Placemaking - Sense, Space and Strategy

Overview

Key facts:

• Placemaking is more than a method; it is a philosophy for the development and experience of cities. Situating placemaking in a mixed academic context and intersecting it with sensescapes, the Placemaking - Sense, Space and Strategy course at the University of Amsterdam focuses on topics such as public space, community, diversity and 'the right to the city'.

• Experiencing the city through the many different sensory lenses is at the heart of this programme. It presents exciting alternative ways to understand how people live in, respond to, and imagine their cities. As cities are densely populated, and as their diversity increases, sensitivity to stimuli (both positive and negative) is increasing too. This holds true for all sensory experiences like increased noise, overwhelming smells, and the experience of intense density. Urban spaces can be imagined as territories of negotiation. Sensory experiences often inspire a strong sense of belonging and might therefore play an important role in the co-creation of space.  
• The diverse morning lectures focus on the theory of placemaking as well as on the theoretical implications of ‘sensescapes’: discussing how urban space is perceived on the basis of the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch and taste), and how urban sensescapes might be contested, if threatened. In the afternoon, we will use Amsterdam as our living laboratory, doing sound- and smell walks through diverse neighbourhoods and exploring placemaking practices at various locations.