VOORBURG
Client: Municipality of Voorburg
Project Type: Fieldlab – Community Ideation & Urban Experimentation
Year: 2024 - 2025
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.
Instead of waiting for the works to start, The Lab of Thought has proposed to develop a number of street experiments that allow the Municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg to experiment well before the first shovels start digging. On the basis of an extensive analysis of the policy goals and direction of Leidschendam-Voorburg and the outcomes of a neighbourhood participation process (run by De Plekkenmakers), The Lab of Thought, citizens and Leidschendam-Voorburg have co-created two street experiments that will be launched in June 2025.
These experiments kick off the shared learning process for the Municipality and the local residents and will provide relevant insights for the design process, which will start in September 2025. Together, follow-up experiments have been defined, which allow the Municipality to continue testing after the first experiments have ended and been evaluated.
Approach and Activities
Community Ideation Sessions - Facilitated co-creation workshops where residents articulated values, needs, and visions for the future use of the street.
Temporary Street Experiments - Implemented tactical interventions (e.g., pop-up installations, traffic calming measures, public space prototypes) to visualize and experience alternative street layouts in real time.
Feedback Loops and Iterative Design - Structured real-time feedback from users and stakeholders to refine concepts and adjust interventions.
Narrative Development - Captured emerging values and aspirations in a future narrative to guide long-term spatial strategies.
Outcomes
Deepened Local Engagement - Strengthened community trust and built capacity for participation in future urban transitions.
Tangible Prototypes - Delivered tested, community-endorsed ideas for future street redesigns.
Strategic Policy Input - Provided the municipality with a robust foundation of community insights and evidence to inform formal planning and decision-making processes.
Culture of Experimentation - Fostered an environment where “learning by doing” accelerated the municipality’s ability to navigate uncertainty and co-create public value.
Impact
The Fieldlab Voorburg demonstrated the power of collective imagination and practical experimentation in shaping future-proof urban environments. It provided the Municipality of Voorburg with both immediate insights and a replicable model for citizen-driven innovation in public space transformation.