Buurtdesign, is a creative neighborhood approach with impact.

The first step in Neighborhood Design is to formulate the ambition. The ambition is to create a neighborhood society where experimentation and action come together. As neighborhood designers, we understand that it is okay to make mistakes when trying new things. We want to collaborate on complex problems and create a culture of change. Together with residents and their partners. The ambition is to change society and build a future where everyone can be happy: ‘for more happiness in the neighborhood’!

The second step is discovery. Neighborhood designers curiously go into the neighborhood to discover the issues and understand what is not working well. We do this between the old and the new, in the “not knowing”. We believe that things can be done better and that everyone can design and contribute. By talking to people and understanding their feelings and values, we gain insight into what residents care about.

Followed by issues. Neighborhood designers try to see the neighborhood as it is and also how it could be. We examine the issue and look at what works and what doesn’t, how residents view and relate to it. Our focus is on residents’ personal experiences, seeking to understand what touches them and what amazes them. These valuable personal experiences are the key to successfully solving the issues. It brings out the heart of the issue. What does the issue look like and what do we need to solve together?

In the fourth step, as many solutions and ideas as possible are generated by residents. Of these, the best are chosen. This step is mainly about doing. Experimenting with small steps already. Neighborhood designers stimulate creativity and challenge conventional ways of thinking and systems. In doing so, we strive not only for concrete solutions, but also to create a new future perspective.

Creating a prototype is the fifth step in the Neighborhood Design process. The prototype acts as a bridge between ideas and real change. It helps improve the concept, discover problems and try out different approaches. A prototype makes the change tangible and understandable to others, allowing them to participate and provide feedback. It enables fellow residents to become co-makers of the design.

Testing the prototype in the neighborhood community is the next step. Testing the prototype locally can identify specific neighborhood-related challenges and gather valuable feedback from residents. This increases confidence and acceptance of the proposed change because residents are directly involved in the process. Testing, co-creating and collaborating with neighborhood residents in the neighborhood community ensures impactful and sustainable change. It is about testing what works in the everyday reality of the neighborhood.

Sustaining the change is the seventh and final step in Neighborhood Design. It is all about the ideas, vision and commitment of residents and their partners. It involves building a close-knit community, where residents come together, network and collaborate. Systemic change requires movement, new attitudes, behaviors and habits for an (increasingly) larger group of people. Residents feel ownership of the change and want to have a say. Establishing or strengthening a residents’ organization can help.

To sustain the neighborhood approach, there are three important questions: what do residents want in the future, what can they do themselves and what do they need support with? Building connection, trust and ownership is crucial. Social system change is an ongoing process carried by people.