Maarten van Ham

Maarten van Ham

Full Professor

My research focusses on two major themes. The first theme is better understanding urban and spatial inequalities and the dynamics of these inequalities over time. The second related theme is better understanding the effects of these spatial inequalities on the behavior and outcomes of people. Many of the contemporary spatial inequalities in cities are strongly rooted in urban planning and urban design decisions of the past. My research is therefore highly relevant for informing future urban design decisions. The focus of my research is on socio-economic segregation in an international comparative perspective. To better understand segregation I apply an innovative multi-scalar framework to measure the spatial context of people, and alternative measures of segregation such as social frontiers.

Work Experience

  • Professor of Urban Geography, 2019 - Present

    Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft

  • Professor of Urban Renewal, 2011 - 2019

    OTB-Research for the Built Environment, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft

  • Professor of Human Geography, 2011 – 2021

    University of St. Andrews

  • Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, 2009 - 2011

    School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St. Andrews

  • Deputy Director, 2006 – 2011

    Centre for Housing Research (CHR), University of St Andrews

  • Lecturer in Urban Geography, 2004 - 2006

    Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University

  • Research Fellow, 2002 – 2004

    Department of Geography and Planning, University of Amsterdam

  • Research Assistant (AIO/PhD student working on PhD), 1998-2002

    Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University

Education

  • PhD in Human Geography, 2002

    Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University

  • MSc in Human Geography, 1998

    Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University

Interests
  • Segregation
  • Spatial Inequalities
  • Urban Regeneration
  • Neighbourhood Effects
  • Segregation
  • Residential Mobility
Featured Research
Ruta Ubarevičienė, Tilt Tammaru, Maarten van Ham, Et Al., (2026). A Comparative Study of Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital City-Regions: From Segregation to Desegregation?. Urban Studies (Forthcoming).

Maarten van Ham, David Manley, Tilt Tammaru (2024). Geographies of socio-economic inequality. Oxford Open Economics, Volume 3, Issue Suplement_1, i634–i641.

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Maarten van Ham, Tilt Tammaru, Ruta Ubarevičienė, Heleen Janssen (2021). Urban Socio-Economic Segregation and Income Inequality. Springer Open.

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Maarten van Ham, Masaya Uesugi, Tilt Tammaru, David Manley, Heleen Janssen (2020). Changing occupational structures and residential segregation in New York, London and Tokyo. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 1124-1134.

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Tilt Tammaru, Maarten van Ham, Szymon Marcińczak, Sako Musterd (2015). Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities: East Meets West. Routledge: Oxford.

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