Dr. Verena Elisabeth Balz is Assistant Professor at the section Spatial Planning & Strategy, Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology. The main focus of her research is on the use and performance of regional design-led planning approaches. Her work on this topic builds upon her extensive professional experience as a senior urbanist in the Netherlands, and has been published in international peer-reviewed journals and academic books. As a Research Theme Leader she has organized international conferences dedicated to the Department of Urbanism’s core interest in regional design. Her engagement has contributed to the building up of an international network of researchers with interest and expertise in this emerging theme. In addition to her core expertise she is knowledgeable about national and regional spatial planning in the Netherlands and Germany, and about European spatial planning and Cohesion Policy. Between September 2019 and August 2020 she has been a Deputy Professor at the Chair of Regional Planning, B-TU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany.