This collection of articles contains contributions to the research project ‘From Prevention to Resilience’ (FPtP). In this project, the research team has generated insights and tools for designers, policymakers, and other professionals to contribute to more resilient cities and neighborhoods. The point of departure was public space as a site for intervention, while learning from the ongoing developments revolving around the Covid-19 pandemic. During the early phases of the pandemic, governments initially focused on preventing the virus from spreading. Public spaces came to be seen as potential places for contamination. In response, fences, markings, and barrier tapes were put into place to orchestrate people’s movement and promote physical distance. With our research project, we explored the role that public space could play besides such often ad hoc preventive measures. What other challenges can public space tackle with regard to the various shocks and stressors that hit cities and neighborhoods, now and in the future? And how to tackle these challenges in an integral way? An integral approach to designing public spaces involves many disciplines, and it is to a great extent dependent on local governments’ take on public spaces. To this end, we asked relevant experts to share their disciplinary reflections on a design perspective we have developed in the FPtP project, called Human / Non-Human Public Spaces. An earlier version of this design perspective was handed over to experts to provide feedback from an urban climate adaptation perspective and from a governance and cultural change perspective. Stephanie Erwin and Jeroen Kluck provide concrete feedback on the design perspective and offer a discussion in relation to the field of urban climate resilience. Alex Straathof offers an essayistic text in which he reflects on some of the key notions of the design perspective, reflecting on some of the key notions of the design perspective based on cultural theory and his experience with interventions on the neighborhood level. In parallel, we commissioned two independent experts in the field of spatial development and governance to make a preliminary analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the government perspectives on public spaces. Both experts were given the same question, but they applied different methods. Hugo Verschoor Plug conducted an analysis on two national policy documents and six ‘omgevingsvisies’ – i.e., strategies on spatial planning and the environment – of large and middle-sized cities: Amsterdam, Breda, The Hague, Groningen, Rotterdam and Zwolle. Denise Vrolijk was asked to interview professionals from a cross-section of Dutch Cities in order to obtain their perspectives on how local governments viewed the role of public spaces in relation to resilience. Together, these analyses provide an overview of the current state of affairs in public space and urban resilience. We thank the authors for sharing their expertise and insights and thereby contribute to the FPtR project. This project is funded by The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), part of the subsidy round ‘COVID 19: Maatschappelijke Dynamiek’, project nr. 10430032010029.
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In the recent ‘Regional outlook’, the OECD (2014) convincingly argues that cities can be the drivers of national growth and recovery: in principle, their diversity and density makes people and companies more productive and innovative. This is not only a tale of large cities: over the last decade, as recent studies demonstrate (e.g. Dijkstra, 2013) many smaller and medium-sized cities across Europe were important economic engines. But this did not happen automatically: to make that happen, ‘getting cities right’ is the key challenge, and action on the city level matters! As demonstrated by recent OECD data (OECD, 2014), poorly organised cities fail to reap their economic potential.
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Urban ageing is an emerging domain that deals with the population of older people living in cities. The ageing of society is a positive yet challenging phenomenon, as population ageing and urbanisation are the culmination of successful human development. One could argue whether the city environment is an ideal place for people to grow old and live at an old age compared to rural areas. This viewpoint article explores and describes the challenges that are encountered when making cities age-friendly in Europe. Such challenges include the creation of inclusive neighbourhoods and the implementation of technology for ageing-in-place. Examples from projects in two age-friendly cities in The Netherlands (The Hague) and Poland (Cracow) are shown to illustrate the potential of making cities more tuned to the needs of older people and identify important challenges for the next couple of years. Overall, the global ageing of urban populations calls for more age-friendly approaches to be implemented in our cities. It is a challenge to prepare for these developments in such a way that both current and future generations of older people can benefit from age-friendly strategies. CC-BY Original article: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112473 https://www.dehaagsehogeschool.nl/onderzoek/lectoraten/details/urban-ageing#over-het-lectoraat
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In line with the ‘Natuur- en milieubeleidsplan Caribisch Nederland 2020-2030 (NMBP)’ the consortium intends with this research proposal to contribute to a prosperous society with a resilient population and healthy natural environment. The Caribbean Netherlands are dealing with a situation where imported vegetables and fruits are mostly imported and hardly affordable. This leads to consuming unhealthy food and high obesities rates as a consequence. A lack of good agricultural practices with regard to water-smart and nature inclusive agriculture, as well as limited coping capacities to deal with hazards and climate change, results in very limited local production and interest. Initiatives that focused only on agrotechnological solutions for food resilient futures turned out to be ineffective due to a lack of local ownership, which jeopardizes sustainability. Moreover, the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ domains are not seen as attractive career perspectives among youth, hampering a bright future for those domains. The aim of this research is to contribute to water-smart and nature inclusive food resilience embedded in a local participatory perspective in the Caribbean Netherlands. To address the above challenges, a living lab approach is adopted, where youth will be trained as (co)-facilitators (WP1) who will contribute to a participatory envisioning process and an articulation of food resilient futures (WP2). Finally, based on the envisioning process local stakeholders will select and implement experiments for food resilient futures followed by dissemination of results among key stakeholders as well as children and youth at the BES islands (WP3). This project strategy will lead to a network of a living lab where professionals and youth work together on food resilient futures. Training manuals and the results of experiments with regard to water and food system alternatives will be used actively to encourage youth to be involved in sustainable agriculture and consumption.
The project ‘Towards resilient leisure, tourism and hospitality (LTH) ecosystems in Europe’ addresses the critical problem of unsustainable practices in the tourism and travel industry. The LTH industry is ‘back on track’ after recovering from the global Covid-19 crisis. Destinations show increased numbers of international arrivals and rapid growth of tourism-related revenues. It is foreseen that cities like Amsterdam, but also vulnerable natural areas, will receive record numbers of visitors in the coming decade. The dominant economic model operating within the industry nonetheless prioritizes short-term gains, resulting in extreme exploitation of resources, labour, and local communities, evidenced by negative impacts in European destinations like Venice and the Canary Islands. The project aims to shift the industry’s focus to long-term sustainability, addressing systemic constraints and facilitating a transition that aligns with European priorities for a sustainable and just future. It builds vital connections between regional, national, and European research priorities by addressing and advocating for climate and social justice. Regionally, it investigates best practices across diverse tourism environments in Finland, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Scotland, and The Netherlands. Nationally, it challenges the status quo by proposing alternative governance frameworks that individual countries could adopt to encourage sustainable tourism practices. On a European scale, the project aligns with EU goals of climate action and sustainable development, supporting objectives of the European Green Deal and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It aims to build solid theoretical foundations necessary for a transition towards more resilient and environmentally and socially inclusive LTH ecosystems. Through integrating insights from multiple regions, the project transcends local boundaries and offers scalable solutions that can influence policy and industry standards at both national and European levels. The project's transdisciplinary nature ensures that proposed solutions are grounded in diverse eco-socioeconomic contexts, making them robust and adaptable.
The overarching aim of the project is to contribute to the development of a sustainable, inclusive and just EU leisure, tourism and hospitality ecosystems, and will be achieved through three interrelated objectives:Create a body of knowledge and theoretical foundations, related to the application of land, capital and financial resources, to develop resilient and future-proof tourism destinations and tourism and travel businesses;Develop conceptual models that contribute towards collective models of resilience in tourism destinations and tourism and travel businesses and are based on equitable use of labour, land and natural resources and financial capital;Propose, through approved EU funding, interventions and applications towards new models of tourism destination management and corporate governance, that use sustainable parameters of success (regeneration of biodiversity and nature, improved human welfare of residents at destinations, social and environmental returns).The Project will lead to a series of research proposals that allows the consortium partners to address urgent societal challenges in Europe. During the project timeline, partners will disseminate findings and search for engagement by public and private actors. Ongoing collaboration and knowledge exchange with key industry actors will improve the resilience capacity of destinations through education, skill development, and co-creation of knowledge. Building resilience through tourism is not just an opportunity but a necessity in the face of global environmental and social challenges. The project will establish theoretical foundations for transitioning towards more resilient and environmentally and socially just ecosystems in the leisure, tourism, and hospitality sectors, aiming to shift the industry’s priorities from short-term gains to long-term sustainability. The project supports international collaboration by facilitating university staff mobility and involving students with diverse cultural, industry, and academic backgrounds and experiences. The successful application and completion of the project will strengthen the consortium's capacities and facilitate the ongoing international dialogue through the Resilient Tourism Ecosystems Lab (RTEL), consequently leading to future collaborative EU grant applications.
