Redesigning urban spaces
for sustainability and belonging

This scenario focuses on using living spaces, neighborhoods, and buildings more flexibly and sustainably, with an emphasis on reusing materials and creating social interactions. How can we design or repurpose urban spaces to foster interactive participation and social sustainability, while ensuring that neighborhoods feel safe and personal?

The scenario highlights that current urban developments often lack communal spaces, which can lead to areas feeling impersonal and unsafe. Opportunities lie in showcasing successful urban planning examples, engaging communities through outreach, and leveraging existing civil infrastructure. Policies like lending unused municipal spaces for free with conditions for upkeep could encourage shared responsibility and belonging.

The vision requires collaboration among citizens, policymakers, city planners, property owners, civil society, construction companies, and researchers. If successful, this approach would foster stronger community bonds, a sense of belonging, and greater accountability among residents. 

Visualizing sustainability
and social inclusion in housing

This idea revolves around using visualization and communication as tools to nudge behavioral change among property owners and residents. It aims to promote environmental awareness, social inclusion, and economic sustainability by visualizing the impact of everyday behaviors.

Examples include tracking water and energy use, encouraging shared resources through a sharing economy, and fostering social connections through community activities. Visual tools, such as digital screens in buildings or gamified systems, can motivate residents to adopt sustainable practices and measure their impact in real-time.

If successful, this approach could create a new culture of sustainability, reduce loneliness, and decrease climate footprints.

Platform for recycled building materials

This idea addresses the need for increased circularity in construction by creating a platform for recycled building materials.

The platform would enable contractors to communicate available materials before demolition and connect suppliers, contractors, and regulators through a digital and physical marketplace. This would streamline the reuse of materials and ensure their quality and compliance with building standards. If  implemented, the platform could significantly reduce waste, improve circularity, and lower climate impacts. 

Collaborative Sustainable Urban Planning

The proposed project seeks to create a new urban planning process that prioritizes collaboration, dialogue, and sustainability across all perspectives.

The aim is to involve stakeholders early in the process, before detailed planning begins, to establish a shared vision and goals for a site’s development. By fostering collective ownership and setting sustainability targets in advance, the initiative aims to prevent conflicts and inefficiencies later on.

The concept includes forming a specialized project team consisting of key public and private stakeholders such as developers, local authorities, planners, architects, and energy and ecology experts. This team will work together to streamline the planning process, ensure efficiency, and allow each expert to contribute at the most relevant stage. The process emphasizes open dialogue, inclusivity, and a proactive approach to problem-solving while avoiding rigid formalities.

By rethinking priorities and focusing on long-term sustainability rather than short-term costs, the initiative has the potential to create more efficient, harmonious, and sustainable urban developments.