Placemaking Week Amsterdam was organised by Project for Public Spaces (PPS), as well as STIPO, The City at Eye Level, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Placemaking Plus, and Gemeente Amsterdam.
The themes
Together we will reflect around four key themes that are central to thinking about the future-proof cities around the globe. The city as a case-study will serve as learning grounds, and further, a testbed for innovations:
Equity, Health & Well-being
From band-aid solutions to stopping problems where they start
A person’s postal code can be a more reliable determinant of health than their genetic code. The many factors that determine our physical, mental and social well-being and the forces of multiple inequalities converge in the places we live. How can placemaking holistically improve the quality of life in our communities and ensure that every citizen benefits?
Placemaking & innovation
From isolated campuses to hubs of opportunity. In this new era of innovation, marked by proximity, openness, collaboration, and inequality, how can placemaking help accelerate economic development, incubate new products, services and ideas, and expand economic opportunity for all?
Strets as places & transportation
From streets we go through to streets we go to. For too long, the mantra of traffic engineers was “faster and wider.” Today, many cities have rebalanced streets to work better for pedestrians, bikes and transit, but they could still be so much more. How can we remake our streets into a series of multi-use destinations with many ways to move from place to place?
Place-Led Development
From one-off projects to systemic change. How can placemakers broaden the impact of their work on communities by engaging the entire machinery of city building—from politicians and city planners to architects and real estate developers to economic development agencies?
The Backstory
Project for Public Spaces (PPS) built upon the momentum of the Placemaking Leadership Council and 2016’s Placemaking Week in Vancouver, allowing them to collaborate with partners in Amsterdam—STIPO, The City at Eye Level, Placemaking Plus, and Pakhuis de Zwijger—in 2017 to create a dynamic forum for attendees to develop and share concrete strategies to advance placemaking locally and globally.
STIPO later became the administrative support for the creation of Placemaking Europe.
What did the week hold?
Placemaking Week 2017 offered an exciting programme of learning and networking October 10–14, 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The week started with collaborating with local stakeholders on public space evaluations around Amsterdam. From here, participants took an all-inclusive trip to another city in the Netherlands to hear about unique placemaking successes and challenges. On the subsequent days, Pakhuis de Zwijger hosted the core conference—two days packed with exciting speakers, networking opportunities, and hands-on workshops. We finished off the week on Saturday with a tour trip to destinations nearby and other fun activities.
The programme
View the entire programme and speakers list from Placemaking Week 2017 on PPS’s website.
