In this episode, we speak with Cas Vercruysse (Ph.D. Candidate, TU Delft/DiDi Project) about his academic and professional background, his work on the DiDi Project, the need to incorporate a technical lens when discussing diversity, and the spin-off effects on such a project on the discussion of diversity vis a vis housing.
By Vanessa Ntinu
Thanks for sitting down with me today, Cas! Tell us a little about yourself (e.g., your educational and professional background).
Well, when I was 18 and needed to think about what to do and what I wanted to study, I realized I was always interested in how certain political and societal decisions were made. This initially brought me to my Political Science Bachelor which I pursued at Ghent University. However, I still missed a specific and more tangible element of the program. This gap I needed to fill brought me to Urbanism and Spatial Planning at the University of Antwerp. This was an incredibly interesting program, focused on spatial and social challenges such as mobility, housing, and climate change. This interdisciplinary program also had a strong link between theory and practice. Afterward, I further wanted to specialize in urban decision-making processes and their impact on society. This then finally brought me to the Urban Governance Master program, which I pursued at Erasmus University. While completing my master’s in Rotterdam, I studied an urban social movement in the domain of housing for my master's thesis. I got to see firsthand how such collectives can impact both decision-making and public debate around housing. For me, it also illustrated the impact of urban policy-making on specific groups in society and how it can result in continuing inequalities instead of tackling them.
This sparked my interest to further study these intended as well as unintended effects on citizens, from an urban justice perspective. From there, I was able to apply for the DIDI vacancy, and as they say, the rest is history.
Tell us a little bit about your work on Didi (Dilemmas of Diversity). How does your urbanism lens contribute to the greater scope of the project?
The DIDI project is all about diversity policies and practices in Dutch towns, with specific attention on how policy practitioners are dealing with multiple diversities. We are roughly focusing on three broad themes: care, recreation, and housing and community-based initiatives. My Ph.D. project is embedded in the last theme. I am still deciding whether I will focus more on housing or whether I will focus more on community-based initiatives. It could also be worthwhile to look at them together and see how they intersect. For example, now, I am looking at the perceived lack of social cohesion as a driver for urban regeneration processes in cities. However, a clear definition of social cohesion is often lacking, probably because social cohesion is considered a good thing, so it is assumed that further elaboration is not needed. However, the focus on social cohesion might also mask the focus on differences along class, ethnic and racial lines for example. This then adds to the complexity for policy practioners on how to deal with these multiple diversities in cities. Related to these processes, you also see a fair share of protesting and activism within these areas - a perfect example of how housing and community-based initiatives can be studied simultaneously.
How does my urbanism perspective contribute? Hmm, maybe as a follow-up to the first question. I have always been intrigued by how certain decisions are made and how they affect people, often in an unintended way. In the field of diversity especially, there are a lot of unintended consequences, particularly towards specific groups within society. I think in this arena, the DIDI project can really be of use. Moreover, my urbanism perspective taught me how to approach societal challenges in an interdisciplinary way.
A clear definition of social cohesion is often lacking, probably because social cohesion is considered a good thing, so it is assumed that further elaboration is not needed".
You're part of what some may define as a "technical" department - do you reckon it's beneficial to engage with technical voices on matters of diversity?
There are a lot of misconceptions about TU Delft. I often hear that it is exclusively technical, which is certainly not always true. I’m part of the Urbanism department, where we approach societal challenges from a spatial perspective, through design, planning or other methods. Despite this, I think engaging with "technical" disciplines often allows a more robust answer to the same question. I think including technical voices naturally allows for a more interdisciplinary approach to a bigger question we all want to answer.
What do you think the outcomes of such a project could contribute to society?
I believe the DIDI project is quite successful in approaching a host of identities when discussing diversity in modern society. There isn't an isolation of just one diversity but simply a consideration of all, including their different intersections. I think that is quite valuable, as it helps to understand prevailing inequalities in society and their impact on decision-making processes and policy implementation.
I believe the DIDI project is quite successful in approaching a host of identities when discussing diversity in modern society. There isn't an isolation of just one diversity but simply a consideration of all, including their different intersections".
How can the LDE GMD Centre continue to support your work?
I am not too familiar with the Centre, but I have attended a few events you've organized and I really enjoyed them! I was always impressed with the variety of topics on offer at your events. What is captivating about the Centre is that they offer sessions on topics very related to my work and topics that are completely different from what I am working on. Despite this, I always feel like I benefit from meeting new people there whose work is different from mine. I always feel like I am gaining new insights.