Placemaking Week Europe 2024 - Rotterdam

This session reports on a project that challenges the orthodoxy of property densification, following investigation of the future of the city centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK and Newcastle New South Wales, Australia. During the covid period, urban design literature asserted that city centres need more public places and particularly green spaces. However, there is little evidence of a change in strategy in the post-covid era. This project explores alternatives to increasing densification, to enhance people’s mental and physical health, and enjoyment of city centres, while mitigating the effects of climate change. This is in the context of the fourth industrial revolution and reduced demand for commercial and retail buildings.

The session will use visual information, from the two Newcastles, and other cities in Europe and the Americas, to explore what is happening in densification trends following the pandemic. It will explore the principles involved in city centre transformation that establish any particular strategy, but most importantly creating place and making it last. There will be a short presentation of findings that poses questions for discussion among the participants, enabling them to express issues that are important to them. The discussion could include environmental, social, political and economic perspectives.

Note: This session will use headphones for audio

Join us for an insightful session on the Elephant Recovery Project, where we explore how collaborative, cross-sector efforts between University of the Arts London, local businesses, and London’s Elephant and Castle community are fostering growth and resilience. Participants will gain valuable knowledge around creative placemaking, digital marketing, branding, and community engagement—key components of the project’s success. This session will delve into how the initiative, in partnership with Elephant and Castle Business Forum and The Means, worked alongside small businesses and community groups facing challenges following the closure of the historic shopping centre, post-Brexit and post Covid-19.

We’ll explore how to navigate the complexities of urban regeneration while celebrating and preserving the unique cultural identity of Elephant and Castle. Opening up discussions to share strategies around how to engage diverse communities, ensuring inclusivity and sustainability in redevelopment efforts.

This is a must-attend for anyone interested in community-driven urban planning, Higher Education placemaking and civic practice, the power of collaboration, and the future of small businesses in changing urban landscapes. It will also be of interest to creative students looking to understand how to connect their practice locally.

Join us as we explore a compelling placemaking project that brought together the initiator, policymakers, and residents to create a community swing, designed to bridge generational gaps.

This presentation will highlight how these diverse stakeholders collaborated to transform an idea into a vibrant public space that fosters social interaction and community spirit.

We'll delve into the challenges and triumphs faced during the project Ring of Swings, offering insights into the processes that made this initiative become reality. Whether you're interested in urban planning, community engagement, or innovative public spaces, this session will provide valuable perspectives on creating inclusive environments that connect people of all ages. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how a shared vision can bring a community together!

The notion of the 15-minute city has become a prominent approach thanks to its ability to create walkable and sustainable neighborhoods. Building on that approach, this 30-minute session aims to delve deeper into the idea of applying mixed-use and close-proximity principles on a smaller scale.

During the session, we’ll:
- Highlight case examples of the best mixed-use spaces we’ve seen yet
- Share concrete tactics for mixing up your places; combining offices with schools, shopping malls with libraries, and airports with forests.

This vision challenges traditional standards of zoning and spatial organization, advocating for a seamless integration of work, education, culture, play, and nature – within the same close quarters. At its core, the conversation is driven by the belief that by embracing the 1.5-minute place concept, we can create more inclusive, liveable and loveable places that enrich the lives of those having a relation to them.

How do we encourage organisations to see engaging communities around place as more than a ‘nice to have’ - or worse, as something to avoid for fear of basic design feedback? An answer may be in using market-focused organisational mechanisms such as ‘ESG’ and ‘corporate social responsibility’.

This session will highlight examples from Australia which we hope will bring new perspectives on engagement and community development, demonstrating ways projects can harness organisational aspirations and commitments around ‘the S in ESG’ (i.e. social impact) to help drive better local engagement and a more inclusive place outcomes.

The session will be focused on a new methodology designed to help organisations better understand what the new consultancy Amplifier Collective refers to as ‘the five P’s’ - place, people, policy, politics and partnerships - and drive more targeted local responses to social impact and engagement. These might include strategies and partnerships for purpose-driven procurement, community development, corporate giving/volunteering, creating employment pathways, and economic development – and importantly find
ways to build internal capacity to deliver places for people.

In this session, we will explore how to integrate placemaking concepts into university courses. By incorporating these ideas into the curriculum, educators can foster experiential learning opportunities that prepare students to become active Placemakers. Through practical examples and case studies, we will demonstrate the benefits of hands-on involvement in community-building activities.

Join us for an engaging panel discussion where we will examine how university students can actively participate in the placemaking movement and contribute to various projects. This session will highlight how students can bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to these initiatives, ultimately enhancing community life and fostering a sense of belonging.

Designed for students, educators, and practitioners, this session offers practical strategies and valuable insights. We will hear stories from experienced practitioners and educators who have successfully integrated placemaking into their teaching and projects. Through this session, we aim to spread knowledge and provide tools to help universities and students engage more deeply with placemaking, contributing to the creation of vibrant, sustainable communities.

Note: This session will use headphones for audio

Hometown Architect is a unique initiative by the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) that brings together local architects and community stakeholders to explore possibilities to regenerate their town centres. This is a community-led placemaking approach that recognises the unique value of each town and village and understands that local knowledge is key in the effort to revitalise town centres. By encouraging connections and combining the power of shared imaginations, Hometown Architect acts as a catalyst for change.

Hometown Architect aligns with the objectives of the recent Town Centre First Policy in Ireland and aims to support its delivery by facilitating local communities to participate in a co-design process to envision the sustainable regeneration of their town centres.

Participants in this session will have the opportunity to hear about the development of community-led placemaking projects in the Irish context, looking at the challenges and opportunities. Hearing from Vanessa Menegaldo, manager of IAF’s ‘Reimagine’ placemaking programme and Helena McElmeel, the architect that worked on one of the projects, participants will have the chance to learn about the work developed and the methods used to engage with community stakeholders in the process of transforming towns to make them better places to live, work and enjoy.

Through Sê Bairrista (a project developed by a consortium of an architecture office, NGOs, community groups, and public companies, and funded by European and national partners) R/C proposed the qualification of 5 public spaces in a municipal housing neighborhood in Lisbon for activities such as playing, cultivating, chatting, or debating, aiming to improve the quality of public space and increase social cohesion in its different dimensions: sense of belonging, relationships of trust between residents, and between residents and local institutions.
 
The project was monitored and evaluated by the Lisbon Institute of Social Sciences and had the following impact: 30% increase in trust in institutions; 26% increase in social cohesion and the feeling of belonging to the territory and the group; 29% increase in interest in participating in citizen initiatives; 32% increase in the frequency of use of public spaces.

With this short presentation, we would like to discuss questions of methodology of co-design and impact assessment involving different groups and local entities and the importance of design in creating a sense of belonging in the specific context of a municipal housing neighborhood.

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

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