Posts

Public space: notes on the why, what and how
The book Public Space shows the diversity, functions, challenges and opposing interests within the physical manifestation of the public realm. It’s a bundle of thoughts and short notes about all its facets as a space, place, site, network and arena. The book provides a nice overview and update of the current state of public spaces. More in-depth analyzes and practical solutions would have been welcome.

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Playable cities: What?
Now that we know the reasons (WHY) and conditions (HOW) for playable cities we can zoom in on the specific actions that we can undertake to create vibrant places. The underlying goals and criteria for child-friendly spaces help us to remember that we have to operate on multiple levels. In this chapter you will find a lot of actions and efforts that can make a difference if you want to create safe, entertaining and enriching learning spaces for kids.

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The Open City
Nowadays we make cities to much as a closed system: segregated, regimented, and controlled. Instead of this 'Closed City' we need an 'Open City' where citizens actively hash out their differences and planners experiment with urban forms that make it easier for residents to cope. This is the main message of urban sociologist Richard Sennett in his new book 'Building and Dwelling' that came out last month. Yesterday he gave an inspiring lecture at the Rotterdam Academy of …

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Arrival City
In 2011, the British-Canadian journalist Doug Saunders wrote the bestseller 'Arrival City' about the drift to the city. Because of this process, there are worldwide more people living in the city than in the countryside since last year. The Guardian called it "the best popular book on cities since Jane Jacobs's The Death and Life of Great American Cities." That was reason enough to travel to Leiden, where Saunders gave a lecture.

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