Placemaking Week Europe 2024 - Rotterdam: Full Schedule

Welcome to Placemaking Week Europe 2024 - Rotterdam Edition!

11:45 CEST

Improvising the City with Street Scene Theatrics

Wednesday September 25, 2024 11:45 - 13:00 CEST

The aim of the "Improvising the City with Street Scene Theatrics" workshop is to empower participants with innovative tools for community collaboration through the fusion of improvisational theatre and placemaking principles. Inspired by Jane Jacobs' insight that a good sidewalk's "ballet" is filled with improvisations, this session seeks to enhance participants' ability to engage with diverse community actors in creating vibrant, dynamic public spaces.

By integrating the foundational improv rules—such as "Yes, And...," "Make Statements," and "Support Your Scene Partners"—into the placemaking process, participants will develop skills to think creatively, respond adaptively, and build trust within their communities. The workshop includes interactive improv games and group activities that encourage spontaneity, teamwork, and playful problem-solving.

Through theatrical-improvised scenes, attendees will experience firsthand how these techniques can be applied to real-world placemaking scenarios, fostering a collaborative spirit and generating fresh, inclusive ideas for urban design. Ultimately, the workshop aims to equip urban planners, community organizers, and placemakers with the confidence and creativity to transform public spaces into thriving community hubs.

Speakers

Ryan Smolar

Co-Director, PlacemakingUS

T.J., Mcquire

Senior Urban Designer, Evergreen Canada

@tjhfx on twitter and instagram

Helene Gallis

Senior Advisor on social sustainability, Fragment AS

Helene Gallis is a Norwegian awardwinning entrepreneur, environmentalist and placemaker. Her work focusses on green public spaces that facilitates diverse stakeholder interaction while increasing urban biodiversity. Her experience includes international research projects, consultancy... Read More →

Wednesday September 25, 2024 11:45 - 13:00 CEST
Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor) Keilestraat 9f, 3029 BP Rotterdam

Local Power & the Battle for Space, Workshop

14:30 CEST

Launch of PLING (Placemaking In Gebiedsontwikkeling - IN DUTCH)

Wednesday September 25, 2024 14:30 - 15:45 CEST

Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor)

The official launch of PLING explaining why and for whom we are there. Make placemaking an integral part of all phases and forms of area development and not something temporary.

When it comes to placemaking in area development, the challenge lies with the users of the area. With new construction, it is often not clear at the outset who the ultimate users will be (residents, entrepreneurs and passers-by). And with an area transformation or urban renewal you are dealing with existing users who may or may not return after the development and new users who, just like with new construction, are often difficult to map.

The complex issue behind placemaking in area development is therefore what are the wishes of current and future users with regard to the public space and the plinths before, during and after development.

Using concrete cases, PLING demonstrates the value of placemaking in area development. By sharing success factors and setbacks, we make the lessons learned accessible to participants for inspiration and motivation.

We think we have launched a valuable concept with PLING. But we are still at the very beginning. We would like to discuss with the participants how we can help and inspire municipalities, corporations and developers with PLING.

How can we work together to make placemaking an integral part of area development and what is required for this? And what role can PLING play in this?

Speakers

Lex de Jong

Urban Innovator, Urbanboost

Anneke Jongerius

Placemaker, gebiedsontwikkelaar AM

Guus Frenaij

Sociaal Area Developer, Haa

Jorrit Albers

Owner, Bureau Buitendienst

Bureau Buitendienst is a creative agency for urban change that is located in the Netherlands.We are experienced in tactical urbanism, playful interventions, urban research, temporary use and strategic placemaking projects regarding urban change.

Sacha Pasman

Wednesday September 25, 2024 14:30 - 15:45 CEST
Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor) Keilestraat 9f, 3029 BP Rotterdam

Placemaking Essentials, Side Activity

16:15 CEST

Nordic Placemaking: collaborating beyond borders and freezing winter

Wednesday September 25, 2024 16:15 - 17:30 CEST

Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor)

This session aims to encourage dialogue and knowledge sharing among practitioners, enhancing our understanding of placemaking's impact on a regional scale. We will examine how to expand placemaking efforts to achieve broader regional effects.

Through interactive discussions with PlacemakingX and placemakers from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark, we will explore how these countries, individually and collectively, can address challenges such as policies and regulations, harsh weather conditions, and community engagement. Additionally, we will discuss steps toward fostering regional collaboration among the Nordic countries.

Speakers

Paivi Raivio

Designer, Co-Founder, Parkly

Päivi Raivio is an urban designer, artist and placemaker. She is a Placemaking Europe Leader.Päivi is the co-founder of RaivioBumann and Parkly - two companies which operate in Helsinki but also work internationally.RaivioBumann is a creative studio for placemaking, urban co-creation... Read More →

Adam Roigart

Co-Founder, Landscape Architect, BY RUM SKOLE

Helene Gallis

Senior Advisor on social sustainability, Fragment AS

Ethan Kent

Executive Director, PlacemakingX

Ethan Kent works to support public space organizations, projects, and leadership around the world to build a global placemaking movement. Ethan has traveled to more than 1000 cities and 60 countries to advance the cause of leading urban development with inclusive public spaces and... Read More →

Martyna Karolina, Daniel

Intercultural specialist, Reykjavik City Library

Library Duo with DöggDögg Sigmarsdóttir project manager for civic participation and Martyna Daniel, the intercultural specialist at the Reykjavík City Library, have been guiding the participative process in projects like Stofan - A Public Living Room. Someone once called us the... Read More →

Fredrik Lindstål

Former Deputy Mayor in Stockholm

Mustafa Sherif

Urbanistica Podcast host, Placemaking Sweden Director, Urban Planner Studio Manager AFRY Stockholm.

Karin Lekberg

Wednesday September 25, 2024 16:15 - 17:30 CEST
Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor) Keilestraat 9f, 3029 BP Rotterdam

Placemaking Essentials, Panel

11:45 CEST

Building Bridges: Regional Placemaking Networks

Thursday September 26, 2024 11:45 - 13:00 CEST

Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor)

This session is dedicated to fostering connections between regional placemaking networks from across the globe. The aim of this gathering is to serve as a platform for representatives from various worldwide regions to come together to share their unique approaches to placemaking, exchange best practices, and discuss challenges and successes. This is a unique opportunity to learn from diverse experiences, build a stronger network, and collaborate together on future initiatives. Whether you’re part of a regional network or looking to start one, join us to gain insights and expand our global placemaking community.

Thursday September 26, 2024 11:45 - 13:00 CEST
Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor) Keilestraat 9f, 3029 BP Rotterdam

Placemaking Essentials, Workshop

14:30 CEST

Placemaking With Local & Global Networks

Thursday September 26, 2024 14:30 - 15:45 CEST

Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor)

Learn from global placemaking network leaders and emerging networks, and discuss strategies for growing the collective learning, advocacy and impact for national and agenda placemaking networks and campaigns.

The PlacemakingX Global Placemaking Summit recently convened 150 of the world's placemaking leaders in Mexico City to set the course for the global placemaking movement and supporting the 30+ regional placemaking networks with emerging cross-cutting global agendas.

This moment represents a major evolution point for placemaking, since we launched the movement over10 years ago from Project for Public Spaces. We started PlacemakingX in 2019, almost 5 years ago, with the goal of further decentralizing and networking the movement globally, and have since seen strong self-organization around the very adaptive and nimble regional and national networks.

Informed by, and looking to support, these networks, the next evolution of placemaking movement will include cross-cutting agendas that are being formed with similar structures and process to the regional networks. As with the national networks, each agenda has leaders that have emerged to form each agenda network. While continuing to be open to additional leadership, these leaders are helping to take responsibility for guiding and growing the learning, advocacy and action of the network.

We invite placemaking leaders to join these regional and agenda networks to help them realize their potential. These networks and agendas are all designed to keep each-other supported, challenged and inspired.

Each part of the world is leading the placemaking conversation from different strengths.
Whether from a dominant discipline, sector, or demographic, every strength has much to offer, teach the rest of the world.

Speakers

Hans Karssenberg

Partner / Board Member, Stipo

Hans Karssenberg (1970) is founding partner of STIPO, an interdisciplinary team for better cities. He leads complex urban area development towards human scale, great public space, mixed use, sustainable and inclusive quality, always in close co-creation with all stakeholders. He is... Read More →

Ryan Smolar

Co-Director, PlacemakingUS

Stella Gwee

Director, Shophouse & Co

Stella Gwee is the co-founder and director of Shophouse & Co, a creative placemaking studio based in Singapore that helps city agencies companies and communities turn urban spaces into vibrant places for live, work, and play. She believes strongly that creativity, culture and the... Read More →

T.J., Mcquire

Senior Urban Designer, Evergreen Canada

@tjhfx on twitter and instagram

Guillermo Bernal

Executive Director, The Place Institute

Guillermo Bernal is a global leader in the placemaking movement, with over a decade of experience in transforming public spaces into vibrant community hubs. He is the Founding Director of Fundación Placemaking México and Executive Director of The Place Institute, organizations that... Read More →

Bin Kim

professor, urban designer, University of Seoul

I'm urban designer, placemaker. I worked for 6 years to make an abandoned island in the middle of Han River, Seoul into a Cutural Spot in the city of Seoul.From bringing an initiative idea, program and space organization to operation plan, I've worked for.

Ethan Kent

Executive Director, PlacemakingX

Jia-Ping Lee

Director, Jia Ping Lee

Specialities:1. Strategy: Destination, City and Organisation Culture.2. Urban Rejuvenation - Economic Grant Creation and Implementation, Placemaking and CurationI am passionate about people and places. My area of focus is in the intersection between Leadership, Placemaking, Organisation... Read More →

widiyani widiyani

Placemaking Leader, placemaking.id

Elijiah Go Tian

Thursday September 26, 2024 14:30 - 15:45 CEST
Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor) Keilestraat 9f, 3029 BP Rotterdam

Placemaking Essentials, Panel

16:15 CEST

Crafting Utopias: Storytelling and Service Design for Placemaking

Thursday September 26, 2024 16:15 - 17:30 CEST

Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor)

Join us for a workshop that combines the speculative power of storytelling with the hands-on perspective of service design, introducing a narrative-driven approach to placemaking.

In this session, you'll explore a fictional future neighborhood through the daily lives of its inhabitants—humans, plants, animals, and insects. Inspired by the children’s storybook format, participants will design their own story books encouraging radical participation in their own fictional scenarios and imagining what would make our heroes’ utopian lives fulfilling and happy.

As we dive into these stories, insights about community life will emerge, highlighting potential issues and opportunities for improvement. Combining sketching and storytelling with a systemic approach, we will explore how the crafted stories intertwine, making the multiple factors involved in placemaking emerge, and highlighting potential action points. What resources, activities, and connections, are necessary to make the narratives become reality? What systemic changes are required?

This workshop explores the complexity of community-based placemaking processes, weaving storytelling and design-driven methodologies to generate systemic change towards a collective sense of place.

Speakers

Sıla Kartal

Architect, Roof Coliving

Zeynep Aybüke Mutlu

Project Assistant, Roof Coliving

Alexandra Coutsoucos

Service designer for urban development, self employed

With a BA in Industrial Product Design from Politecnico di Milano and an MSc in Strategic Product Design from TU Delft, I have over six years of experience as a service design practitioner in international contexts. Alongside my academic role as a design researcher at DESIS Lab (Milan... Read More →

Marco Finardi

Service Designer & Researcher, Freelance

EMRE GÜZEL

Founding Director & Social Designer, Roof Coliving

Thursday September 26, 2024 16:15 - 17:30 CEST
Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor) Keilestraat 9f, 3029 BP Rotterdam

Placemaking Essentials, Workshop

11:45 CEST

Placemaking 101

Friday September 27, 2024 11:45 - 13:00 CEST

Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor)

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.

Speakers

Lisette van Rhijn

Strategy Advisor, Placemaking Europe & STIPO

Friday September 27, 2024 11:45 - 13:00 CEST
Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor) Keilestraat 9f, 3029 BP Rotterdam

Placemaking Essentials, Workshop

14:30 CEST

The Hague Placemakers Collective

Friday September 27, 2024 14:30 - 15:45 CEST

Keilepand Inspiratie (Ground Floor)

The Hague Placemaking Collective will present past, present and future placemaking projects of 6 active and diverse collaborators in the fields of art, design, architecture, making, activism and public space. Placemaking for us is building healthy social ecosystems. To create spaces where people feel at home, grow and inspire each other. Together we explore our place in the system, our common ground and how we enhance our impact.

Inspirations, ideas, visions as well as questions to public and third spaces. A high diversity of a dynamically composed group of creatives sharing approaches, tryouts, stories and failures we all learnt from. For others to explore their own passion and enthusiasm for existing but sleeping spaces, places and cities.

A colourful, energetic & inspiring presentation session with brief intro of each group, 20 slides long presentations, and an outro with Q&A option.

Speakers

Local Power & the Battle for Space, Panel