What is our area of expertise and what do we do?

• area development with lasting value: we help develop areas and transform existing districts, and in doing so combine social, human, cultural and sustainability value with long-term economic value
• sustainability, climate adaptation and the energy transition: we bring together the networks at the district and municipal levels to urge them to take action on sustainability, and ensure that policy, technology, support and action are harmonised in the district
• public space on a human scale: we aim to improve the city at eye level, on streets, squares, parks and plinths in existing and new areas; and we use placemaking for short-term action and long-term strategy
• transformation of buildings for social impact: from incubators to start-ups, social enterprises and the manufacturing industry, we help to transform buildings with the aim of strengthening the city
• top-down and bottom-up co-creation: we bring together investments and policy with district initiatives; we speak the language of investors, developers and authorities, as well as residents, entrepreneurs and initiators; not participation as an end in itself, but ‘creating the city together’, in terms of both talk and action
• integrated approach – ‘software – hardware – orgware’: we work on spatial development (hardware), fuelled by and intended for social and economic use (software), using a multi-annual strategy , coalitions and instruments (orgware)
• translating and connecting expertise and practical experiences from elsewhere in the world by investing in international networks. As (co)initiator, we enrich our expertise and approaches by learning from our network partners. We are involved in: Placemaking Europe, The City at Eye Level, re:Kreators and PlacemakingX.