Jesse Jop Jörg is a creative city maker and creates more ‘together’ in society with impactful projects. His goal is to show the city as a shared canvas that we colour together. Since 2012, Jesse and his agency We The City have initiated, among other things, the Bench Collective, the largest open-air café in the world. Residents can turn their pavement into a shared living room by opening a pop-up cafe. It was emulated in twenty-four countries and became the beginning of a series of initiatives that contribute to a finer city.
All these projects show that cities are shaped by an algorithm. An algorithm that shapes the city and determines how we live together. An algorithm that is not shaped by creative programmers, but by civil servants and lawyers. Jesse sees the city’s algorithm as a design that we have to make together. That is precisely where creatives should not be missing.