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Placemaking Europe Rotterdam

PLACEMAKING EUROPE 

September 24th-27th
Europe's largest placemaking festival came to Rotterdam

The 7th edition of the annual festival Placemaking Europe was held in the vibrant MerweVierhavens (M4H) district of Rotterdam.

Placemaking Week Europe is a yearly gathering that unites over 500 placemakers, urbanists, city officials, and community leaders from across Europe and beyond. This festival is a collaborative and inspirational platform where best practices are shared, meaningful cross-border collaborations are fostered, and participants experience the host city's initiatives and spaces firsthand.

With its rich history of transforming spaces, Rotterdam is the ideal host city for a festival focused on inclusive creativity, dynamic resilience, and sustainable urban development.

The 3.5-day event featured keynotes, workshops (both on-site and off-site), plenary sessions, site visits, and engaging activities—all designed to inspire and empower participants to collaboratively create better cities.

Katoenhuis played a key role in the event, serving as a prominent location that showcases inspiring placemaking initiatives.

We enjoyed the discussions and gained valuable insights into embedding placemaking principles for long-term urban transformation.

The Themes

Placemaking Europe delves into a range of interrelated topics such as gender, multigenerational spaces, place-based economic development, technology, smart cities, inclusive prosperity, creative bureaucracy, and arts and culture. The annual festival focuses on four main themes that align with these approaches and reflect Rotterdam's specific placemaking initiatives.

Creating Place & Making it Last

This theme ensures that placemaking has a lasting impact, creating inclusive and resilient urban spaces. It emphasizes the importance of integrating cultural capital into urban development and fostering sustainable collaborations with diverse communities. Innovative solutions are encouraged, blending short-term initiatives with long-term transformations.

Climate Adaptation: Together Towards Change

Placemaking plays a vital role in enhancing community and city resilience against climate change impacts such as flooding and heatwaves. This theme aims to engage inhabitants in climate adaptation efforts, promoting nature-based and regenerative practices for greener and healthier environments.

Living with Water, The Flow of the City

This theme explores the evolving relationship between urban areas and waterfronts. It celebrates the integration of urban life with waterways, drawing on local history and innovations to create vibrant, inclusive waterfront spaces. The focus is on enhancing the connection and awareness of water among urban residents.

Local Power & The Battle for Space

This theme emphasizes the importance of local creatives, artists, community builders, and social programmers in shaping the identity of places. It recognizes the significance of meanwhile-spaces for arts, culture, and community as essential for urban vitality. The theme explores ways to support and sustain these local forces to foster vibrant, innovative, and inclusive cities.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn more about placemaking and how you can make your city more vibrant.

Register for the event and keep an eye out for more updates!

Concrete Culture

Concrete Culture uses the generative power of art, culture, and technology within (historic) real estate and area developments to make a social impact, drive economic growth, strengthen communities, and combat gentrification. Concrete Culture’s flagship initiatives include Koelhuis Eindhoven (former Campina Vrieshuis) and Katoenhuis Rotterdam. Both initiatives focus on Immersive Experiences (IX), offering communal workspaces, studios, and presentation spaces that actively support creative and technical talent. By bringing diverse artists, technologists, and makers under one roof, Concrete Culture initiatives create a space for research, experimentation, and presentation of immersive experiences and contribute to the growth of the immersive technology sector in the Netherlands.

Katoenhuis

Port 294

Keilestraat 9C (navigation link)

3029 BP Rotterdam

© KATOENHUIS 2025
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