–
Creating better
cities together
The festival
Placemaking Week Europe is an annual festival that brings together 500+ placemakers, urbanists, city officials, and community leaders from across Europe and beyond. Placemaking Week Europe is created in the spirit of collaboration and inspiration and it has proven to be a vital platform to share best practices, foster meaningful collaborations across borders, and to experience the host city’s places, and initiatives firsthand. We provide a friendly environment surrounded by brilliant minds.
The event takes place over 3.5 days and features keynotes, on-site and off-site workshops, plenaries, site visits and fun activities– all designed to inspire and empower participants to create better cities together. Each city provides a unique canvas for the festival, showcasing local initiatives and challenges. We prefer the event to be experiential and make use of a creative homebase for the festival and unique locations in which to host workshops, and sessions.
This year, here’s what you can expect at Placemaking Week Europe, Rotterdam Edition
Hosting city
Our hosting city for this year’s edition is Rotterdam, Netherlands!
Rotterdam is a bold, forward, and dynamic city in the Netherlands. It is Europe’s largest seaport and home to people from all corners of the world. Time and time again, the city has had to forge its own path and collectively build – from rebellious creatives to legislators, and from neighborhood leaders to project developers. Everyone has played their part in creating the current vibrant city.
Rotterdam is in a constant flux, with a changing harbor, ongoing urban transformations, a growing emphasis on individual expression, and residents with evolving needs. There is also a growing call for a more balanced relationship with water, nature, and addressing climate change. This all leads to a competition for public space and a demand for an innovative and flexible approach to create spaces where people feel a sense of belonging. That is why Rotterdam is working hard to support, protect and utilize placemaking and placemakers for society and the economy.
This edition was amazing!
The themes
Placemaking Europe explores transversal topics like gender, multigenerational places, place-based economic development, technology and smart cities, inclusive prosperity, creative bureaucracy, arts and culture, and more. This year’s festival will explore 4 overarching themes that correlate with these approaches to placemaking, as well as with the city of Rotterdam’s distinct placemaking initiatives and goals:
Creating Place & Making it Last
Placemaking isn’t just about temporary interventions; it aims for lasting impact for a more inclusive, resilient, and dynamic urban environment. We invite you to contribute to the discussion on how to acknowledge, define and ensure placemaking within the systemic reality. How can we leverage and integrate the city’s cultural capital into the urban development processes? And how can we achieve sustainable collaborations with the people who are the DNA of a place? Within this theme, we explore the importance of diverse perspectives and communities in shaping the city. We delve into the power of crossovers to come up with fresh and innovative solutions, ranging from experiments and temporary initiatives to long-term transformation.
Climate Adaptation: Together Towards Change
Living with Water: The Flow of the City
The function of waterfronts has changed over the years, as has the approach and utilisation of these spaces. This theme explores the dynamic relationship between urban environments and waterways, transcending traditional notions of waterfront development. Waterfront placemaking celebrates the natural ebb and flow of the coexistence between urban life and water. We delve into the local stories from past and present, and investigate how local heroes and innovators can develop these areas into vibrant, inclusive, and accessible spaces that build upon the accumulated value. Through these urban narratives, we explore how to enrich waterfronts and in what ways placemaking can contribute to creating connection and awareness around water among our urban residents.
Local Power & The Battle for Space
Within this theme, we embrace the powers that make cities thrive, including creatives, artists, community builders, social programmers and everyday individuals. Anyone can be a placemaking hero, and local initiators are incredibly important players in strengthening their ecosystem. Despite often operating without official recognition or financial support, they shape the true identity of a place. Meanwhile-spaces for arts, culture, and community are vital for solidarity, self-expression, and resilience, and contribute greatly to the spirit of a place. Under this theme, we delve into the stories and needs to allow the transformative potential of the placemaking landscape to flourish. We’ll explore how these sometimes overlooked forces can be cherished, and how the continuity of these powers is not only important but essential for fostering vibrant, innovative, and inclusive cities.
The speakers
Robin Abad Ocubillo
Rinske Brand
Mark Davy
Akil Scafe-Smith
Gabriella Gomez-Mont
Petra Marko
Jenny Andersson
Keilepand is our home base in Rotterdam!
Our home base for the week will be at The Keilepand, located in the Rotterdam Makers District of Merwe-Vierhavens (M4H) Rotterdam, which is a special site that tells an impressive placemaking story.
Take a look at all of our venues for the festival week:
Tuesday 24 Sept – Placemaking Week Europe 2024 Opening Ceremony
- Oase
Wednesday 25 Sept–Friday 27 Sept – Placemaking Week Europe 2024 Main Venue
- Keilepand
Wednesday 25 Sept -Friday 27 Sept – Parallel Sessions
- Katoenhuis
Wednesday 25 Sept – Afternoon Parallel Sessions
- New Lab @ HBS
Thursday 26 Sept – Afternoon Parallel Sessions
- Gemaal op Zuid
Thursday 26 Sept – Afternoon Parallel Sessions
- Hillevliet 90
Friday 27 Sept – Afternoon Parallel Sessions
- Independent School for the City
Friday 27 Sept – Afternoon Parallel Sessions
- Roodkapje
Friday 27 Sept – Placemaking Week Europe 2024 Closing Celebration
- Biergarten
The programme
This year’s festival will feature various plenary talks, interactive workshops and sessions, as well as outdoor activities, site visits, night activities in the city, networking experiences, and more!
The city
Rotterdam is known for its harbor, lively cultural life, modern architecture and… placemaking. The extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nicknames “Gateway to Europe” and “Gateway to the World.”
The city’s nightlife is filled with diversity. Glamorous cocktail bars and classic pubs, hip and happening dance clubs and intimate concert venues. Rotterdam also has a varied architectural landscape, including skyscrapers designed by architects such as Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom and Ben van Berkel.
Rotterdam exhibits impressive examples of placemaking and sets a stage for a future of initiatives that cater to diverse groups and that address complex issues across various topics in the city.
In Rotterdam, during Placemaking Week Europe 2024, you can explore the hidden forces in placemaking and aspects of the process that are vital for innovation. Engage in inventive thinking and explore how this can contribute to making your city a more inclusive, resilient, and dynamic urban environment.
In this quest we team up with local heroes who sometimes navigate beyond existing power structures to create a sense of place. Next to that we invite you to join the discussion on how to acknowledge and ensure placemaking in the systemic reality.
Join us in Rotterdam, let’s create space to make a lasting place!
Check out the last edition!
Placemaking Week Europe 2023 in Strasbourg was an exploratory and exciting week in one of Europe’s most renowned and interesting border cities. Learn more here!
Frequently Asked Questions
From how to get there, where to get your tickets, where to sleep, or what to do in Rotterdam besides our amazin festival.
