Shaping Urban
Futures Together

Office for Sustainable Land & Urban Management

A Global Advisory Practice for Integrated and Future-Ready Urban Development

Office for Sustainable Land & Urban Management (OSLUM) works with cities, global networks, and institutions to shape strategic visions, translate them into urban development strategies and investment-ready programmes, mobilising partnerships and resources to deliver sustainable change.

Jens is standing around a table with a group of people, looking at plans for Guangzhou.

Founded by Jens Aerts, OSLUM combines technical expertise in urban planning and design, innovative thinking, and collaboration across global knowledge networks to deliver solutions that drive carbon-neutral economies, improve quality of life in cities, and strengthen urban ecosystems.

Learn More About OSLUM

People walking down a street in Guangzhou.

Our Approach to Championing Urban Sustainability

Collaboration

Working within complex multi-stakeholder environments, we build alignment, leverage collective expertise and intergenerational networks, and create shared ownership that drives effective implementation.

Innovation

Drawing on emerging approaches and new technologies, with inspiration from traditional methods, cross-sector knowledge, and global best practices, we design targeted, forward-looking solutions to complex urban challenges.

Future-Proofing

Every strategy and programme we develop is shaped by a long-term perspective, tested against climate, demographic, technological, and economic shifts to ensure it remains relevant, resilient, and adaptable.

Tailored Solutions across the Urban Development Lifecycle

We assess complex urban systems to define clear directions for action, combining diagnostics, scoping, and scenarios to shape grounded, forward-looking strategies.
We translate ambition into spatial strategies, developing integrated master plans and urban development frameworks that guide long-term, sustainable growth.
We structure actionable programmes and align them with financial strategies and funding opportunities, underpinned by results-based frameworks and feasibility studies, to create investment-ready plans that bridge vision and implementation.
We work closely with communities, governments, and institutions to build alignment, manage transitions, and strengthen capacities for effective delivery and governance.
We embed environmental, social, and governance principles into tangible outcomes through placemaking and on-ground implementation, ensuring projects are inclusive, resilient, and impactful.
We conduct assessments and evaluations throughout the project lifecycle, generating learnings that inform capacity development, alignment, and scaling.

Where Our Approach Comes to Life

Two people walk down a green, tree-lined path between two buildings.

Kanaal Masterplan Development

Masterplanning, zoning and urban design, while guiding stakeholder engagement and public sector negotiations with clarity and precision.

◉ Antwerp, Belgium

View of the Hawassa Economic Area with production areas surrounded by trees and green areas.

Strategic Vision for Urban Development Investments

Assessing Ethiopia’s current landscape to guide EU investment priorities and shape a clear, strategic vision for future development.

◉ Ethiopia

A group of young people from the S²Cities programme posing in front of a welcome sign for the World Urban Forum.

Placemaking Advisory for S²Cities

Shaping programme strategy, delivering training and advisory support to enable youth placemaking initiatives.

◉ Global

Global Expertise,
Local Action

22 Countries

35+ Cities

45+ Projects

Representative experience across OSLUM, previous organizations, and independent consulting.

Our Partners

"Jens combines deep technical expertise with practical facilitation skills that bring together divers stakeholders around a shared vision. His contribution was instrumental in the early development of Fondation Botnar's Safe and Sound Cities Programme and he continues to be a trusted sparring partner as the programme evolves."

Eva Moldovanyi, Fondation Botnar

"OSLUM has played an important role in strengthening the placemaking capacities of our local partners, tailoring its trainings and support to the specific needs of each local team and to the diverse backgrounds of participants, from young people to practitioners and government officials, across our nine programme cities in Ecuador, Colombia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Ghana."

- Andrea Betancourt, S²Cities Global Program Manager, Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation

“Jens consistently succeeds in efficiently guiding all stakeholders to the essence of a project site. This allows the site’s potential to be fully realized.”

- Dick Vervoordt, CEO Vervoordt r.e.