The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam presents its new five-year strategy: “Shaping a better urban world”. The launch event takes place on the 3rd of April 2025 at the IHS offices, on the Woudestein campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam. You can also follow the event online, via livestreaming.
In a challenging global and national context, this strategy reaffirms our core purpose – to inspire and empower urban professionals and citizens to make cities work for all – and informs our steps to achieving this goal in the coming years.
The strategy is framed around four new directions, which will guide our decisions in a more focused way:
- We will focus on societal impact – ensuring that our work makes a positive difference in the world.
- We will do this by increasingly working in transdisciplinary ways—the interconnected challenges in cities and urban systems can only be addressed from multiple perspectives, disciplines, and expertise.
- We will engage in new partnerships and reflect critically on how we work with others in institutions around the world.
- We will strengthen our internal processes to foster entrepreneurship and make IHS an even better place to work – recognising that our staff are our greatest resource in achieving our goals.
Recognising the diverse contexts in which we operate as IHS, we will seek impactful outcomes across our three pillars of education, research, and advisory work, grounded in three core values of people-centredness, commitment, and professional excellence. To achieve meaningful change, we will generate synergies across our pillars and expertise of our staff.
"We seek to be a catalyst for innovation, equity and meaningful collaboration in cities around the world."
David Dodman
IHS General Director
As we approach 2030, we are fully committed to contributing to global initiatives and frameworks, particularly the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the words of SDG11, making cities “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” is more important than ever and remains at the core of our 2025-2029 strategy.
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- More information
About IHS
The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) is an education, advisory and research institute founded in 1958 as a part of the post-war reconstruction of the city of Rotterdam. In the early 2000s, IHS became part of the Erasmus University Rotterdam and is now located on the Woudestein Campus.
For 65 years, our mission has been to develop human and institutional capacities, reduce poverty and improve the quality of life in cities. Looking at cities from different perspectives, we educate urban professionals with diverse backgrounds, consult national and local governments from the Global South and engage in cutting-edge urban research. Bringing practical experience from real-life projects back to the classroom, we inspire collaboration and co-creation of urban knowledge. Together with our partners, we work at the forefront of urban development to improve the well-being of people living in cities. IHS is about making cities work for all.
For more information, contact web@ihs.nl
