Learning Visits and Workshops: Friday

Friday 13 June, 10:00 - 13:00

City of Literature*
Learning visit

Taking in the library, literature museum, and small bookshops, this learning visit will explore how Utrecht actively incorporates its literary cultural heritage and UNESCO City of Literature status with its regeneration.

Leidsche Rijn: Learning from the Vinex Approach*
Learning visit

Cycling out to the west of the city, this learning visit will dive into 30 years of lessons from developing the Netherlands’ largest Vinex neighbourhood, now home to some 80,000 people.

Utrecht’s Cycle Infrastructure*
Learning visit

Home to one of the world’s busiest cycleways and projects like the Dafne Schippersbrug and the famous underground bicycle parking facility, Utrecht’s cycle infrastructure is world-leading. This learning visit will give delegates a chance to experience it firsthand.

De Kwekerij: Building Community*
Learning visit      

Based in the De Kwekerij neighbourhood in the east of Utrecht, this learning visit will look at how affordable housing developments can foster a sense of community and belonging for young people.

The Utrecht Barcode*
Workshop

Focusing on the Utrecht Barcode tool for spatial planning, aimed at supporting delivery of the city’s 10 minute city vision, this workshop will explore data-based design and how data and evidence can be used creatively and efficiently to shape the city’s future.

An Inclusive Housing Market
Workshop

A pertinent question for all growing cities, this workshop will look at how cities like Utrecht can ensure affordable, innovative, and family-friendly housing options for an inclusive urban future.

Rijnenburg: Futureproof Urbanism
Workshop

Explored in the context of the as yet unconstructed Merwede-A12-Rijnenburg development area, with construction not expected before 2035, this workshop will consider brown- and greenfield development, density, distance, and public transport to ask, how do we design urbanism plans for future needs, not just those of the present?

An Inclusive Transport System
Workshop

There is no sustainable urban future without a truly inclusive transport system that caters to everyone from night workers in the suburbs to visitors with disabilities, so this workshop will dive into how a city can ensure that its transport system is affordable, accessible, and inclusive for everyone.

Merwede: A Car-free Neighbourhood
On Site Workshop    

Using Merwede as a case study, this on-site workshop will look holistically at the development of a car-free neighbourhood, considering factors including stitching the urban fabric, and the role of retrofit and reuse in community building.

Overvecht: Bridging Inequality
On Site Workshop

A railway line divides one of Utrecht’s most prosperous neighbourhoods (Noordoost) with one of the most deprived (Overvecht), and this on-site workshop will explore the potential of Overvecht Station to connect both areas and improve living conditions for the city’s poorest citizens.

Wisselspoor and Werkspoor: Redeveloping with Creative Industries
On Site Workshop

Based in the Wisselspoor and Werkspoor neighbourhoods , this visit will examine how former industrial sites have been repurposed as homes, both for creative industry enterprises and for people, with design-led housing incorporated into existing surrounding neighbourhoods. A workshop element will look more broadly at how we can co-design the redevelopment of brownfield sites in a way that encourages creative industry innovation and supports community engagement.    

Cartesius: Blue Zones and Healthy Communities*
On Site Workshop

Cartesius is the world’s first urban neighbourhood to be developed using core learning from Blue Zones. Currently being constructed on formerly industrial land, this visit will explore incorporating Blue Zone learning into the design of our places and how we create healthy communities from scratch in a densely populated area.