Hans studies how cities work: why people and firms cluster together, what makes housing affordable or not, and whether government interventions in land use and housing actually improve welfare. His research combines large-scale administrative and microdata with advanced econometric techniques.
Current themes include: housing affordability and the effects of housing market regulation; the spatial concentration of firms and the role of agglomeration economies; place-based policies and urban regeneration; the impact of transportation infrastructure (including high-speed rail) on the spatial distribution of economic activity; urban inequality and segregation; the dynamics of retail and commercial real estate markets; the effects of renewable energy infrastructure (wind turbines, solar farms) on local housing markets; the impact of robots and automation on workers and urban labour markets; and the role of parking policy and urban mobility.
His work is directly relevant to the housing, spatial planning, energy, and transport policy sectors. He regularly advises the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis and engages with national and international media.
