PhD position on new urban–rural connections

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences is seeking a PhD researcher on new urban–rural connections, with a focus on spatial-economic relations between city and countryside and on the significance of “the countryside” for both urban and rural residents.

The PhD position is part of the NWO-funded research programme Fertile Soils, which conducts inter- and trans-disciplinary research into making relationships between rural and urban areas more sustainable and better integrated. It pays particular attention to (spatially) aligning supply and demand and to (re)valuing landscape services, such as food production, recreation, biodiversity and water storage. Fertile Soils concentrates on five Dutch urban–rural regions: Groningen–Het Hogeland, the Zwolle Region, the Van Gogh Region, the Rotterdam–The Hague Metropolitan Region, and the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region.

Work Package 3
The PhD candidate will work in Work Package 3 of Fertile Soils. This work package studies the rise of alternative and multifunctional enterprises and collaboration networks in agricultural areas as a response to the lack of space in urban regions. These initiatives combine agricultural production with public and private services such as recreation, housing, care farms, and landscape management, creating new city-countryside relations that can enhance rural liveability. Work Package 3 investigates (i) the broader value of these initiatives and their contribution to rural wellbeing and (ii) their spatial embedding and clustering with other landscape services and economic developments. It explores which initiatives foster vital regions, the challenges they encounter, the values, needs, and constraints that shape them, and how urban–rural exchange operates.

PhD project: “New urban–rural connections: the role of landscape services in multifunctional initiatives”
The PhD project examines (new) urban–rural relationships in terms of supply and demand for landscape services within alternative and multifunctional initiatives. In many cities, people seek ways to stay connected to the countryside. Concepts such as Herenboeren and community-supported agriculture offer new interactions between urban dwellers and the agricultural landscape, where food production gains social and ecological as well as economic meaning. Yet questions remain about how best to embed these initiatives spatially and bundle them with other landscape services and economic activities.

By mapping and analysing the spatial distribution of such initiatives, the project will reveal how urban demand for landscape services—food production, recreation, nature management—relates to rural supply. Where are the strongest city–countryside interactions? What socio-economic conditions matter? How can new initiatives be combined with existing activities, including housing, to create multifunctional spatial structures? The PhD will identify bottlenecks and opportunities for combining and clustering old and new activities, thus providing a solid foundation for designing regions in which agriculture, housing and multifunctional initiatives reinforce one another and contribute to a thriving countryside.

Understanding the values, wishes and needs of both urban and rural actors will clarify which initiatives are seen as feasible and supported. The project also aims to grasp urban residents’ motivations for participating and the extent to which they feel connected to the countryside. Spatial analyses will visualise patterns of engagement, shedding light on how actors cooperate, and which factors foster successful, durable initiatives. By pinpointing opportunities, the research shows how broad economic vitality, beyond income and business models, including regional collaboration and innovation, can be stimulated.

The four-year PhD will culminate in a thesis comprising three to four international peer-reviewed journal articles, several Dutch professional publications, and presentations at Dutch and international conferences and symposia. The candidate will also engage in meetings and discussions within and beyond Work Package 3 of Fertile Soils, and will be involved in research in the five Dutch urban-rural regions mentioned above.

Position in the Organisation
The PhD will be appointed in the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen, in the Cultural Geography unit. Supervisors are Prof. Martijn van der Heide (nature-inclusive rural development and environmental economics) and Dr. Gunnar Mallon (physical geography and data science). To maximise impact within Fertile Soils, collaboration with Wageningen University and/or another knowledge institution in the project is foreseen.

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences is an open, collaborative faculty of about 100 staff, 100 PhD candidates and 1100 students, delivering high-quality teaching and research in human and economic geography, demography and spatial planning. Our research programme TRACE (Transformations, Communities and Environments) seeks scientific and societal impact through cutting-edge research at the interface of people, places and planning in rural and urban settings, especially on local and regional scales. Our motto: we are making places better together.

The PhD candidate will:

• Design and carry out the research outlined above, leading to a dissertation that includes 3–4 international journal articles and is publicly defended.
• Publish and present interim results in the Netherlands and at international scientific conferences.
• Actively participate in and contribute to the Fertile Soils project.
• Build and maintain contacts with internal and external partners.
• Teach courses in the Faculty of Spatial Sciences (maximum 15 % of the appointment).

We are looking for someone who:

• Holds a Master’s degree in a relevant field - preferably social or cultural geography, or a related social science with a strong focus on spatial-economic analysis and socio-cultural relations.
• Possesses knowledge of, experience with, or demonstrable interest in rural–urban relations, ecosystem and landscape services, socio-cultural processes, place and landscape valuation, socio-spatial dynamics, or urban–rural geographic models.
• Is an enthusiastic researcher with affinity for both academic and practice-oriented research.
• Has strong analytical skills and can work independently.
• Has excellent communication skills in Dutch and English.
• Is comfortable with both quantitative and qualitative methods (surveys, interviews, etc.).
• Has (or is willing to develop) the skills to collaborate in an inter- and trans-disciplinary manner with societal stakeholders and to contribute actively to knowledge integration within Fertile Soils.
• Knows, or is interested in, working with GIS/spatial data analysis, network analysis or modelling socio-economic structures.

We offer an appointment in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU), entailing:

• A gross monthly salary of € 2,901 in the first year, rising to € 3,707 in the fourth and final year (full-time, PhD scale).
• 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus.
• Participation in an employee pension scheme.
• A temporary contract for one year, extendable for a further three years subject to satisfactory first-year progress, with the aim of completing the PhD within the total appointment period.
• Enrolment in a tailored PhD training programme and registration with the Faculty of Spatial Sciences Graduate School.

Intended start date: 1 September 2025

Please send your application to us, by submitting the following documents:

• Letter of application.
• Curriculum vitae.

You may apply for this position until 14 July 11:59pm / before 15 July 2025 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

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