New project: From smart city to platform-urbanism

As a knowledge institution, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences develops practice-oriented knowledge and innovations that contribute to solving social issues. In doing so, we try to anticipate developments as much as possible, rather than follow them. One of these issues concerns the significance of digital platforms for the quality of our urban life.

In the new project Van smart city near platform-urbanisme (From smart city to platform-urbanism) Civic Interaction Design professor, Martijn de Waal, together with, Paul Rutten, professor at Kenniscentrum Creating 010 – Hogeschool Rotterdam will investigate how global, commercial platforms such as Uber and Airbnb are changing the city, as well as the significance of platforms that are set up on the basis of citizens’ initiatives and by local governments.

During the Smart & Social Fest, on Friday 19 April, they will explain, among other things, what the phenomenon of ‘platform urbanism’ entails and where it comes from. They will also invite participants to share how they experience the quality of life in the city under the influence of all these platforms and how they estimate the future possibilities of the good city.