Projects per year
Personal profile
Research profile
Oana Druta is Associate Professor Housing and Inclusive Urban Living in the research group Urbanism and Urban Architecture at the TU/e Department of Built Environment. Oana is a social/cultural geographer and urban planner, researching young adult housing and precarity; urban commons and participation; shared and flexible living; homeownership and intergenerational relations. To date, she has researched and written about urban housing phenomena in Detroit, Tokyo, Birmingham (UK), Bucharest, Milan, and Amsterdam. Between 2020 and 2022, Oana was a board member of the Eindhoven Young Academy of Engineering and coordinated the activities of the Urban Innovation Think Tank at Built Environment. In 2021, with colleagues at the University of Milan Bicocca and KU Leuven, Oana initiated a new working group of the European Network for Housing Research named Housing and Young People. Between 2022 and 2025, Oana coordinated the Dutch leg of the JPI Urban Europe Capacities for Urban Transformations project CoNECT (Collective Networks for Everyday Community Resilience and Ecological Transition). She is an associate editor of the International Journal of Housing Policy and is active on the advisory boards of Housing Studies and Housing and Society.
Academic background
Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Oana Druta received a BA degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Tsukuba (Japan) in 2009. During this time she received the Ministry of Education Scholarship awarded to elite international students in Japan. Later, Oana completed her Masters of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan (USA), graduating in 2011. During her Master's studies, Oana was awarded the Raoul Wallenberg scholarship for students advancing social justice, and the distinction for exceptional service to Taubman College and the Urban and Regional Planning program. Her master's capstone project was awarded the prize for Best Student Project by the American Institute of Certified Planners. In 2012, Oana started her PhD at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (University of Amsterdam) embedded in the ERC funded project HOUWEL. In 2014, she was a visiting researcher at the University of Birmingham (UK), Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan) and Bucharest University where she conducted fieldwork into the housing careers of young adults. Oana obtained her PhD in 2017, with her thesis on 'Young adult homeownership pathways and intergenerational support'. After having been a postdoctoral researcher at UvA, she was appointed assistant professor at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in May 2018
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Geography, Doctor, Young Adult Homeownership Pathways and Intergenerational Support: Homes, Meanings and Practices, University of Amsterdam
Award Date: 10 Jan 2017
Planning, Master, University of Michigan
Award Date: 30 Apr 2011
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Passende Huisvesting - NWA.1645.22.001
Druta, O. (Project Manager) & Cortés-Urra, V. (Project member)
1/02/25 → 31/01/28
Project: Second tier
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CoNECT: 438.21.446 ENUTC `Capacity for Urban Transformation. Collective Networks for Everyday Community Resilience and Ecological Transition
Druta, O. (Project Manager) & Botha, L. (Project member)
1/04/22 → 30/06/25
Project: Second tier
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Evaluating Local Housing-First Policies and Strategies: An Analysis Framework for the Netherlands
Cortés-Urra, V. & Druta, O., 3 Jul 2025, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › Academic
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Designing home for and with youth experiencing homelessness in the Netherlands
Druta, O., Fatemidokhtcharook, M., Reijnders, D. A. H. & Steenhuis, C., 27 Aug 2024, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › Academic
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Family support and student housing trajectories in Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Druta, O. & Fatemidokhtcharook, M., 27 Aug 2024, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › Academic
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Flex-housing and the advent of the ‘spoedzoeker’ in Dutch housing policy
Druta, O. (Corresponding author) & Fatemidokhtcharook, M., 2024, In: International Journal of Housing Policy. 24, 4, p. 737-754 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)29 Downloads (Pure) -
Home improvements in later life: competing policy goals and the practices of older Dutch homeowners
Druta, O. (Corresponding author), Schilder, F. & Lennartz, C., 2023, In: International Journal of Housing Policy. 23, 1, p. 92-112 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)74 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Best Tutor Master
Druta, O. (Recipient), 6 Jun 2025
Prize: Other › Career, activity or publication related prizes (lifetime, best paper, poster etc.) › Scientific
Activities
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Together Tomorrow
Druta, O. (Organiser), Botha, L. (Organiser) & Figueiredo, S. M. (Organiser)
23 Apr 2025 → 27 Apr 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Workshop, seminar, course or exhibition › Scientific
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Intergenerational support and the differentiated housing pathways of international students in a midsized Dutch city
Druta, O. (Speaker)
30 Jan 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk › Scientific
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Design Pedagogies for a Post-Growth Society
Druta, O. (Organiser), Kuijer, S. C. (Contributor), Baibarac-Duignan, C. (Contributor) & de Castro Mazzaro, A. (Contributor)
12 Dec 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Workshop, seminar, course or exhibition › Scientific
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Designing affordable housing for social health: wellbeing, social integration and dignity
Druta, O. (Speaker)
21 Nov 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk › Scientific
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CoNECT Webinar Series
Druta, O. (Organiser)
27 Mar 2024 → 12 Dec 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Workshop, seminar, course or exhibition › Scientific
Courses
Press/Media
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Lecture Universiteit van Nederland - 'Will we all be sharing houses in the future?"
14/02/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Seven new members at Eindhoven Young Academy of Engineering
van der Meel, R., Loerakker, S., Beckers, J., Dankers, P. Y. W., Höffken, J. I., Eduati, F., Baaijens, F. P. T., van de Burgt, Y. B., Walrave, B., Lakens, D., Liu, D., Hofmann, S., Hofmann, J. P., Druta, O. & Forner Cuenca, A.
16/10/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment