Gert-Jan Hospers
Prof. Dr. Gert-Jan Hospers is an economic geographer at Radboud University. An original and down-to-earth thinker about the development of cities and regions.
Biography
Professional geographer and professor Gert-Jan Hospers is fascinated by cities and regions and has an unrivalled view of their development potential. How do you give inner cities a boost? What does the business park of the future look like? What opportunities are there in areas along the Dutch-German border? Thanks to his years of research experience in Europe, Gert-Jan Hospers manages to quickly analyse places and give concrete advice on how to develop them further. In all this, he has an eye for the human scale, everyday life and the 'couleur locale'. His mission: to contribute to cities and regions where residents, entrepreneurs and visitors feel at home.
Since 2000, Gert-Jan Hospers has been working on economic themes in cities and regions, place marketing and rural issues. He obtained his PhD and taught at the University of Twente and has been an extraordinary professor in the field of human geography at Radboud University since 2009. Furthermore, since 2015 he has been working for Stad en Regio, a foundation dedicated to urban and regional development at a human scale.
In addition to academic publications, Gert-Jan writes books, columns and articles for professional journals. He is also a lecturer at several postgraduate courses. His Dutch books on the relationship between geography and our feelings (2013), topical urban issues (2018) and the Ruhr Area (2020) experienced multiple editions.
Employability
Speaker
INVITING PROF. DR. GERT-JAN HOSPERS AS SPEAKER
At home in the world of cities and regions
Gert-Jan gives inspiring talks on regional innovation, euregional cooperation, inner city development, placemaking/placemarketing and ‘the city of the future’. To ensure that the message sticks with his audience, he likes to do storytelling.
Presentation titles like Playing with scales in the region, Border happiness: a fresh look at the border and An attractive city is like a good party say it all.
Literature
Stedelijkheden: Stukjes over de stad
'Stedelijkheden: stukjes over de stad' bundelt de columns die Gert-Jan Hospers tussen 2015 en 2018 schreef voor het vakblad Stadswerk Magazine. De columns gaan over allerlei aspecten van placemaking in Europese steden, geïnspireerd door het werk van auteurs als Jane Jacobs, Kevin Lynch en Jan Gehl.
Geografie en gevoel: wat plekken met ons doen
Wat is de aantrekkingskracht van Amsterdam? Hoe komt het dat er in Drenthe zoveel gelukkige mensen wonen? Waarom vindt menigeen windmolens landschapsvervuilend? Kunnen we ons in andermans huis thuis voelen? In dit prikkelende boek gaat Gert-Jan Hospers op zoek naar het 'plekeffect': de impact van plekken op onze gedachten, gevoelens en gedragingen.
Ruhrgebied: Een sterk staaltje Duitsland
Het Ruhrgebied roept bij veel Nederlanders nog altijd beelden op van rokende schoorstenen en grauwe industriesteden. Vergeet het maar, das war einmal. De afgelopen decennia heeft de Duitse kolen- en staalregio een ware transformatie ondergaan. Anno nu staat het Ruhrgebied voor culturele diversiteit, spannende attracties en levendige steden in het groen.