Co-Operate
A Neighborhood
for Seven Generations
Reimagining our relationship with the future
To fight social inequality and climate breakdown, we need a radical change in the way we govern and own our cities. Co-Operate supports the transition to a society based on co-creation, participation, involvement and inclusion. By rethinking the business model behind built structures, we work towards the infrastructure required for citizens to co-produce, own and govern their living environment.
Our vision for a neighborhood of 7 generations
Taking a seven generation perspective forces us to think long-term. Inspired by the Iroquois Confederacy, a neighbourhood for seven generations is one in which decisions are considered from the perspective of future residents, in addition to present concerns. By taking this approach we strive for a neighbourhood in which social, environmental and economic values are in balance and regenerative by nature.
The Bijlmer; a focus area for the future
In the Omgevingsvisie 2050 a spatial vision for the the city is outlined, alongside a roadmap of how to build this common future. In order to test our research within a real-world context we have worked with Community Land Trust H-Buurt on a transformation site in the Bijlmer; H-Midden. The Bijlmer is a vibrant and divers borough of Amsterdam with a history of attempts at transformation. However, in the past its development has been top down. Although ambitions were high, the process failed to listen to and involve the target group. In an effort to counter this, we developed a series of prototypes and verified them directly through an iterative process with resident members of the Community Land Trust.
Towards a methodology for Doughnut development
In order to elevate social and environmental value in the process of developing a brief for the H-Midden site, we developed a methodology which balances those two fields with spatial and economic value. By starting with desk-based research we identified opportunities for circularity in the built environment and then filtered those opportunities down based on maximising the positive spatial, social and environmental impact of those opportunities. This results in four validated use cases to take further.
Research, publications & articles
Join us
We want to make a change, but we can’t do it alone. Therefore we make an open call to action and invite engagement from across sectors. Come and join us if you are:
- A financier or investor with creative ideas and strategies for stimulating early-stage circular innovation in the Netherlands
- An asset owner or fund manager with the curiosity to develop and test impact-driven frameworks for portfolio management and evaluation
- A municipal representative looking for novel ways to crowd in and deploy finance in service of your circularity strategy
- A land owner who would like to develop a piece of land in a circular and inclusive way
- A community group who would like to develop housing in a circular and inclusive way
We invite you to join us in further developing, demonstrating, and scaling an ecosystem approach to circular and inclusive development in the Netherlands. Are you interested in joining us? Fill out the form below and we will get in touch.
Co-operate is initiated by
Social design and innovation
And The People is a social design innovation company aimed at democratising opportunities for people to take a proactive role in sustainable development and transformation on a neighbourhood and city scale. ATP design processes and works actively with municipalities and other public authorities to connect policy-level ambitions with the practical reality on street-level. Their expertise lies within designing locally embedded bottom-up solutions that are in line with local or national policies in the fields of energy, food and circular economy. In 2018 ATP started researching how the Community Land Trust model could be applied in the Dutch context, initiated the first CLT in the Netherlands (CLT H-Buurt) and are part of the European coalition for Sustainable Housing for Inclusive and Cohesive Cities (SHICC).
Spatial & strategic design
Space&Matter is a studio for spatial and strategic design. With a strong track record for circular projects including De Ceuvel, Schoonschip and SWEETS hotel, the studio uses an integrated design approach to make buildings and neighbourhoods that foster close knit communities and have a positive impact on our planet. In all its projects Space&Matter works towards a more cooperative form of building development, placing the community and common good at the heart of the process. With our strategic design unit Matter, we are part of an emerging group of architectural practitioners who are turning their energy and efforts towards the ‘dark matter’ of cities (governance, finance, ownership) in order to solve the wicked problems we face today.
Circular business models
New Economy is a sustainable business strategy organisation that creates circular business models for companies and regions. We combine the power of business with the power of nature and come up with economic and innovative solutions that generate value for society & ecosystems. New Economy successfully realises projects for (urban) regions, regenerative agricultural entrepreneurs, manufacturing companies and the construction sector, with the aim to create climate solutions and contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Our interest in ownership models for the built environment deepened last year when we were asked to contribute with new business models for the open building philosophy for the World Architecture Festival. There is a lot of potential in alternative ownership models that reduce social inequality and the effects of climate change, by building strong and resilient communities.
And supported by
