quantification
Alexander Caris (Master TEW Economic Policy, University of Antwerp) will research budgeting and financing green infrastructure projects in different cities. He will also look into the differences and similarities between the pilots and compare them with green infrastructure projects outside the Nature Smart Cities Project.
Marijke Geukens
Marijke Geukens (Master Environmental Sciences, University of Antwerp) will study the impact of ecosystem services derived from green infrastructure on Launchpad, the new innovation center in Southend-on-Sea.
“To quantify the climate impact of the new business center, I’ll use the ENVI-met software. Next to my environmental sciences study, I also have a background in construction engineering. To me, this project is the perfect combination of both. I’m convinced that the building sector can help to create a sustainable, future-proof living environment if we incorporate climate adaptation strategies.”
Marijke Geukens
Mirra Haalboom
Mirra Haalboom
Mirra Haalboom (Master Environmental Sciences, University of Antwerp) will study the cultural ecosystem services for the Kontich sub-pilot in the Zuidrand, Province of Antwerp.
“We really need to transform society to become climate adaptive. My qualitative data will help to ensure the robustness of the Nature Smart Cities Business Model, for local authorities to use. I’m looking forward to experience the interdisciplinary character of this challenge when working with the other students. It’s super-motivating to work on a future oriented project such as this!”
Jasper Meert
Jasper Meert (Master Bio-engineering sciences, Ghent University) will make a ‘carbon-map’ for the city of Lille, in order to identify how much carbon the city's trees absorb.
“I’m going to use a combination of LiDAR technology [a method for measuring distances by illuminating the target with laser light] and satellite images to quantify the carbon stored by the trees growing in Lille. Climate change, heat stress and decreasing biodiversity have my interest for quite some time now. This project allows me to dive into a very relevant topic, that will hopefully be of use to policy makers. I’m thrilled to work with new software and programming languages and cooperate with people in different fields of expertise.”
Jasper Meert
Didi Naessens (Master Bio-Engineering in Forest and Nature Management, Ghent University) will quantify a range of ecosystem services (biodiversity, water management and micro-climate regulation) in the pilots of The Hague and the Antwerpse Zuidrand. Like Latoya, she will also compare different tools for the biophysical quantification.
"By studying the pilots before and after the greening measures, I’ll be able to analyse the change in carbon sequestration, biodiversity, water management and microclimate. Because I will also check the performance of already existing tools, I can validate our method and improve it if necessary. I love contributing to this project because I truly believe in the power of green infrastructure (GI) to make cities more liveable and climate resilient. I hope my aid in this project and the collaboration with a transdisciplinary group of enthusiastic people, will help to make it easier for cities to implement and finance more green space.”
Hendrik Vanaeken
Hendrik Vanaeken (Master Commercial Engineering, University of Antwerp) will use Didi’s calculations for The Hague to monetize the ecosystem services, compare the green and grey scenarios and undertake a multi-criteria analysis.
Hendrik Vanaeken
The 16 Bachelor students from Ghent University will work in groups of four, to research different ecosystem services such as the ecosystem services provided by city trees. Keep an eye on our website and LinkedIn page to follow the work of these enthousiastic students.
Find us on Social Media