SSU#2. Does Placemaking Mean Anything? (EN)

Does Placemaking Mean Anything? Memory, Belonging, and Accountability in the Cultural Life of Cities

Does placemaking mean anything, or has it been stretched so far it risks meaning nothing at all? This lecture reframes placemaking as a practice of memory, belonging, and accountability, grounded in its radical origins and community power. It challenges how the language of care and creativity is too often co-opted as surface regeneration or branding, stripping away its political force. Instead, placemaking can be reclaimed as an ethic of solidarity and imagination: a means for communities to shape not only their environments but also themselves. In dialogue with Brussels, it asks what truly transformative placemaking might look like today.

Dr Cara Courage, Culture, Communities & Place Consultant, has dedicated her career to championing the transformative power of art in communities, working alongside artists and residents to create meaningful change through cultural participation.

Lezingen op vrijdagavond 17.30 – 19.30 in USquare.

De ontmoetinsgsplaats voor stedelingen, vlak voordat het weekend begint. 

In samenwerking met het Brussels Centre for Urban Studies.

Vrije toegang/ EN

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