How might conviviality help the imagine new social dynamics and hopeful futures in Eindhoven?

Overview

	On December 10th and 22nd of 2022, a dozen of Eindhoven residents got together at Stadslab, a local makerspace, to ask themselves: What will it take for a neighborhood to be convivial in 30 years? Using the NRE neighborhood as their starting point where the (Stadslab is located), they imagined three scenarios exploring how the neighborhood might have to adapt to remain a “convivial” place in the face of the city’s transformation. The NRE presents a unique location and community to explore the question. Once the point of arrival for ships carrying gas, it is located on the edge of the city center, between the canal and the river Dommel. In recent years, it has seen a series of urban renewal efforts reshape its surroundings. Nevertheless, the neighborhood remains a uniquely diverse and rich setting where workplaces, housing, an archeology museum, a makerspace, restaurants and a police station co-habit. Or in the words of the city marketing team: "Old industry is making way for new energy."

Workshop structure

The gathering was organized in two days, one during which participants were invited to a series of playful activities including a site visit, imagining headlines of the future, and collaging in spatial.io to bring to life their own visions of the future of the area in one shared virtual environment.

A Spatio-temporal Exploration booklet created to summarize day one, and provide instructions on how Day 2 visitors might facilitate their own local futuring session.

DAY 1: Futuring workshop The first day of the encounter consisted of various activities including a "Headlines of the Future" exercise in which participants were challenged to imagine how the area in question might evolve over time in ways they deemed both worrying and hopeful.	DAY 2: Talks with local actors and artists The second day was a shorter discussion between local stakeholders working towards making the visions imagined by participants possible. The guests were invited in specific response to the workshop participants' interests and concerns.

Visions of a Convivial NRE

The theme of conviviality was inspired by Ivan Illich's Tools for Conviviality, in which he asserted for "The only solution to the environmental crisis is the shared insight of people that they would be happier if they could work together and care for each other" From this sentiment resulted a variety of visions exploring themes of repair culture, student housing crisis, and self-aware buildings. Each group was tasked with formulating a vision at five year increments: 2027, 2032, 2037.

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