For anyone working in city-making, "putting the human central" is a familiar ambition. But do we manage it in practice?

Public space is a mirror. It reflects who we are, what we value, and who we choose to see. Across the Netherlands, that mirror still doesn’t reflect everyone equally. In 2024, reports of discrimination and violence against LGBTQIA+ people rose by 37%. Behind those numbers are lived moments — the small hesitations, the places you scan before reaching for someone’s hand, the feeling that visibility still isn’t the same as belonging. At the same time, many people and organisatio

With spring just around the corner, perhaps you can already picture yourself on a warm, sunny day—lying on a blanket in a park, stretching out on a patch of sunlit grass. Or maybe it’s a bench that invites you to recline, or a quiet corner where you can pause and let the world pass by. There’s something deeply human about lying down—a moment of surrender to rest, to be at ease, to feel safe enough to let go . However, how many public spaces do you know designed specifically f

Sitting is something we do without much thought. Yet, as humans, learning to sit is one of our first great milestones - a moment of balance, independence, and discovery. But soon after we master it, it’s not seen as an achievement anymore. It becomes second nature, something we do without noticing. And yet, in public space sitting is anything but insignificant. It shapes how we experience the world around us, how we interact with others, and how welcome we feel in a place. A