VOORBURG
In a few years’ time the sewage system in large parts of Voorburg-Noord, a neighbourhood in the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg will need to be replaced. This means that virtually every street will need to be opened up, to install new sewage pipes. Needless to say, this presents an amazing opportunity to rethink the design of the space in Voorburg-Noord.
Image: jan-van-der-wolf
HAARLEM
“Action! Let’s get to work for a social, green, and livable city.”
The title of the coalition agreement of the Municipality of Haarlem leaves no room for doubt. After years of developing strong visions and ambitions across various themes, the time has come to translate these into concrete projects. The focus now must be on implementation. Making real progress. Many of the challenges facing the Municipality of Haarlem are directly related to how we use public space. The coalition agreement explicitly mentions housing, energy, climate, and also social inequality. And all of these themes demand space in our streets.
Image: Nicolai Kolosov
OVERIJSSEL
In autumn 2024 the Region of Overijssel (Provincie Overijssel) and The Lab of Thought launched Living Lab Overijssel, a learning process for which 9 municipalities across the region had submitted different cases. Most of the cases were mobility related, but some had more of a social dimension.
Image: bartrosfotografie through Pexels
Creative industry
The Creative Industries Fund NL invited The Lab of Thought to guide the process for the open call “Roads to Wellbeing”. The call was aimed at spatial designers who want to collaborate with public authorities, stakeholders, and experts on the mobility challenge facing the Netherlands. The central question:
How can the profound mobility transition ahead be shaped in such a way that mobility becomes a tool to improve the quality of life—for everyone?