From home to neighbourhood: residents share solutions for comfort and sustainability in Nijmegen and Rotterdam

On 12 and 14 November, Piet de Koning and Simone van Wieringen organised two resident workshops in Nijmegen Dukenburg and Bospolder Tussendijken in Rotterdam. The starting point was that residents often know their homes and neighbourhoods extremely well, so we were curious to find out what for them works, what questions are relevant and what solutions they have found for themselves over time. In these workshops, which were also attended by several local professionals, we mainly learned from each other as residents and neighbours.

 

The researchers used a modular house model designed by Joep Frens. The model served as a shared canvas for participants to map out various solutions and experiences related to comfort and sustainability. As we “walked” through the model, conversations arose naturally, with residents' examples flowing into one another. The walls of the house were covered with post-it notes full of tips, questions, riddles, personal experiences and associations, and gradually broader reflections on the neighbourhood also emerged.

Solutions ranged from a round café curtain that keeps out draughts to lemon geraniums to repel mosquitoes, mirror foil to keep the house cool in summer and the pleasant warmth of a wood-burning stove as a treat. Afterwards, the completed house also attracted the interest of other residents and visitors, who left their own additions and questions. The workshops demonstrated how rich (and accessible!) residents' knowledge is, how much potential for alternatives already exists, and how much energy is generated when people share that knowledge with each other.