Introduction
2024 was a remarkable year for Placemaking Europe. We celebrated our biggest and most successful Placemaking Week Europe edition to date thanks to our fantastic host city Rotterdam, we welcomed new team members, and embarked on exciting new European projects. The tremendous success of the first Cities in Placemaking programme strengthened our efforts to integrate placemaking into the city-wide agendas of 12 pioneering cities. In addition, we proudly launched our new community webpage, providing a platform for placemakers to carry the momentum of Placemaking Week Europe into everyday collaboration. Meanwhile, our growing network of passionate placemakers continues to create a vibrant and dynamic community dedicated to transforming our cities and spaces.
To celebrate our efforts, here’s a short message from our co-directors, Ramon Marrades and Charlot Schans
2024 has been a defining year for the placemaking movement, filled with inspiring collaborations, innovative ideas, and transformative action. At the heart of it all is the remarkable community of placemakers—practitioners, partners, city leaders, and local champions—who drive the change we celebrate today.
Charlot and Ramon (co-directors)
One of the standout moments of 2024 was Placemaking Week Europe in Rotterdam, a city whose creativity, and spirit set the stage for the largest gathering in our history. But more importantly, it was the energy and contributions of the hundreds of placemakers who joined us that made it truly extraordinary.
The success of initiatives like Cities in Placemaking belongs to the cities, their leaders, and their communities who embraced placemaking as a tool to address urban challenges. It’s inspiring to see how 12 pioneering cities have integrated placemaking into their agendas, not just as a strategy, but as a commitment to creating spaces where people thrive.
As we look ahead to 2025, we are filled with excitement for what’s to come. Programs like Districts in Placemaking and FairFuture will deepen our focus on empowering local communities and addressing global challenges through co-creation.
To everyone who has shared their ideas, hosted events, contributed to projects, or simply been part of this journey—thank you. Let’s continue to build on this momentum, amplify each other’s voices, and create spaces that inspire and connect. Together, we can achieve so much more.
With gratitude,
Impact and outreach
In 2024, Placemaking Europe made significant strides in expanding our reach and impact. We traveled to and represented 13 countries, engaging with 14 cities and conferences. Our involvement in key projects, including ReGreeneration, Inclusive City, and Cities in Placemaking, underscored our commitment to fostering inclusive and sustainable urban environments.Our local networks continue to flourish, with vibrant communities emerging in 2024 such as Placemaking Sweden, and Placemaking Italy.

We kept our community informed and engaged by posting 22 newsletters throughout the year. Additionally, we hosted 12 events, including our flagship Placemaking Week Europe and a total of five insightful webinars.
In February we held two learning exchange webinars:
- February 7th, 2024 Placemaking Learning Exchange: Post-earthquake Placemaking in Ōtautahi with Ryan Reynolds and Lydia Hannah Thomas
- February 21st, 2024 – Danube Riverfronts Placemaking with Milena Ivkovic and Nikola Mitrovic
Continuing our Place-led Development DEEP DIVE Series:
- DEEP DIVE #7 Urbanitarian: place mapping for place making with Honorata Grzesikowska
- DEEP DIVE #8 Little C – Rotterdam with Jaakko van ‘t Spijker
- DEEP DIVE #9 Turku Finland with David Sim and Otto Vinerius
You can check out all our recorded webinars as well as other exciting recap videos from the previous years on our Youtube channel!
In 2024, our online presence grew thanks to the incredible interest and support from all of you. Together, we reached 86,335 unique visitors, 123,732 unique visits, and an inspiring 1,183,587 page views on our website. These numbers reflect the strength of our community and our shared belief in the transformative power of placemaking, with growing support and engagement across Europe and beyond!

Major Achievements
- We’re thrilled to share the full Report from the Placemaking Week Europe 2024, hosted by the dynamic city of Rotterdam. Last year’s event brought together over 700 placemakers from 39+ countries, sparking collaboration and inspiration across diverse settings. Explore key takeaways from the festival, including insights into Rotterdam’s venues, stories from local and global placemakers, and the event’s economic impact of over 1 million Euros. Want to learn more? Check out the full report!
- Cities in Placemaking 2023-2024 – A Success: 12 pioneering cities joined forces in the Cities in Placemaking programme, setting the stage for transformative placemaking across Europe. Their inspiring efforts and innovative approaches mark a true milestone in what we can achieve together as a community. Our board member Fredrik Lindstål, who followed and also participated in the programme, recently posted an insightful reflection. Read it here.
- Launch of Cities in Placemaking Americas: We expanded our reach with the launch of Cities in Placemaking Americas, bringing the power of placemaking to new regions. Visit the website here.
- Visit to Reggio Emilia: In December 2024, we visited our next Placemaking Week Europe host city, Reggio Emilia, to begin laying the groundwork for the 2025 edition. The city’s inspiring character and its passionate local heroes and practitioners left us energised for what’s ahead. During our visit, we held a local stakeholder meetup, explored key sites, and engaged with city councillors to better understand the themes and context shaping this remarkable host city. We are eager to continue building an impactful event together! You can read more about our site visit here.
What’s new in Placemaking Europe
New Community Page
We’re thrilled to introduce our new community webpage, designed to carry the energy of Placemaking Week Europe into continuous collaboration throughout the year. This platform offers placemakers a space to connect, share stories, and exchange ideas, fostering a vibrant and supportive community. With podcasts, articles, tools, resources, and inspiring stories, this space is made for YOU. Have a project, podcast, interview, or article you’d like to share? We’d love to feature your work! If you have content that highlights the diversity of placemaking efforts, let us know. You can visit our new community page here for more information on how to get involved.
Local Networks Meetup:
In 2024, we also hosted our first local networks meetup, marking a new chapter in connecting with placemakers across Europe. We’re eager to continue building and strengthening these local networks and initiatives. If you’d like to get involved or connect with us, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Organisational Growth:
In 2024, we welcomed two new core team members, Lea Lewitan and Rosaria Battista, board member Melany van Twuijver, and our intern Emma Arnold. Our growing team is key to supporting and expanding the impact of our work.
Meet the full team here.
Looking Forward: Prospects for 2025
Cities in Placemaking
- From 11–12 February, we will gather in The Hague for a pivotal moment in our Cities in Placemaking programme. The city will host Cities in Placemaking: 12 Cities Embracing Placemaking to Tackle Urban Challenges, where mayors and vice mayors from 12 pioneering cities will officially present their city-wide agendas, setting the stage for new developments in placemaking. If you’re interested in learning more about the programme, and/or joining Cities in Placemaking 2025-2025 you can register for the event in The Hague using this registration link.
- CiP 2025-2026. Want to be part of the Cities in Placemaking programme? You’re still on time!
Open call for the 2025-2026 programme. The new deadline is 31 March 2025!
Districts in Placemaking:
Our focus will shift towards strengthening placemaking at the district level, empowering communities to shape their environments in meaningful ways. In partnership with the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN), we will be launching the Districts in Placemaking (DiP) programme later this year. This leadership and continuous learning initiative is tailored for Cultural Districts, Innovation Districts, Campuses, Commercial Districts, and Area Developers. The initial two-year phase will concentrate on designing, implementing, and managing public space processes to foster vibrant, inclusive communities.
New Upcoming Projects:
We are excited to announce our participation in the FairFuture project, funded by the Horizon Europe programme. With a 48-month time frame, this initiative focuses on developing equitable climate adaptation measures by engaging local and regional governments (LRGs) with vulnerable and marginalized groups, promoting just resilience through inclusive co-creation and capacity building.
Role for Placemaking Europe:
- Implementing Placemaking Approaches: Integrating climate adaptation measures into both physical and non-physical spaces to ensure community responsiveness.
- Organizing Participatory Workshops: Conducting workshops like Fish-Bowl and Circle Way to tailor strategies to local contexts.
- Dissemination and Engagement: Organizing events and outreach activities to enhance stakeholder engagement.
- Developing Tools and Guidelines: Supporting the creation of guidelines for equitable, community-driven adaptation measures.
Placemaking Week Europe in Reggio Emilia:
Placemaking Week Europe 2025 will take place in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and we can’t wait to gather again for inspiring discussions, workshops, and collaborations! Next year, we will focus on the following themes:
- Connected Journeys: Rethinking Mobility Across Scales – Managing mobility from the territorial scale of connection with national networks to local proximity networks
- Heritage Reimagined: Historic Centres, New Opportunities – How to transform and adapt historic centers to address contemporary challenges
- Places of Well-being: Mid-sized Cities in Today’s World – Exploring how cities can prioritise the well-being of residents through innovative urban design while also addressing health and sustainability.
- Designing Cities for All: Valuing Diversity as an Approach to Urban Design – Embracing diversity and multiculturalism as key elements in creating inclusive spaces for all.
Keep an eye out for future updates, we will post our save the date and more information early 2025!
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the entire Placemaking Europe community for your continued dedication, passion, and commitment to transforming cities and spaces across the world. Your involvement and energy are the driving forces behind the success of our initiatives, and we are incredibly grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. We look forward to continuing our work with you in the year ahead!
Your Placemaking Europe Team