Postdoc In Nature-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design

This 3-year postdoctoral position at Eindhoven University of Technology is part of the EcoCARE – Ecologies of Care: Multispecies Design and Circular Community Economies in Peri-Urban Settings project, a cross-European consortium addressing biodiversity loss, fragmented urban planning, and climate risks. The postdoc will anchor the nature stewardship strand, focusing on citizen-driven models for maintaining biodiverse public spaces and multi-species placemaking in residential urban areas in the Netherlands, collaborating with partners in France, Spain, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden. The role is embedded in the Urbanism and Urban Architecture research group and the practice-oriented studio environment ‘Urban Labs’. Responsibilities include mapping current practices, governance arrangements, and regulatory bottlenecks related to citizen-driven nature stewardship; conducting comparative case analyses to identify enabling and limiting factors; co-designing and running deliberative activities with residents, municipal staff, and practitioners; piloting stewardship models and evaluating impacts; and producing scholarly and practice-oriented outputs such as journal publications, policy briefs, podcasts, and newsletters. The postdoc will also develop place-based studio/lab pedagogies for urban design/planning students, co-create pedagogical materials and open resources, and maintain communication with the transnational community of practice. Applicants should have a PhD in a relevant field, expertise in participatory/ethnographic or design-research methods, and experience with living labs, co-design, or action research. The position offers full-time employment for 2 years, a competitive salary (scale 10), year-end bonus, vacation pay, allowances for commuting and remote work, relocation support for international candidates, and access to high-quality training programs and campus facilities. The university provides a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and international environment, with a focus on sustainability and future-proof built environments. Applications must be submitted online by November 21, 2025, and should include a cover letter, CV, list of representative outputs, and a research plan. For further information, contact Associate Professor Oana Druta or HR Advisor Leo van Houten.