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In an open city, residents, entrepreneurs and social organizations think along with the municipality about what the city should look like. How does that think along? What does it deliver? And what does that require from all parties involved? In the magazine "Open city: working on sustainable and democratic cities" the researchers from R-LINK explain how it works on the basis of 14 practical examples. They also present 4 rules for successful step-by-step area development in co-creation between citizens, entrepreneurs and the government. A more gradual and searching form of urban development has emerged in the last ten years. Spatial planning is given a more "open" character there, both in the final image and in access for other players. This allows smaller-scale parties and citizens to participate in the process and the production of urban space. In such an "open city" there is more room for experimentation and better consideration is given to the dynamics and complexity of the city and its residents. This development of the "open city" fits in with the focus of the long-term NWO-VerDuS research project R-LINK. It examines how small-scale bottom-up initiatives in area development can contribute to solving social issues. In the magazine "Open city: working for sustainable and democratic cities", the researchers explore how this open, more demand-oriented and incremental approach to urban planning works in practice, including challenges and dilemmas. For this, we zoom in on the experiences of initiators and governments with 14 projects in Amsterdam and Groningen. In this way, the researchers come to important lessons for those who want to work for a more open city.

Cycling and other active travel modes have dominated sustainable transportation policy agenda of many cities worldwide. Cycling is deemed beneficial for individuals’ health and well-being while contributing to liveability. While Amsterdam and Copenhagen are considered frontrunners in cycling, others are only taking their first steps. Tallinn, Estonia belongs to the latter category, setting up their first Cycling Strategy in 2018. Amongst other measures, the strategy aims to make cycling safer and more attractive in the vicinity of schools in order to increase the share of cycling to school to 25% by 2027. This demographic group are seen as a crucial to influence the potential future of Tallinn’s cycling culture. Despite the abundant literature on cycling, there is little to no focus on children in aspirational cycling cities. This research explores factors that influence cycling to school in Tallinn among children in the ages of 13-16. The research includes street observations, a survey (n = 511) at various schools and focus groups sessions with children, parents and mobility experts. The findings support the need for comprehensive strategies including cycling infrastructure modifications and convenient cycle parking facilities together with promotional campaigns designated for children and parents.

In the context of 'more-with-more', citizens are often asked to do more: they have to participate more, do more themselves and take on more responsibility. At the same time, this also requires more administration and flexible working from the government.This can result in a more involved attitude from both sides, and in building better-tuned results and knowledge. But this does not happen automatically, and we still too often start from the ideal of participation and co-creation, as a result of which we do not look sufficiently at which forms of this lead to which outcomes and consequences. Social learning is an analytical concept that can help with this: by looking better at how we gain knowledge and skills through interaction with others, we can get a better grip on which factors respond to each other in which way. This article introduces two cases from Groningen, the Netherlands, and discusses three main lessons that flow from this, regarding "desired" results; speed and efficiency; and personal backgrounds and timing of collaboration. The conclusion reflects on five concrete consequences that this has for planning practice.

The role of the citizen in planning processes is rapidly changing. At least, that's how it is assumed. The debate around this issue is not new. In the 60s, there was a call for less technocratic and top-down planning approach. In this article, we discuss how the perspective on citizen participation in planning has develop in time (in The Netherlands) and what impact it has had on planning practice.