How Online Media Become City-Making Tools
Together with The Hague architecture institute Stroom we’re organizing the Stadsklas, a spring school that teaches innovative and curious individuals interested in cities and design the ins and outs of DIY urbanism. The series will span six days of learning in May, with each day set in a different location. Trend-setting city-makers will take the participants on a trip to their world, and demonstrate new ways to look, act, and make.
More often, citizens, entrepreneurs and local institutions take city-making into their own hands. They set the agenda or play a role in activating a local community. Tools like blogging, social media, and campaigning help them enormously to get a position and to play this significant role. But how do you use these instruments effectively in order to set the agenda or build new urban communities? This Friday we will be hosting a Stadsklas course in Amsterdam that focuses on (online) agenda-setting and branding as new city-making tools.
The program, that we have organized together with author and researcher Mariska van den Berg, is meant to explore the ins and outs of successful practices of using media in urban generation processes. We’ll take participants on a trip along different experts in Amsterdam who will share their experiences and give tips and tricks in this particular field. The day will kick off in de Tolhuistuin, the recently re-opened temporary creative village in the North of Amsterdam. From here, Luc Harings, founder of ilovenoord, one of the most successful neighborhood blogs, will take us to places in the North of Amsterdam that mark the spatial impact of ilovenoord as an online platform. Along the way Luc will explain how he managed to develop a medium that independently sets the agenda for city-making. Lex de Jong of neighborhood blog BoLoBoost — located in the Amsterdam’s Bos en Lommer district — will explain how online community-building can be used in new situations.
One of Vandejong’s projects: Eenmaal, the world’s first one-person restaurant
In the afternoon we will visit branding and communication agency Vandejong. Interactive Director Franklin de Bekker will show us some of the office’s place-branding projects, and teaches us how Vandejong uses various communication methods in their self-initiated projects and assigned urban projects. Back in the Tolhuistuin pavilion we will work on a small creative assignment. The day will be concluded with drinks.
Join the Stadsklas!
Registration is capped at 12 to 15 people. The costs are €100 including food and drinks, and transport on location. Click here for more information on how to participate!
