Meet the members of Amsterdam Smart City! Dirk Dekker: ‘There’s a connection between all of the individual elements that make a city what it is’

Dirk Dekker is the co-founder and CEO of Being, a real estate developer that develops sustainable environments with the context of these environments in mind.

“Being part of something bigger: that’s our tagline. The work we do is not about us as a company but about the bigger picture. We are part of something bigger and want to positively influence the real estate market in the Netherlands. We also want to prove that you can do something good for society and make a profit.

We’re not content to simply discover a location to build on; there has to be a need for us to add a positive impact too. For us, this means adopting a holistic approach to projects based on four impact pillars: personal impact, public impact, ecological impact and economic impact. We research each site’s history and talk to various people: an environmental psychologist or city biologist, for example. We interview stakeholders: future users and local residents and organisations. As you might expect, we put together a business case as well.

As I see it, the different perspectives don’t result in concessions but in the creation of more value, which isn’t always possible to express in euros. One good example of this is YOTEL, a hotel we developed in the up-and-coming Buiksloterham urban district in Amsterdam. Interviews showed that neighbours wanted to see more public green spaces and accessible hospitality. We listened and made sure both were included in our design. The hotel has integrated into the neighbourhood well, from both a social and sustainable point of view. We also ‘greened’ the rear façade of The Pavilion office building in the Zuidas business district, because it faces a graveyard. It’s important for people, planet and profit to be in balance.”

Biophilic design
“I’m inspired by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) philosophy on architecture too. BIG does research to design well in extreme conditions—in the dessert or on the moon, for example. By carefully considering the context, it becomes possible to design something that complements the environment in question. Add nature into the equation and you have what is referred to in the industry as ‘biophilic design’. Mother Nature’s research department has far more experience than all the rest of us put together, so there’s a huge amount for us to learn from.

My ideal city is one with views that extend beyond the four years of a political term of office. It’s a place where residents are involved in decision-making, which is very achievable given the amazing digital resources at our disposal today in 2021. For example, I live in Amsterdam-West, where residents have been asked to vote on the € 300,000 our urban district has to spend on green and social initiatives suggested by citizens. That’s how you create a city together.”

Networks
“Green needs to be added not just next to buildings but on and in them too. And not just in stiff flowerbeds or like a green wallpaper of sorts; a far more natural approach is vital. Trees and plants communicate with and learn from each other via underground nature networks. Our job is to make sure this is possible in urbanised environments. The Fantastic Fungi Netflix documentary is a really useful programme to watch on this subject.

There’s a connection between all of the individual elements that make a city what it is. I would like to see politicians and the business sector immersing themselves in these networks far more and also looking very closely at everything happening on platforms like Amsterdam Smart City. Networks like this are essential for the future of our city and for connective growth.”

If you’d like to get in touch with Dirk, you can find him on this platform.

This interview is part of the series 'Meet the Members of Amsterdam Smart City'. In the next weeks we will introduce more members of this community to you. Would you like to show up in the series? Drop us a message!

Interview and article by Mirjam Streefkerk

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Naomi Vrielink, Projectmedewerker at Future City Foundation, posted Apr 22nd

Op 20 en 21 juni reizen we af naar het zuiden om daar van Sittard-Geleen en Heerlen te leren. Ervaar in Heerlen en Sittard-Geleen hoe de slimme stad in de praktijk toegepast wordt en waar deze slimme toepassingen het fysieke en sociale domein verbindt.

In Sittard-Geleen zie je hoe zij in hun proeftuin Zeeheldenbuurt in gesprek gaan met de inwoner over activiteiten en bewegen. In Heerlen-Noord leren we van de stappen die worden gezet in een van de gebieden van het Nationaal Programma Leefbaarheid en Veiligheid op gebied van kansengelijkheid. En bij de Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen gaan we in gesprek over hoe onderzoek en organiseer je samen met diverse partijen digitalisering enerzijds op gebied van circulariteit, anderzijds in het kader van bestaanszekerheid en particpatie. De gebundelde kennis van data science en mensgerichte Artificial Intelligence (AI) leidt tot nieuwe slimme digitale ontwikkelingen en diensten, die de kwaliteit van leven verbeteren.

Conceptprogramma
Dag 1: Proeftuin Zeeheldenbuurt Sittard-Geleen
Met de proeftuin Zeeheldenbuurt speelt de gemeente Sittard-Geleen in op drie thema’s, (Smart City, Participatie en Klimaat adaptatie). Samen met buurtbewoners en vakspecialisten (extern en intern) zijn ze in één buurt aan de slag om een betere toekomstbestendige leefomgeving te creëren en ontmoeting te stimuleren.
De gemeente luistert aan de hand van ‘slimme’ toepassingen naar de inwoner, houdt 0-metingen en monitoren, werkt aan een Digital Twin meetnetwerk en bekijkt dit alles gezamenlijk door de glazen van VR-brillen.
Kortom: Hoe kun je in deze buurt samen een Klimaatbestendige betere leef en ontmoet- omgeving creëren? Welke lessen leren we hier? Wat vinden de buurtbewoners van deze aanpak?

Dag 2: Van de Brightlands Smart Services Campus naar Heerlen – Noord
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Circulaire track
CollaborAll/Monady laten aan de hand van de transformatie van het voormalige DSM-hoofdkantoor in Heerlen zien hoe hun Circulaire Build Hubs werken. De Circulaire Build Hub zorgt ervoor dat al die individuele partijen met elk hun eigen informatie, specialistische inzichten, data, specificaties etc. op een makkelijke en betrouwbare manier naar dezelfde fysieke en digitale werkelijkheid kijken én handelen. De Circulaire Build Hub voorkomt onduidelijkheid, missers, onnodig werk, uitlopende planningen en onnodige kosten, vermindert risico’s en zorgt ervoor dat alle informatie in samenhang beschikbaar is. Dit bevordert efficiëntie en draagt bij aan de overgang naar een circulaire economie door duurzaam materiaalgebruik.

Sociale track
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Heerlen- Noord
In de middag bezoeken we Heerlen-Noord, waarin het sociaal en fysiek domein weer samenkomen. We maken een wandeling door een stukje Heerlen-Noord en bezoeken de Sjpruutshop. Een plek waar ouders van pasgeborenen gratis spullen kunnen halen voor de baby en voor de gemeente een vindplaats van de mensen voor wie we aan de slag zijn. Vervolgens lopen we via een opgeknapte kerk (tot limburgs archief), door een tweetal wijken (horende tot de armste wijken van het land). We leren hoe verduurzaming, renovatie tegen de achtergrond van het willen behouden van uniek cultureel erfgoed, namelijk de mijnwerkerswoningen samenkomen.
_______________________________________________________________
Datum: 20 en 21 juni
Tijd: 10.00 – 17.00 uur
Locatie: Sittard-Geleen, Brightlands Smart Services Campus en Heerlen- Noord

Meld je hieronder aan:

Herman van den Bosch, professor in management development , posted Apr 22nd

Urbanisation in the US is undergoing major changes. The image of a central city surrounded by sprawling suburbs therefore needs to be updated. The question is what place does the 15-minute city have in it? That is what this somewhat longer post is about

From the 1950s, residents of US cities began moving en masse to the suburbs. A detached house in the green came within reach for the middle and upper classes, and the car made it possible to commute daily to factories and offices. These were initially still located in and around the cities. The government stimulated this development by investing billions in the road network.
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