Category: moderator

Sander works as an urban psychologist in the field of urban development, among others for Stipo and Stichting Thuismakers Collectief. As an urban psychologist he does research on the relation between human behaviour and the build urban environment. Recurring themes in his work are the transition between private and public space (the stoop), feeling at home (why do people feel at home?), communities and social networks. He works mainly for housing corporations, municipalities and developers to create places where people feel pleasant, experience a sense of ownership and maybe even feel at home. 

Ik ben stadsmaker in meest brede zin van het woord.
Ik houd van mooie gebouwen, mooie plekken maar ik houd vooral van de wijze waarop mensen hun stad maken.

Wat doen ze; wat beweegt hen; hoe grijpen ze in om hun omgeving echt hún omgeving te maken.
Mijn ambitie in mijn werk is om die menselijke maat te brengen in al die grote lijnen, grote projecten en groot geld.

Met humor, slimheid, kennis van zaken. En door zo veel mogelijk te luisteren.

Marieke Hillen initiates, coordinates and writes within the field of urban development. She tries to develop a form of slow criticism that keeps up pace with the slow urbanism of the projects she initiates. Hillen initiates projects that include locals, and works mainly in mixed neighbourhoods like Rotterdam-West. Singeldingen is a recurrent festival in the summer months. Encounters, music, experiments, poetry, educational projects, tea, coffee, cooks all play a role in an accessible event. Recently, she and others started the Wijkpaleis – a place to have it made. It is an emerging initiative that breathes new live into the makers culture that is existent in Rotterdam-West. It motivates people to broaden their horizon by making and considers the neighbourhood as a social library in which you can consult and utilize the capabilities and knowledge of neighbours.

Marieke Hillen is a wild thinker who not only builds theories but also realizes them. She starts unorthodox forms of cooperation and exchange. Her bottom-up initiatives create new views on society.

Saskia Naafs is a journalist and urban sociologist. She lives in Rotterdam and writes about urban development, housing, smart cities and technology for weekly De Groene Amsterdammer.