RESEARCH AND ACTIVITY PROGRAMME 2021-2022
DESIGNING CITIES FOR ALL In 2021, Pakhuis de Zwijger’s extensive two-year activity
On the other hand, a large part of the world’s population is
programme ‘Designing Cities For All’ will commence
increasingly calling for more collectivity, more community spirit,
with the support of the Creative Industries Fund NL. This
more sustainable economic models for people and nature, and a
programme will focus on the role of designers in shaping and
more well-balanced distribution of power. The key issues here are
creating cities for and by everyone. The key question for the
affordability, accessibility, and equal opportunities. These issues
2021-2022 activity plan is:
revolve around (digital) products, (public) services, employment,
In the context of the super-diverse city, how can designers contribute to the creation of inclusive cities for, and by everyone?
education and healthcare, the housing market, as well as shaping the neighbourhood, village, and city in a more general sense. In an ever-growing group of people, the awareness is growing that radical changes are necessary in order to achieve a fair, safe, and healthy living environment for everyone.
‘Cities of Belonging’, as writer and activist OluTimehin Adegbeye calls them, are cities in which everyone feels and is allowed to
DESIGNING FOR INCLUSIVE CITIES
feel at home. Not only in a spatial sense but also with regard to the
This applies specifically to cities which have become increasingly
digital domain and relating to the design of our public systems,
diverse due to an increase in migration. Today in the Netherlands,
services and products.
Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague have officially achieved the
“The only cities worth building, indeed the only futures worth dreaming of, are those that include all of us, no matter who we are or how we make homes for ourselves.”
status of super-diverse city. The term ‘superdiversity’ (first coined by Steven Vertovec in 2007) refers to cities and neighbourhoods where there is no longer a numeric majority of one ethnic group. It is in these types of cities in particular that people are springing into action. This is due in part to the fact that the emancipation of newcomers, minorities, and young people is stagnating and
-OluTimehin Adegbeye
gentrification is continuing rapidly all over the world. What is new
THE CALL FOR A FAIR, SAFE AND HEALTHY LIVING ENVIRONMENT FOR EVERYONE
minorities join forces. Women, people with a non-white skin colour,
is that these are no longer isolated manifestations of resistance: queer people, young people; together they aim to lay bare the faulty
If one thing has become apparent over the past few years - and in
power relations and inequalities and to dismantle inter-aggressive
particular in 2020 as the global Covid-19 pandemic has amplified
and often mutually reinforcing expressions of sexism, racism,
existing societal problems - it is the poignant increase in the
validism, classism, homophobia, transphobia and other systems
dichotomy within society on a global, national and local scale. All
of discrimination, oppression and privilege. They rightly demand
over the world, we were witness to the painful differences laid
an equal place in the city for everyone. This relates to equal access
bare between the rich and poor, the unequal access to basic needs
and treatment in the public domain, education and healthcare,
such as hygiene, shelter, and education, and the constant global
the cultural sector, on the labour and housing market, in politics
struggle with the climate crisis and refugee problem. At the same
and in nightlife. The effect of superdiversity is also about the
time, after the death of the American George Floyd, the ‘Black Lives
normalisation of diversity and its consequences for power relations
Matter’ movement gained worldwide attention in its fights against
and everyday attitudes and manners in the city. It is therefore
institutional racism.
desirable to gain more awareness, knowledge and experience with the inclusive design of public space, products and processes. This
In parallel, we see an increasing trend of populism and
is necessary in order to arrive at systems and living environments
individualism, a declining trust in government, and the emergence
that everyone (regardless of age, cultural background, ethnicity,
of a dominant and aggressive type of leadership - in most cases
capacities, religion, and gender) can relate to in a fair and equal
coupled with discriminatory and racist nationalistic policies.
manner.
THE ROLE OF DESIGN
We will delve into the subject of (re)designing inclusive cities
In these troubled times riddled with complex issues, the design
together with six Fellows who we will engage through our
sector has an important role to play in shaping the future of our
Fellowship programme as well as many other designers, scientists,
daily lives in a fair and sustainable manner. We all know that
experts, educational institutions and other involved partners.
design encompasses much more than the “simple” development of
The aim will be to ensure that everyone can participate equally
new products or services. Designers are - in addition to politicians,
in social, economic, cultural and leisure activities in cities -
administrators, shareholders, clients and other policy-making
regardless of ability, ethnicity, gender, age and cultural background.
persons - drivers and catalysts for urgent systematic changes
Cities where everyone feels welcome.
and social improvements thanks in part to their imagination and creative ability. In recent years we have seen how designers
ACTIVITY PROGRAMME 2021 - 2022
contribute to social change by focusing on involving users in the
The bilingual (Dutch and English) activity programme Designing
actual design process. Understanding and meeting the needs and
Cities For All aims to give insights into and provide tools for the
wants of people, the users, is crucial in these practices and this
inclusive (re)design of the city in all facets for future and current
process.
designers who are active in the fields of architecture, graphic and visual communications, industrial design, spatial design,
The time has come to develop an alternative vision for designing
product design, digital design, game design and much more. As
and shaping our daily reality, a more intersectional feminist vision
well as providing the policymakers and other related parties
where we ask ourselves how we can build more just, sustainable
(such as professionals from civil society organisations and
and inclusive cities. Designing Cities For All is about designing
citizens’ initiatives) with these tools and know-how. This involves
products, services, places and systems, where everyone feels
interpreting different perspectives, showing practices of inclusive
represented, everyone participates, and can communicate on an
(and exclusive) design, sharing knowledge, developing critical
equal footing. We are guided in this by a number of design criteria,
thinking skills and an alternative perspective, and generating the
namely that cities are respectful, safe, functional, understandable,
appropriate (design) vocabulary.
sustainable, affordable, accessible, attractive and healthy for everyone.
DESIGNING CITIES FOR ALL
Designing Cities For All is a two-year research and presentation programme and is made up of various components. The programme is a combination of desk research, interviews and practical
Designing Cities For All wants to contribute to a future where these
research on the one hand (supported by a total of six Fellows who
design criteria are the norm and where we prioritise values such as
will each work on the programme for three months) combined
equality, inclusion and justice. The 2021-2022 activity programme
with the associated activities of dossier development; and on the
will have an increased focus on the discourse and current practice
other hand various forms of transfer and exchange of practical
of design within our society, going beyond the existing ethos of
experiences and generated knowledge. We engage in dialogue and
social design and design for good.
connect national and international designers, artists, scientists, policymakers, and all actors involved in shaping and creating the city during livecast / meetings, podcasts, expert tables, magazine articles, exhibitions, publications and a book club.
The activities focus on a wide range of professional designers and design students (through the programmes), and a wide variety of
JOIN US
social professionals, clients, policy makers, scientists, journalists,
Pakhuis de Zwijger sees this activity programme as an opportunity to
politicians and active citizens. The strength and uniqueness of the
conduct in-depth research into inclusive design from a Dutch context, and
activity programme stems from a mix of participants with different
to link the knowledge that is available at the local Amsterdam level with the
backgrounds, knowledge, insights and positions within the design
knowledge available at regional, national (particularly the super-diverse
process, so that all elements of the exclusive design of cities are
cities of Rotterdam and The Hague) and especially international level.
highlighted and come together.
Individual designers, agencies, educational institutions, training institutes and other parties and professionals in the design chain on a national and
In the activity programme we leave ample space for the input from
international level are called upon and invited to participate in, contribute
our Fellows, participating experts and partners. We trust designers
to and learn from each other about Designing Cities For All in a broad
and scientists, students from participating design courses,
context.
stakeholders and chain partners from various relevant disciplines and fields to share their insights, knowledge, experiences and
Are you interested? Please contact Dymphie Braun (Head of Programme
methods within the programme. All of this with the aim of making
Designing Cities For All): dymphie@dezwijger.nl.
better cities for all of us!
Pakhuis de Zwijger Piet Heinkade 181-K 1019 HC Amsterdam
020 - 624 63 80 dcfa@dezwijger.nl www.dezwijger.nl