City making
“When you know your city better, you can shape it better. But what exactly is meant by “city making”? The first thing you often think of is literally “making” the city. Piling bricks, building streets, constructing parks and squares, but of course that does not make a city. There is no city without people. A city is made by the people who live and work there. And that is the most important thing. So, by definition, all the people in a city are “city makers.” And in a city, these people live together.
City-making actually means that people are constantly looking for new and better ways to live together in a city.
This ‘living together’ can really be anything, as long as it is together. Working and living, of course. But also falling in love or not, making and maintaining friendships. Learning by going to school together, but also learning from each other, or experiencing things. Caring for people who need it. Going to the cinema or theater or performing something in front of an audience. Playing sports or working out, or just going to the club together.
Foto: Elizar Veerman
Foto: Loes van Duijvendijk
It is not that a city’s buildings, streets and squares are not important. What a city looks like, how it was built, how it was created, is of great influence on how we live together in the city, it influences how we can and want to live together. The space in a city actually determines what you can do there. Every city has its own history, which determines the atmosphere and character of the space in the city. If you know and understand that history, you will find that you will love your city more. And what you love, you take care of. So, a story like the one in the book METRO O1O helps you become a better ‘city maker’.
City maker, with an eye for the history and culture of the city, who knows how to move through the city and what you can do to live well, together with other city makers and residents. You will learn how to make better use of your city, how to find your way around it and how to develop yourself and your surroundings. The stories in this book will help you, but they don’t do it for you. In the end, you must do it yourself. Only then will you contribute to a great city, a city you want to live in.
You have a voice. Use it!”
Jeroen de Willigen
Partner | Urban planner De Zwarte Hond