PUBLIC SPACE: How can public space be better designed in the future?
COMMUNITY KITCHEN + IN-DEPTH STORIES
CAFÉ DE CEUVEL | Biweekly on Mondays | Jan: 12, 26 | Feb: 9, 23 | Mar: 9, 23 | Apr: 6, 20 |
Doors open at 18:00 | 18:30 shared dinner | 19:30 in-depth stories
Price: Free, donations welcome
Reserve here
About the theme: Amsterdam in development
In this series, we explore why urban development is crucial for a constantly changing city like Amsterdam. Developments affect both places and the people who live and work there. Accessible, free, and affordable spaces are essential to keep neighborhoods vibrant and strengthen the city, as well as for experimentation, encounters, culture, entrepreneurship, and social initiatives for everyone.
What programs, ideas, and area developments arise when we create and preserve space to experiment with the city of tomorrow on a small scale?
Programme 09/03
Theme: Public Space
Main question: How can public space be better designed in the future?
Programme overview
Date Theme Main question 12/01 Historical Perspective How has Amsterdam developed over the past 100 years? (since 1945) 26/01 Where are we now? What are the current plans in and around Amsterdam, and what does the future look like? (Up to 2050) 09/02 Ceuvel Case Zoning plan, wishes, and vision 23/02 Work What can we expect from the future work landscape? 09/03 Public Space How can public space be better designed in the future? 23/03 Housing How will the city continue to shape how we will live in the future? 06/04 Free Space What is the importance of creative hubs in Amsterdam? 20/04 Ceuvel Workshop Designing the zoning plan based on the themesSpeakers
Jesse Jörg
is a city maker, initiator, and founder of We The City, a creative agency for placemaking and urban development. He initiated and developed various projects that encourage interaction and show how residents themselves can activate public space, such as the BankjesCollectief, ROEF Rooftop Festival, and De Buurtcamping. Jesse was also involved in projects such as De Ceuvel and Lola Lik from the outset, and he is now affiliated with RAUM as an impact creator, where he develops projects around the future of public space.
Karin Christof
is a researcher and urban developer focused on the future of public space. She investigates how citizen initiatives reuse vacant spaces in the city and thus shape communal spaces. Karin is co-founder of the consultancy DwellingMatters, where she advises on community-led urban development, and is collaborating with the DesignArbeid foundation on a project in Amsterdam Nieuw-West that investigates the role of artists in neighborhood-driven change. Since 2021, she has been active in the Commission for Studios and (Residential) Work Premises Amsterdam (CAWA), always asking the question: who determines public space, and who does it actually belong to?
About the Community Kitchen
Café De Ceuvel organizes for the second year a series of evenings around ‘Amsterdam in development,’ with a warm meal followed by an in-depth program. As a sustainable creative hub, De Ceuvel aims to make it accessible for everyone, and you are welcome to join for just the meal or the full program.
The theme and De Ceuvel
This series explores how Amsterdam can grow sustainably by seeing projects as places that contribute to an inclusive and resilient future, with creative hubs like De Ceuvel playing a key role.
“How can Amsterdam remain a city where creative hubs can continue to function as permanent testing grounds in a constantly changing world?”
Illustration: Tes Miedema
