Postdoc SafePathways: Cross-Cultural Insights and Co-Designed Concepts for Schoolchildren's Mobility

Are you interested in making schoolchildren's everyday mobility healthier, safer and more sustainable? Be part of a cross-cultural research project looking for socio-spatial solutions.

Job description

We are seeking a highly motivated and self-driven candidate for a 3-year position as a post-doc researcher on the international project SafePathways (Cross-cultural insights and co-designed concepts for safe everyday mobility of schoolchildren in European and East-Asian cities) starting January 1st, 2026. In this 36-month long project, funded by the European Driving Urban Transitions Partnership, TU Delft will work in close collaboration with international academic partners, local governments and local schools.

The SafePathways project will explore the everyday mobility of schoolchildren (aged 7-18) and develop solutions to stimulate active mobility, combatting the worldwide trend of decreasing physical activity levels among children and adolescents. Travel choices are influenced by a combination of factors, such as a perceived lack of safety and different norms and values. These factors are heavily dependent on the local social and cultural context, in different settings, such as the family, the school and the wider community. Therefore, in the SafePathways project, partners from diverse cities and mobility systems will not only study infrastructural and built environment elements, but also the development of interpersonal and intergenerational links to ensure safety, and the formation of local mobility cultures. This will provide input for a co-creative process to develop innovative sociophysical solutions to promote safe active mobility. A key aspect of the methodology is directly working with children, parents and teachers through all parts of the project.

The project will employ a comparative case study approach, focusing on four case study neighbourhoods: Lombardijen in Rotterdam, Centra apkaime in Riga, La Dreta de l’Eixample in Barcelona, and Ruian subdistrict in Taipei. In Lombardijen, we will work together with the Municipality of Rotterdam and local school de Catamaran.

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Developing the research methodology for the work package on "Co-Mapping Everyday Mobility of Children" and guiding other project partners in applying this methodology. This work package aims to explore children's everyday mobility behaviour, and analyse how children’s and parents’ perceived safety and comfort are influenced by different elements of the built and social environment. For this, the work package consists of walking interviews with children, focus groups with parents and teachers, and co-mapping workshops with children and parents.
• Organising and carrying out field work, data and policy analysis in the local case study of Lombardijen, in collaboration with the Municipality of Rotterdam and local school de Catamaran.
• Building a network of local stakeholders in Lombardijen, in collaboration with the Municipality of Rotterdam, and organising local co-creation workshops with children, parents, teachers and urban design experts.
• Actively participating in online and in-person meetings and other knowledge exchange activities with consortium partners.
• Contributing to the theoretical and methodological development and deliverables of other work packages.
• Publishing research findings in reputable peer-reviewed journals and presenting results at international conferences and (national) workshops.

You will be part of the Urban Studies Section in the Department of Urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. This section has a focus on the interactions between people, the (built) environment, and urban design in the context of growing spatial inequalities at various spatial scales.   

Job requirements

• Verbal and written working proficiency in Dutch and English is essential.
• A PhD degree in one or more of the following disciplines: urbanism, architecture, urban studies, urban planning, human geography, transport studies, or a related discipline.
• A strong interest in the key concepts of the SafePathways project: sustainable mobility transitions, active mobility, children's mobility, cross-cultural research, public spaces, perceived safety.
• Experience with or interest in (walking) interviews, co-mapping, focus groups and other participatory research activities.
• Good communication and networking skills and ability to have fluent conversations with policymakers, civil society, citizens, teachers, urban designers and academics from both social and spatial sciences.
• Ability to regularly visit the case study neighbourhood to build a local network.
• Ability to work independently, results-oriented and creatively.
• Very good writing skills, as demonstrated by peer-reviewed academic publications or by other relevant writing experience.
• Availability to start on January 1, 2026 or shortly afterwards.

Nice-to-haves:

• Experience in conducting research with vulnerable or hard-to-reach communities.
• Experience with local stakeholder engagement and co-creation.
• Knowledge of the Dutch policy context and Rotterdam in particular.
• Experience in (international) project implementation.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Architecture & the Built Environment
The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has a leading role in education and research worldwide. The driving force behind the faculty’s success is its robust research profile combined with the energy and creativity of its student body and academic community. It is buzzing with energy from early in the morning until late at night, with four thousand people studying, working, designing, conducting research and acquiring and disseminating knowledge. Our faculty has a strong focus on 'design-oriented research’, which has given it a top position in world rankings.

Staff and students are working to improve the built environment with the help of a broad set of disciplines, including architectural design, urban planning, building technology, social sciences, process management, and geo-information science. The faculty works closely with other faculties, universities, private parties, and the public sector, and has an extensive network in the Netherlands as well as internationally.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment.
 

Conditions of employment 

• Duration of contract is 1 year with possibility of 2 years extension.
• A job of 32-40 hours per week. 

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. 

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.  

Additional information

For additional information about the position, please contact Dr. Thomas Verbeek via e-mail: t.verbeek@tudelft.nl.

For more information about the application procedure, please contact Stephanie Ip, HR advisor, via e-mail: recruitment-BK@tudelft.nl.  
 

Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 31 October 2025 via the application button and upload the following documents:

• A detailed CV in English (including a list of publication).
• A short motivation letter addressing your interests and describing how your experience and plans fit with the advertised position (max. 2 pages).
• Contact information of two referees (letters not required at this stage).
• The abstract of your PhD thesis (in English) and URL to academic repository (do not submit complete dissertations).

The job interviews will take place on Monday 17th November.

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post. 
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• For the final candidates, a knowledge security check will be part of the application procedure. For more information on this check, please consult Chapter 8 of the National Knowledge Security Guidelines. We carry out this check on the basis of legitimate interest.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.