Great to have an inclusive city, but what is it?

Inclusion has evolved into a very important concept in policy and decision making, also in the field of urban and infrastructure development. However, as a concept it is both elusive and multi-dimensional. In a keynote speech Professor Martin de Jong will explore what an inclusive city may look like and what aspects and tradeoffs are involved in it. IN the subsequent panel session he will moderate a panel and discussion session in which five experts will clarify what inclusion means for the infrastructure type they are expert in (a.o. digital platforms, waste infrastructures, road facilities etc.).

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Prof. dr. W.M. (Martin) de Jong is Scientific Director of the Erasmus Initiative ‘Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity’, one of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) flagship research initiatives. It was jointly established by Erasmus School of Law (ESL), Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) and Erasmus School of Philosophy (ESPhil) and aims to gain knowledge on the inclusion of weak or less-well represented stakeholders in governance and management. It also has an agenda setting role in the broader societal and political debate on this topic.

Along with the above position he is professor at both ESL and RSM (each for 50% of his time) and has a part-time professor position at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA) of Fudan University in Shanghai. Given his 25 year international experience in research, education and entrepreneurship on public policy, decision making, urban studies, infrastructure development and cross-cultural management, it is his goal to make the initiative both locally relevant through knowledge dissemination in the Randstad Area and to give it strong global exposure by establishing partnerships in a number of leading universities around the world.