Willem Korthals Altes is professor in land development at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of the Delft University of Technology. 

Willem's research interests relate to the Governance of land development, which is about the interaction between planning, property rights and property markets, the governance of the relationship between private interests of landowners and common societal goals. He is also Scientific coordinator of the Horizon 2020 project ‘The opening of rural areas to renew rural  generations, jobs and farms’ (RURALIZATION).

Current research topics include the following: The authorities as land developers, new land development legislation, the Europeanization of the governance of land development, access to land and rural development, the legal complexities of modern land use, innovative and participatory land policy instruments and bridging internal and external effectiveness towards a legitimate governance of land development.

research interest

• Land development
• Interactions between planning and land markets