Placemaking Week Europe 2024 - Rotterdam

Start the morning off feeling grounded. Ping will give a short introduction to meditation before guiding you through a 30-minute practice. The perfect way to begin a day of exploration ahead!

Work in the garden in the mornings alongside other volunteers! 

Get to know the locals and hear about the vision and stories of the place and its people. 

Capacity: Each morning, there is space for 5 participants. 
Please arrive promptly at 9:00 in order to receive instructions from the gardener.

This is a 30min presentation highlighting exciting award winning lifestyle placemaking projects and destinations that are changing the game in Canada. They are achieving community engagement and business development goals simultaneously. The key insight is that there is a massive human desire for multiple experiences in one place. The examples highlighted are delivering thoughtful and exciting amenities, programming and experiences in all aspects of lifestyle including food & beverage, art, culture, festival, play, shop, make, sport, learn, discover and watch. They are inspiring longer and repeat visits by guests leading to historic commercial upside. The goal is to inspire attendees of this presentation to take away key learnings to apply to their current and future projects.

Note: This session will use headphones for audio

When no one wanted to believe in M4H, let alone live there, artist Joep van Lieshout saw the potential of this area. After moving in 1987 and starting AVL-ville in 2001, he decided to do something big here in 2008. Something that makes a difference and that benefits the city and actually everyone. Not a modest short-term initiative, but grand, compelling and forever.  Now, a decade and years of intensive preparations later, the preconditions are there for the realization of Brutus.

Since 2018, AVL has been working with developer RED Company (Nanne de Ru) to realize this project. The time has now come to draw up a definitive plan in 2024 for the development of this globally unique project of homes, studios and a museum. The museum is secured for eternity through an innovative business case. The Museum will become a long-term public institution for the city of Rotterdam through a foundation.

The aim of the session is to introduce participants to the ideas behind Brutus and its innovative approach to creating a vibrant place that will remain affordable in the future for cultural institutions, artists and its residents. It will be an interactive session with ample opportunity for questions.

Join us for "City Moves: playful urban spaces," a dynamic workshop where we reimagine urban environments as vibrant, active playgrounds. This session will delve into how sports, physical activity, and play can be seamlessly integrated into city spaces. Participants will hear from a diverse panel of experts including urban designers, public health advocates, community leaders, and cultural organizers. Learn about innovative placemaking strategies, explore successful case studies, and engage in a hands-on activity to redesign Keilewerf as a multifunctional space that fosters movement, play, and social interaction. This workshop is perfect for urban planners, public health professionals, and community organizers eager to transform public spaces into lively, interactive environments. Be prepared to collaborate, brainstorm, and leave inspired with actionable ideas!

Stories connect us. They have the power to change our perspectives and ignite change in our living environments. But what kind of stories should we tell? Who should the storytellers be? And who needs to listen?

In this session, we cut through the confusion that surrounds storytelling, exploring what it looks like in practice in placemaking and urban development projects. We will dive into actionable strategies for how to use storytelling to hear the stories of citizens before, during and after a project and discover how to define an impactful narrative of change and use it to connect stakeholders.

The session has three parts:
First, it starts with practical insights on how various communication forms (audio, visual, text) can be used to make placemaking and urban development processes more understandable, accessible, and impactful for citizens, professionals, and other stakeholders.

Then, participants will take part in an interactive demonstration of a new methodology for impactful and effective citizen participation, creating AI-powered stories in real time that reflect citizen experiences in our living environments.

The session ends with a closing panel discussion addressing how we can humanize our communication to reach all people, ethical considerations of AI, and human biases in storytelling, among other topics.

Join us for an introductory session where we explore the core concepts of placemaking. This session is perfect for newcomers and seasoned practitioners alike who wish to understand the foundational principles of placemaking, its significance in urban development, and the specific projects and stories that Placemaking Europe undertakes. Discover how placemaking can not only enhance the aesthetic and functional aspects of public spaces, but how it also fosters community engagement, sustainable development, and the many other elements that go into shaping vibrant urban spaces across Europe and beyond.

This session aims at presenting the methodology and assessment tools we developed as well as demonstrating their ability to provide human-centred solutions to the many
challenges faced by urban designers on urban projects and street redesigns.

It will explore the importance of collecting a robust set of human-oriented data while making sure to carefully listen to the community sentiment in order to better informed the vision and concept design, and shape spaces that reflect the diverse identities of locals.

The session will highlight how this transferable methodology can assist municipalities into implementing modern and inclusive street design while future-proofing the urban landscape, fostering active mobility and creating vibrant places.

Through the examination of our team’s proposal for the Boulevard de Sebastopol in Paris, the session will showcase a textbook example of urban battle for space in a context where the old urban forces hope to keep intact their share of the cake by hindering transformative change.

Note: This session will use headphones for audio

Capacity: 20 people (first come, first served)

Starting Point: Roodkapje Garage

Important note: In order to participate in the PodWalk activity, it is necessary to bring your own mobile phone with headphones/earbuds and a working internet connection. We do not provide any equipment ourselves.

Join in on a guided PodWalk Tour, hosted by Sander Ummelen from the Holy Houses Rotterdam Organisation!

Holy Houses and Placemaking in the City: Podwalk Cool Zuid investigates the urban development in Rotterdam's Cool-Zuid neighbourhood, where thousands of additional homes will be built, and new residents will move into the area soon. Amid this urban development, there are four varying church buildings. What role do these buildings play in the neighbourhood, and how will their role change in the face of this development?

Heilige Huisjes Rotterdam is creating a PodWalk that tells the story of these places in a changing urban landscape and gives the listener the chance to experience the neighbourhood of Cool Zuid in a new way. Composed of interviews and contemplative commentary, the PodWalk will be presented through a publicly accessible neighbourhood tour.

Podwalk: Holy Houses and the City - Heilige Huisjes Rotterdam

Capacity: 15 people (first come, first served)

Starting Point: Roodkapje

Flat rooftops offer a wealth of underutilised, high-potential space in urban environments worldwide. In Rotterdam, both temporary and permanent initiatives have begun to transform these spaces into vibrant hubs of urban sustainability. The cultural organisation 'Rotterdam Rooftop Days' explores this potential through creative programming showcased in their eponymous annual festival. During this tour, we will visit several rooftop sites where temporary cultural programming and permanent (green) redevelopment come together to maximise sustainable impact. Expect great insights and spectacular views as you experience the city from above. 

Accessibility info: Participants must be able to walk up stairs

The role of mobility to enable great places for people often doesn't get enough attention. This session will explore the role of the kerbside as a flexible, welcoming space that enables great places. We'll also explore the role of transportation more broadly as the key for unlocking access for all with global examples.