Making Cities Work is a series of events, from 6-11 September 2019, aimed at contributing to new ways of thinking about the urban economy.
How can alliances of policy makers, citizens, entrepreneurs and civil society organisations contribute to a more social and sustainable economy? How can we counter the socio-economic polarisation within European cities and regions and, as a matter of course, integrate climate protection measures and practices into economic practices? How can innovation be more inclusive?
Cosmopolis – Center of Urban Research, Building Brussels and Cities of Making present the Foundational Economy and a well-founded vision of what 21st century cities should be manufacturing within the socio-ecological transition of the urban economy. And Brussels Academy will organise the visit on Saturday, September 7.
Full program:
Friday 6 – 16:30 – 19:00: Program launch, exhibition opening and film premier
What does ‘Making Cities Work’ mean, in practice? To illustrate this we have prepared an exhibition for the course of the program which will feature examples from Brussels exposing how the foundational economy and urban manufacturing looks like in practice. We’ll present our film premier on urban manufacturing and host a discussion with makers. Join us for a drink and launch of the event.
Saturday 7 – 10:00 – 13:30: Site visit
To see what life looks like in one of Brussels’ most diverse and dynamic areas, the Brussels Academy will host a walking tour along the canal district and expose some of the often invisible activities that drives the base of Brussels’ economy.
Foundational Economy Colloquium: Socio-ecological economic transitions: Making space for the foundational economy
The foundational economy seeks to recalibrate urban development around those activities that are rooted in place, that can be sheltered from interurban competition, and that are essential for citizens to lead decent lives. The two-day colloquium brings together local and international academics, politicians, policy makers, civil society organizations, social enterprises, and practitioners to think about how to translate imaginaries about the foundational economy into practice and “do foundational economies” in cities.
Monday 9 – 9:00 – 17:00: Foundational Economy Colloquium – Day 1
Day 1 opens the debate by broaching the environmental question. A foundational turn cannot skate over concerns about urban economies to become more socially and environmentally just. Here we explore what it is that foundationalists can learn from recent debates on circular economies and vice versa. In the afternoon, we get into the plurality of citizens practices. A call for a grounded economy is also a call for an economy appropriated by citizens and infused with diverse value systems premised on notions of commonality, sharing, redistribution, and reciprocity. Detailed program Colloquium
Monday 9 – 18:00 – 19:00: Book launch
Book launch of the Italian and German versions of the book Foundational Economy, The Infrastructure of Everyday Life at the Library of the European Parliament – to be confirmed.
Tuesday 10 – 9:30 – 19:00: Foundational Economy Colloquium – Day 2
Day 2 confronts the foundational economy with recent imaginaries of the productive city. What both ideas have in common is the concern that we need to secure space for activities under spatial stress because of urban economic restructuring, but also land market dynamics. In the afternoon, we approach the socio-ecological transition to a foundational economy through the lens of the local state. Here we engage with recent debates about remunicipalisation, public service and infrastructure provision, social licensing, and other ways in ways in which the local state can actively support emergent foundational practices. Detailed program Colloquium
Wednesday 11 – 9:00 – 17:00: Cities of Making concluding presentation and workshop
The final presentation including a summary of the results from Brussels, London and Rotterdam. We’ll be running a small workshop to showcase our tools for urban manufacturing. We’ll end with a keynote lecture TBC. The event will be rounded off with an afternoon site visit to Cureghem, to connect the Cities of Making results with concrete sites. This will help to show the link between theory and practice while exploring challenges faced by manufacturers.
Registration for all events on this link.
06/09-11/09/2019, Perspective.brussels
(Rue de Namur 59, 1000 BXL)
FREE, upon registration
