Patrick Limpens is a university lecturer with the Urbanism and Urban Architecture (UUA) research group in the Department of the Built Environment at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). He has a background in architecture and urban planning. Patrick’s topics of interest include regional and strategic urban planning, urban governance, nature-based planning, and transition dynamics.

Patrick is involved in several bachelor and master-level courses, projects, and studios, including Urbanism and Architecture in Context (7EA4B20), Urban Form (7QX8M0), and Urban Planet (7QW3M0). He primarily teaches in UUA’s strategic urban planning line, which comprises Design for a Sustainable Future (7EA1B20), Urban Case Study (7X2X0), and Urban Trends and Strategies (7XX9M0). Through the lenses of systems thinking, future studies, and transition science, Patrick teaches students to connect global challenges to local urban issues. He guides them in reading and diagnosing urban systems and processes from spatial, political, socio-economic, and temporal perspectives to uncover root causes, and subsequently devise integral short- and long-term strategies to address them—approaching sustainable urban development in an evolutionary manner.

In 2024, Patrick and his colleagues of the course Design for a Sustainable Future were awarded the first runner-up prize of the TU/e Sustainability in Education Award for their approach on addressing grand societal challenges.

"The key to making cities a better place is seeing the forest."

Patrick earned his bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering (cum laude) with a specialisation in biobased architecture from Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Heerlen in 2015. He went on to complete his master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning (cum laude) at Eindhoven University of Technology in 2020. His master thesis 'The Rampart, the Traffic Artery, and the Park' in which he developed a spatial strategy for the Metropolitan Region of Antwerp was nominated for the KuiperCompagnons Graduation Awards 2020.

During his studies and in the years that followed, Patrick gained practical experience at an architectural firm specialising in cultural heritage. Patrick joined UUA’s teaching staff as a student assistant in 2019, later transitioning to teaching assistant and university lecturer. Since 2022, he has also been a researcher with the Innovation & Urban Green Space research group at Aeres University of Applied Sciences in Almere. Patrick’s research focuses on governance strategies for transitioning to nature-based urban planning aimed at climate change adaptation, enhancing biodiversity, and improving mental and physical health. He does so in among others the EU-Interreg project Biodiverse Cities.