Placemaking Week Europe 2024 - Rotterdam

We want to improve the quality of life in neighbourhoods to make more places greener. As cities and housing corporations we see a lot of places that can be better used. Public spaces and semi-public places around social housing have sometimes bad quality and are not well used.

Together with our citizens and tenants we start processes to design more attractive, healthier and greener places to make more places for community, to come together, to play and give more space for biodiversity, meetings, playgrounds and climat adaption.
 
In different countries and cities we meet the same challenges. Cities and housing corporations from Portugal, the Netherlands, France and United Kingdom will show in this workshops you some good examples in our cities and together we will share our challenges and questions. How do you like to contribute to greener the areas and built communities? Which steps can you follow to engage several stakeholders to invest in greener spaces? Can you share with us your good examples? Come and join our workshop and participate with your knowledge and experiences

How can we engage and ensure citizens, including the less commonly heard voices, shape how their neighbourhoods are redesigned to be healthier, more climate resilient and great places to live?

During our discussion and to try and answer this, you will hear about challenges and best practices from 3 European projects, and from Paris to Asia we’ll learn how cities are bringing nature to streets, squares and schools, all with a common objective to co-design more climate resilient and inclusive neighbourhoods. The session will share how to reconnect cities with nature, improve health and wellbeing and how these practices are helping communities to adapt and prepare for extreme climate events.

You will have the opportunity to ask questions to the panellists focused on the different ways each project is trying to respond to this question! From focusing on co-designing spaces with less heard voices, using proximity planning to address citizens needs and dreams, using citizen science to create more resilient spaces in cities, neighbourhoods and schoolyards, to embedding health and wellbeing into the design process.

Representing projects ReGreeneration, LIFE CRITICAL, UP2030, and OASIS Schoolyards, City representatives from Bradford, UK, Thessaloniki Greece, and Dordrecht, the Netherlands, as well as C40 Cities and Resilient Cities Network will be present.

Note: This session will use headphones for audio 

Meeting Point: Het Industriegebouw, Goudsesingel 66, 3011 KD Rotterdam 
Ending point: Jonker Franshof

Service courts are the hidden backstreets of the center of Rotterdam. They are part of the post-war city-block where living, working and shopping were interwoven in a new typology. On the scale of the inner city the service courts form a circuit of supply roads and transhipment areas. With the shift from goods to services and new urban logistics, the supply function has become less dominant. This, in combination with the trend to give cars less space, calls for a re-evaluation of the service courts; as a reservoir of public space for climate adaptation and encounters. 

During this session the participants will explore Rotterdam in a totally different way and we will collectively discover the potential of these public spaces by questioning: How can these underused spaces, with a total area of 25 soccer fields, be used to increase the diversity of public spaces, routes and living environments? 

We end the tour in a service court which functions as one example of temporary activation; we will discuss the strong points of this interventions and the points of improvement. This reflection will be a valuable part of our overall evaluation of this pilot project (running during the month of September).

Join us for the "Nature Explorers Walkshop," a unique and immersive adventure designed especially for children and their caregivers through Rotterdam's urban landscape! Participants will embark on a playful exploration of the hidden world of non-human actors that call our city home. This interactive walkshop offers a hands-on experience, engaging with the city's trees, water canals, and native plants and animals through fun challenges and activities.

Participants will receive a "Nature Explorer Kit" containing a map, a booklet with profiles of non-human personas, and materials for the journey. At various exploration stations, they'll encounter different non-human actors like trees, birds, and flowers, learning fascinating facts about their roles in the ecosystem and completing related tasks.

Through this engaging session, participants will gain a deeper understanding of biodiversity, urban resilience, and the importance of coexisting with nature in urban spaces. They'll discover how these natural elements mitigate climate change impacts and enhance community well-being.

By participating, children and families will develop a greater appreciation for Rotterdam's natural heritage and be inspired to advocate for sustainable placemaking practices. This session not only promotes environmental awareness but also fosters a sense of stewardship and connection to the local environment, making it a must-attend event at Placemaking Week Europe 2024.

If we want to create meaningful impact in the field of climate change mitigation, public participation and sustainable and circular urban development there is an urgent need to bridge small scale civic initiatives (in placemaking) with larger infrastructure and area development initiatives and enable participation and civic development in these projects. While civil society initiatives are increasingly being recognised in the field of place-led development, civil society actors and initiatives in the area of infrastructure still receive too little acknowledgement and support. But what can we learn from these initiatives and what (regulatory) framework do they need?

In this session we will take a closer look at one of the most interesting area development projects in Rotterdam (Keilekwartier / Merwe-Vierhavens) and learn from international best-practice examples. We will investigate how civic infrastructure initiatives (e.g. energy communities) can foster resilient area development and create benefits and a just transition for the local community. How can these large scale developments still include citizen initiatives in a meaningful and just way? Can we develop good overarching frameworks for these developments?

Are you eager about doing a placemaking project, but struggling to get started? Or are you curious how to kick-start your placemaking process in 70 minutes? Play the Placemaking Game with us!

The Placemaking Game playfully makes you and your team acquainted with the act of placemaking and supports you in developing a placemaking project. The game is designed for citizens as well as for government officials, policy makers and professional placemakers. It supports those that are less familiar with placemaking as well as the process of experienced placemakers. The Placemaking Game aims to facilitate placemaking projects and will bring up international parallels and differences. 

It can be played with groups of 3-12 people and takes about 60-90 minutes. The game initiates interactive discussions about placemaking and moves placemaking ideas forward towards tangible action. Individual dreams and ambitions are translated into one collective vision. From this vision concrete roles and action points are articulated.

THE MEETING LOCATION FOR THIS ACTIVITY IS: Metro Delfshaven, 3026 RE Rotterdam, Netherlands

Are you curious about how we encourage residents to make their streets more attractive, friendly, and green? Do you want to gain inspiration and see how Rotterdammers have become co-owners of their own street?

During this inspiring walk through Bospolder Delfshaven, we will take you along beautiful green streets and squares, all greened and personalized by the residents themselves. Along the way, you will hear their stories and see first-hand how they have transformed their streets into their own piece of Rotterdam.

What to Expect:
• Insights into our campaign methodology: Discover how we actively involve residents in making the city climate-proof and raising awareness for the climate crisis. Check out the Opzoomer rain barrel, a wagon with useful items for a street activity, and the circular wooden Christmas tree designed and explained by Studio Klinkenberg, which serves as a meeting place in December.
• Inspiring resident stories: Learn how residents have greened their streets, leading to beautiful green spaces and more interactions, contributing to a sense of home.
• One thing leads to another: Small street initiatives grew into large neighbourhood approaches.

Join us and discover how we're collaboratively making Rotterdam greener and more sociable.

Join us for a down-to-earthly presentation of "Bog Bothy," a transformative placemaking project collaborating with Irish peatland communities to co-create bothies—spaces for shelter, retreat, and profound engagement with the evolving landscape. As Ireland transitions from peat extraction, this session delves into how architecture can uphold historical connections with the bog while safeguarding it for future generations.

With one-sixth of Ireland covered in bogs, the end of peat extraction marks a major environmental and social shift. This session addresses the challenges of this transition and issues of spatial justice for rural communities. By documenting historical and contemporary peatland architecture, "Bog Bothy" counters exclusionary narratives of 'wilderness' and 'rewilding' through understanding bogs as deeply cultural landscapes. It highlights the adaptive reuse of materials and knowledge from the peat industry, presenting bothies as symbols of positive change and community aspiration.

Participants will discover innovative methods to reconnect with post-industrial peatlands, gaining insights into architectural solutions that support environmental stewardship and community resilience. Bog Bothy is a collaboration between the Irish Architecture Foundation’s ‘Reimagine’ Placemaking Programme and 12th Field.

This project is uniquely positioned to inspire and educate festival attendees about innovative architectural responses to local design challenges and environmental transformation.

Note: This session will use headphones for audio

Farmers' markets and gardens provide fresh produce, physical and mental health to citizens. But the accessibility, attractiveness, social infrastructure and programming of these sites varies widely in their effectiveness to equitably attract and serve citizens. Learn best practices from around the world and from Ryan's own food system work.

During the session, we will cover:

Accessibility: Examining how different markets and gardens ensure access for all community members, including marginalized groups like seniors, children, refugees, low-income populations, micro-businesses, etc.

Attractiveness: Discussing strategies to make these sites more appealing and engaging for the public from wayfinding to social furniture, programming and layout.

Social Infrastructure: Exploring the social components that support community engagement and interaction at these sites including creating a "town square" feel.

Programming: Sharing successful programming ideas that enhance the value and utility of markets and gardens.