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What can AI bring to the way we shape our cities? Can it be the way we rethink or redesign cities or is it just an additional planning instrument? Are you excited to unlock the enormous potential of generative AI for urban planning?

Your job

What will you do?
In this PhD you will lead the research and prototyping that brings AI into Planning Support Systems (PSS) — the tools and models planners and stakeholders use to co-design urban futures. Your work will develop, test and critically evaluate AI components that support scenario generation, data enrichment, conversational interfaces and decision rationalisation. You will test these innovations in planning practice, using nature-based solutions (e.g., urban wetlands, green roofs, bioretention, urban agriculture) as a domain for real-world case studies. In doing so you will expose the limitations, ethical dilemmas, and governance challenges that come with AI in public decision-making.

Why this role is special
You will drive the AI agenda: the supervisors are experts in planning support and NBS, and you will be the candidate who unlocks, prototypes and critically assesses the potential of AI for planners. This is an opportunity for an ambitious researcher to shape both practical tools and the scholarly debate about how AI should — and should not — be used in planning.

Your responsibilities

• Identify bottlenecks in existing Planning Support Systems and map where generative AI can add most value.
• Design, prototype, and test AI-enhanced PSS components (e.g., automated scenario generation, smart data augmentation, conversational planning assistants).
• Run controlled experiments and structured human trials with planners to measure impacts on efficiency, inclusiveness, usability, decision quality, and cognitive effects.
• Investigate ethical, fairness, and governance implications; develop practical recommendations for accountable AI use in planning.
• Co-design and run workshops with local and international planning stakeholders to validate findings and adapt tools.
• Communicate your research findings  at international conferences, publish in scientific journals and contribute to code/prototype repositories where appropriate.
• Contribute to university education on your topics of investigation and related ones.

Your qualities

We expect you to have

• A master’s degree (or equivalent) in urban planning/urbanism/architecture, computer science, human-computer interaction, or related field.
• Interest and experience with AI/ML concepts and demonstrated ability to learn technical tools quickly.
• Experience or interest in urban planning and climate adaptation
• Strong communication skills in English.
• Enthusiasm for working with planners and stakeholders.
• Excellent research skills and ethical research practices, including the ability to gather, analyse, and interpret data; experience in conducting large and small workshops and participatory research activities and an appetite for experimental design and mixed-methods evaluation.

It would be helpful if you have

• Proven skills in programming languages (preferably Python)
• Knowledge of and experience with urban water management and nature-based solutions
• Experience with planning support and planning support systems
• Experience in publishing, as lead author, at least one paper in a conference or a peer-reviewed journal;
• GIS and spatial modelling skills and experience
• Knowledge of the Dutch language

This PhD project will be based at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development in close collaboration with the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning. It will be supervised Dr. Martijn Kuller, Prof. Dr. Hugo de Boer and Prof. Dr. Niki Frantzeskaki. 

Our offer

We offer:

• a position (1.0 FTE) for 1 year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 36 - 40 hours and a gross monthly salary between € 3.059 and €3.881 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development, various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities. You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ.

About us

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. .

Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ’s Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth’s core to its surface, including man’s spatial and material utilisation of the Earth – always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

The Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development wants to have a positive impact on the transition to a sustainable society, which includes a focus on both the climate and nature challenges and how they interrelate. We do this by developing excellent and relevant knowledge in interdisciplinary teams and by educating the change agents of the future. The Copernicus Institute has had an excellent research evaluation in 2021 and the institute takes pride in maintaining its leading position in national and international sustainability research, and by developing new, internationally oriented teaching programmes. The institute consists of five research groups (sections): Innovation Studies, Environmental Governance, Environmental Sciences, Energy and Resources, and the Utrecht Futures Studio. This PhD-project will be embedded in the Innovation Studies group.

The Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning investigates sustainability challenges in the context of an ongoing worldwide trend of increasing urbanization. The Department’s ‘Urban Futures’ research program focuses on the enhancement of long-term economic developments of cities, the inclusion and social inequalities in relation to transnational mobilities, the health outcomes of urban living as well as on the governance and planning of sustainability transformations of cities and urban regions. It develops novel theoretical and empirical approaches that are not solely at the forefront of academic debates but that also create new perspectives on successful policies and interventions to address urban challenges.

More information

For more information, please contact dr Martijn Kuller via m.kuller@uu.nl. 

Please do not submit applications by email. We only accept applications submitted through our portal.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ.

Apply now

As Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ, we want to be a home for everyone. We value staff with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and identities, including cultural, religious or ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. We strive to create a safe and inclusive environment in which everyone can flourish and contribute.

To apply, please send your curriculum vitae, including a letter of motivation, via the ‘apply now’ button.

The first round of interviews will be held on Thursday, November 6th, in the morning. The second round of interviews will be held on Thursday, November 13th, in the morning.

The application deadline is 26 October 2025.