The city as an emancipation machine

De Doetank will cooperate with Buro Maakbare Zaken from Ad van der Stok. In a series of experiments they will search for the productive forces of men and space that haven’t been developed by city planners and architects. The research will dive into the dynamic structure of the
city and has just one simple question as a starting point: in what way do people use space to become better?

By taking just this question as the starting point, the researchers try to investigate how the city can be used to help people to move in the direction they want to move, without being hindered by words like ‘social cohesion’ or emancipation’. This question might lead us to enjoying the good life, freedom and safety, to entrepeneurship or to just hanging around on the streets. This approach is aimed at breaking open the idea of the city as an emancipation machine, to turn it inside out and to let the spaces that people use to become better, speak for themselves.

Grafic design by Ad van der Stok.