JGWF (Joris) Voeten, MSc

Senior Researcher in Urban Nature-based Solutions at Wageningen Research, with more than 20 years of experience in product and system innovation, and applied research in urban green infrastructure. With a background in tropical forest management and consulting arboriculture, he is driven by using the power of nature to create healthier, more liveable and future-proof cities.

His work focuses on blue-green-grey urban infrastructure, including green roofs, urban trees, sports, water-sensitive design, circular water systems and green buildings. He develops and studies solutions that combine healthy plant growth, biodiversity, climate adaptation, energy transition and multifunctional design. At the heart of his approach is the smart integration of nature and technology: creating systems that strengthen the connection between urban life and natural processes.

Joris often works in multidisciplinary innovation projects within Dutch Topsector Knowledge and Innovation programmes. These projects bring together municipalities, companies, researchers and other stakeholders to develop practical, widely supported solutions for the cities of the future.

Through living labs and real-life construction projects, his work helps make dense urban environments more climate-adaptive, nature-inclusive and enjoyable — not just as ideas on paper, but as visible, testable and inspiring places where people, nature and technology come together.