Placemaking Week Europe 2026

Creating better cities together.

11:45am CEST

Use Is Visible, Meaning Is Not - A storytelling workshop that reveals the city's hidden layers

Wednesday September 23, 2026 11:45am - 1:00pm CEST

Public spaces are shaped not only by design and use, but also by the memories, emotions
and everyday experiences people attach to them. Ordinary urban elements - a bench, a tree,
a café terrace, a street corner - carry stories that often go unnoticed and remain invisible.
This workshop makes them visible.

In this hands-on outdoor experience, participants discover how personal stories can reshape
the way they perceive public space. They first observe a place through their own
assumptions and associations - then discover how listening to someone else's experience of
that same place changes what they notice, and what they imagine.

By the end, participants look at public space differently - and have added their own
experience, story or emotion to a place, contributing to a growing archive of stories that
travels from city to city.

Speakers

Salman Guldemond

Founder, Space Place Pace

Salman is a storyteller, community builder and curious observer of public life. He is fascinated by the stories hidden within everyday places and the ways people create meaning, belonging and connection through their interactions with public space.

Working as a practitioner at the intersection of storytelling, participation, placemaking, area transformation and area branding, Salman designs experiences and initiatives that reveal the human side of places. His work focuses on creating lasting social impact, public space inter... Read More →

Wednesday September 23, 2026 11:45am - 1:00pm CEST
WUWA exhibition model Zygmunta Wróblewskiego 16a, 51-627 Wrocław, Poland

Building Belonging, outdoor sessions

2:30pm CEST

Windows to Utopia: Urban envisioning through cocreation and crafting

Wednesday September 23, 2026 2:30pm - 3:45pm CEST

WUWA exhibition model

”Windows to Utopia” is a cocreation practice combining art, crafts and urban envisioning. This method gives the participants a playful way of expressing themselves and interacting with the urban landscape. The participants are given a blanc, transparent canvas, through which they can look at the city and visualise their utopias with yarn, textiles, and other materials they are drawn to. Combining two-dimensional visions and three-dimensional reality, the windows offer a peek to the city we dream of. ”Windows to Utopia” is based on research of creative urban activism and people-place bonding: it shows how interacting with public places through hands-on work builds attachment to them.

Speakers

Varpu Kurkilahti

Creative urbanist with background in sociology, urban planning and textile work. My calling is to enforce people’s bonds with the urban environment, help new voices to be heard and to understand creativity as a driver of change in the cities.

Wednesday September 23, 2026 2:30pm - 3:45pm CEST
WUWA exhibition model Zygmunta Wróblewskiego 16a, 51-627 Wrocław, Poland

Sandbox City: the Courage to Experiment, outdoor sessions

global Y

4:15pm CEST

Which came first, the chicken or the egg, when you think about public space? An exploration of space, asking whether it is people who create space to meet their need for movement, or whether it is space itself that makes us want to be active.

Wednesday September 23, 2026 4:15pm - 5:30pm CEST

WUWA exhibition model

Street furniture is an important element of public space. But do we know what roles it can fulfil? The bench is a symbol in many urban projects, but we feel that its potential has still not been fully explored or utilised. We would like to invite participants at Placemaking Week Wrocław to explore the city and its street furniture, to see how such furniture can support the building of urban relationships through shared physical activity.
In the spirit of ‘Active Design’, we will look for features of the bench that encourage movement and promote physical and mental wellbeing or features that feel hostile, whilst also serving as a symbol of social integration for the local community. We will explore a section of the city to encourage participants to reflect on their neighbourhood spaces, whilst at the same time getting some exercise for our health.

Speakers

Sylwia Widzisz

researcher, Pronobis Studio / Silesian University of Technology

An architect and urban planner specialising in participatory design, and a placemaking practitioner. A lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Architecture, Silesian University of Technology. She has carried out research projects in the fields of inclusive design, regeneration and... Read More →

Nektarios Gregoriou

member of an organisation, Organisation for Positive Urbanism

Nektarios is a product designer passionate about sustainable mobility, environmental challenges, and road safety. Through creative problem-solving and practical interventions, he explores how design can make cities more vibrant, resilient, and livable.

Wednesday September 23, 2026 4:15pm - 5:30pm CEST
WUWA exhibition model Zygmunta Wróblewskiego 16a, 51-627 Wrocław, Poland

Building Belonging, outdoor sessions

global Y

2:30pm CEST

Street cARTS: Design, Build & Deploy

Thursday September 24, 2026 2:30pm - 3:45pm CEST

WUWA exhibition model

Street cARTS is a fast-paced, resident-driven placemaking model that transforms public space through the addition of mobile amenities and organically capturing local talent. This workshop activates participants as creators—designing, building, and deploying functional “Street cARTS” that provide tools and a platform to generate real-time public engagement.
At its core, this project is about building belonging through everyday interaction. Public space becomes meaningful when people see themselves in it—when their voice, culture, and presence shape the experience. Street cARTS creates immediate opportunities for connection by inviting participants to co-create shared moments that bring strangers together, encourage participation, and foster a sense of ownership in the city.
Participants collaborate in small groups to design and build Street cARTS based on the observed or known needs of the target community, then deploy them in nearby public spaces through live popups that invite interaction across cultures, ages, and backgrounds.

Speakers

Jerin Sage

Director of Placemaking, Greater Flint Arts Council

Jerin Sage CTA, works at the intersection of place, people and programming offering a wide range of expertise, services and skills. He is the Director of Placemaking for Greater Flint Arts Council and the Founder/Executive Director of Michigan’s biggest free electronic music and... Read More →

Thursday September 24, 2026 2:30pm - 3:45pm CEST
WUWA exhibition model Zygmunta Wróblewskiego 16a, 51-627 Wrocław, Poland

Building Belonging, outdoor sessions

global Y

4:15pm CEST

You Have 4 Minutes: The Art and Science of Saving a Life

Thursday September 24, 2026 4:15pm - 5:30pm CEST

WUWA exhibition model

This outdoor session presents the sandbox at university campus of intelligent emergency towers designed to improve access to AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) in public spaces. Through simulation and game-based scenarios, the talk explores how technology, behavioral design, and infrastructure can significantly increase survival rates in emergency situations.

Speakers

Jarosław Sowizdraniuk

Head of Medical Simulation Centre, Wroclaw University of Sciene and Technology

Paramedic, university professor, and educator. Expert in medical simulation and emergency medicine specialist. Multiple-time winner of the Polish Paramedic Championships. He leads classes with passion and dedication, for which he was named Academic Teacher of the Year 2021 in Lower... Read More →

Thursday September 24, 2026 4:15pm - 5:30pm CEST
WUWA exhibition model Zygmunta Wróblewskiego 16a, 51-627 Wrocław, Poland

Sandbox City: the Courage to Experiment, game / tool