Placemaking Week Europe 2024 - Rotterdam

As our cities are caught up in a polycrisis, it provides momentum to truly act differently. Rotterdam is known as a city not shying away from bold moves to rethink itself. Currently the city is leading the way in its climate adaptation efforts, going all hands on deck to prepare the city for changing weather conditions. As this years’ festival will showcase, taking a placemaking approach to tackling climate change will yield the opportunity to address multiple challenges at once. After all, ‘When you focus on place, you do everything differently’ (Fred Kent). Placemaking has the potential to be truly regenerative, strengthen our democracies, and turn dysfunctional systems upside down. As the first morning panel, Gabriella Gomez Mont, Jenny Anderson and Johan Verlinde will set the stage for a week of insightful discussions and proactive engagements. Daring us to be bold in the impact we make, and think about our ability to challenge the status quo. 

A free, welcoming, and horizontal space to discuss the current trends and challenges of our practice. The session aims to create an intimate and open environment with dim lighting, encouraging honest and meaningful dialogue. To foster a safe space for free expression, stickers will be placed on phone cameras, emulating a nightclub-style no photo/video policy. Please note that there will be a queue to enter as we must cover the cameras with stickers.