Rotterdam Eco Innovation Lab (REIL)

In the Pieken in de Delta research project Rotterdam Eco Innovation Lab (REIL) is a collaboration between TU Delft and stakeholders in the larger Rotterdam metropolis to connect actual practice related developments and quests to education projects at the TU Delft. Aim is to explore potentials regarding sustainability in relation to spatial planning. References for REIL are the Australian VEIL project (Chris Ryan) and many related elaborations like the ‘Transition Town movement’ (Rob Hopkins, Totnes et al.) and other ‘Grassroots’ initiatives.
Important background of the Rotterdam Eco Innovation Lab is a combination of empowerment and resilience of communities. Therefore educational projects (graduation project, industrial ecology projects, etc.) are connected closely to this.

Main aim is to achieve “reflexibility” (“the use of the users’ critical intelligence and commitment in an environmental-technical, aesthetic and political or socio-political way for the design of environmental-technical and spatial processes”; Van Timmeren, 2006), which can be achieved through the participation of users in the design, the construction and even the management of the built environment or parts of it. Experimentation, learning knowledge generation, creativity and responsibility are common characteristics of all lifestyles. Community wellbeing is linked to participation in the process of development and in community activities.

The idea behind REIL is that the level of urban resilience developed proactively through community-based processes can hinge on the meaning of ‘community’ and ‘community involvement’ –and on how that ‘community’ is led. Such communities can model desirable low-carbon lifestyles –ways of living better while consuming less– and test innovative products and services that could become the basis of our coming low-carbon economy.

ETD contact for this project: Arjan van Timmeren (A.vanTimmeren@tudelft.nl).

Related contact: Sacha Silvester (S.Silvester@tudelft.nl). 

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