Inspiring Cities, Stipo, and Deltrametropolis Association invite you on this trip to Rotterdam - the third in a series of Inspiring Cities field trips, during which we search for methods and ideas of urban planning after the economic crisis. There are a variety of partners for this trip such as KEI, SEV, AIR and others.

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| Register now! |
| Invitation: opening night | (register by April 23rd)
| Detailed programme | (PDF)
The two-day program is fully booked. Registration for the | festive opening | and | subprogrammes | is now closed as well. |
Rotterdam Bright Future A two-day programme on lessons for planning after the crisis, with +/- 25 professionals from various countries. Thursday and Friday, April 26th and 27th, 2012, plus Wednesday-evening startup session.
This is the third in a series of Inspiring Cities international exchanges, during which we will explore Rotterdam through the eyes of newcomers in the city. The trip offers you the experience to get acquainted with the possibilities and difficulties newcomers to Rotterdam encounter, by walking, biking, cooking, observing, sailing, doing, debating, watching, eating and meeting.
Inspiring Cities, Stipo, and Deltametropolis Association welcome you to the international exchange program Rotterdam Bright Future. The recently published book Arrival City, written by Dough Saunders, has been a great source of inspiration for the content of three-day program.
Join us at the opening event on Wednesday night 25th of April or participate in one of the subprograms during April 26 and 27.
WHO A core group of ±25 professionals from various countries, networks, friends, colleagues, professionals, who will participate in the full programme. We will select this group from the registrants. A broader group will join in for parts of the programme.
OBJECTIVES Bring home new lessons for planning after the crisis. Apply working knowledge from Doug Saunders’ book Arrival City to the story of Rotterdam. Work as a team to enhance your experience and understanding of the ‘making and ‘being’ a city.
PREPARE This field trip is an exchange of information; that is, a two-way experience. To learn as much as possible, please be prepared to actively participate in the working sessions and bring all your knowledge and experience to the table. Prior to the trip, we recommend reviewing Doug Saunders’ book Arrival City: the final migration and our next world (2011) and his website arrivalcity.net.
EXTRA OPTIONS Introductory session on the evening 25th and a guided city tour on Saturday 28th.
COST Full 2 day programme + Wednesday evening startup session: €250 ex VAT. It is also possible to participate for part of the programme (the parallel visits).
WHAT’S INCLUDED All sessions; lunch & dinner on both days; transport during the programme; reader.
EXTRA OPTION Hotel; extra Saturday programme.
Explore the Rotterdam field trip in more detail below:
// Partners, representatives and workshops
Just as in Dublin and London, we have a variety of partners for this trip. Premier Rotterdam-based architecture and planning organizations such as KEI, SEV, and AIR will be joining us as well as representatives from cultural institutions such as the Rotterdamse Schouwburg and Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam. Urban thinkers from a variety of backgrounds and representatives from the municipality will offer their original perspectives. Leading architecture and planning firms will also organize workshops. All the partners involved will be present to learn and to share the knowledge in their city - including you! Furthermore, the opening weeks of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam and the related Architecture Festival Rotterdam will concurrently run with the programme, and we plan to connect with these festivals and mingle with the crowds.
// Urban planning during the crisis
These are interesting times for urban planning. With the recent economic crisis, we see traditional investors in planning (developers, government, housing corporations) losing investment power and we see new emerging investors in niche fields from sectors outside of planning, such as healthcare, energy, education, and food. This transition demonstrates a major shift in planning: the shift from ‗making a city‘ – an emphasis on new urban areas – to ‗being a city,‘ where the focus lies on improving what the city already is. The ‗making‘ involves urban professionals, like us, and how we observe and physically change the built environment. The ‗being‘ is how people experience the urban environment. Rotterdam is a preeminent example of how the tension between the ‗making‘ and ‗being‘ can provide us with new insights and lessons. During our trip we will use applied anthropological tools to investigate Rotterdam‘s ‗making‘ and ‗being.‘
// Rotterdam & ‘Being a City’
In Rotterdam, you quickly see that the city is constantly changing. Since it‘s epic World War II destruction, this city‘s physical shape and infrastructure have been dramatically recreated, but what about the social side? In many ways Rotterdam represents this transformation: modern skyscrapers, a diverse and multi-cultural population, an important financial and education center. The recent crisis, though, spurred a shift from the ‗making‘ to the ‗being‘ - from the physical to the social - raising the question: Who is Rotterdam? What is this city‘s identity?
// Rotterdam: ‘The Arrival City’
Referring to Doug Saunders, you can define Rotterdam as an ‗arrival city.‘ As Europe‘s largest port, immigration has an important role in Rotterdam‘s history. Nowadays over 50% of the city population descends from first- or second-generation immigrants. This flux of new groups brings opportunities and challenges. Education, housing, and jobs are primary challenges for new migrants and the municipality. On the other hand, these new groups bring energy, ideas, identity and soul to the city of Rotterdam. The city of arrival not only represents the chance for a better life for the newcomers, but it ensures the future of the whole city.
| Detailed programme | (PDF)
| Register now! | (full 2-day program is booked, subprogrammes and the opening still available)
More information via | sascha.jenke@stipo.nl | or | Jeroen.laven@stipo.nl | or s.fleischeuer@plan-f.nl |
The New Planning is a collaborative research project between Deltametropolis Association and TU Delft. A consortium of academic, civil society, government and market sectors is being created to meet the urgent need for a new model of strategic spatial planning that will keep the Netherlands at the forefront of territorial governance.