Students and residents are empowering Limburg’s towns

In five Limburg towns, students and researchers from Zuyd are doing everything they can to bring about improvements. Together with local residents and the local authorities, they are devising ways to make living in one’s own neighbourhood healthier, more sociable and more sustainable. 
And it’s working. Three years ago, researchers from Zuyd’s Smart Urban Redesign (SURD) research group launched the Limburg Univercity programme. The towns and cities are proving to be ideal learning environments. 

Boosting knowledge

But how do you use the city as a campus? To share experiences and gather more knowledge, SURD lecturer Nurhan Abujidi held a knowledge booster on Wednesday 13 May 2026 in a large classroom at Gilde Opleidingen in Weert. Officials from Maastricht, Weert, Roermond, Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen and Den Bosch spoke with lecturers and researchers from Zuyd and Avans University of Applied Sciences.

5 cities at once

Nowhere else in the Netherlands is there a programme like Limburg Univercity. As a research group, SURD is making its mark in 5 cities simultaneously to turn neighbourhoods into pleasant and healthy places to live. And the research group isn’t doing this alone. 9 other research groups from Zuyd are helping with this mission. Various universities, other universities of applied sciences and vocational colleges are also taking part. “And Venlo will be joining us soon too,” Nurhan reveals. 

Greater impact

But why in so many cities at once? Nurhan laughs: “That’s my ambition. I simply think it’s very important that as many people as possible enjoy living in their own neighbourhoods. Healthy, safe and sustainable! And I hope the cities will inspire one another, as they often face the same issues. This increases their impact.”

Focus per city

And in the five cities where projects are currently underway, the focus of the students and researchers is slightly different:

• Heerlen: vitality and inclusion
• Sittard-Geleen: connection
• Maastricht: healthy living environment
• Weert: ecological and green development
• Roermond: connection

Different degree programmes

Because of these differences, it is interesting for students from different degree programmes to help with the research. Students from Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Built Environment, Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts, Speech Therapy and Communication & Multimedia Design are all contributing. Nurhan: “It also means you learn a lot about completely different degree programmes.” 

Railway zones

In Weert and Den Bosch, the area around the railway is currently under scrutiny. Urban planner Daan Lammers from Weert explained on Wednesday that one of the ideas is a parking hub with additional housing. “Now the local residents are involved from the outset, rather than us only turning up at a residents’ evening once the plans are all finalised. Much better.” In Den Bosch, the area around the station is set to become a prime place to live, says strategist Arjen Kamphuis. And just as in Weert, it works much better if you don’t take a top-down approach. “First, go out and talk to the businesses that are already here.”

Resilient Maastricht neighbourhoods

In Maastricht too, local residents and students have already produced the first sketches for, for example, Miradorplein in Nazareth. Just as in Pottenberg, people here sometimes face poverty, health problems and social insecurity. That is why the council intends to give these two neighbourhoods extra attention for the next 20 years. “This way, a whole generation can grow up in a different neighbourhood,” says Hans Thewissen of Maastricht City Council. Welfare organisations, housing associations and care partners are also helping with this. 

Miradorplein

But it starts with the students. They carry out neighbourhood scans, health and welfare analyses. “They’re currently working on Miradorplein in Nazareth,” explains Nursing lecturer Esther van Gurp from Zuyd. “Students are helping local residents to come up with their own plans. And dog owners are now happy with the idea of the large dog-walking area being removed, for example.” The square will be renovated after the summer. And it should be finished in a year’s time.

Learning from one another

“An important lesson: residents appreciate it when each new group of students first introduces themselves at a neighbourhood meeting. And the neighbourhood is also keen to hear the results of each group before the next group takes over.” It is precisely this sort of advice that lecturer Nurhan Abujidi values highly. “Learning from one another. That’s what it’s all about!”