First ‘Cities Report’

The first ‘Cities Report’ from research project Cities of Making is now available. The report offers an insight into urban manufacturing in three European regions: Brussels, London, and Rotterdam-The Hague. Han Meyer, Birgit Hausleitner and Víctor Muñoz Sanz (Urbanism) are part of the multidisciplinary team and will continue the project with a focus on the development of spatial typologies for urban manufacturing. 

Urban manufacturing, interpreted simply as the production in cities of tradable goods at scale, is a poorly understood aspect of urban life that is often taken for granted or overlooked in urban planning. Each of the three researched metropolitan areas has had a distinctive industrial heritage and is interpreting the future of manufacturing in very different ways. The report exposes unique qualities and common trends, which may be relevant to other European cities who are grappling with the future place of making.

The report is the conclusion of the first research phase, and identifies three key areas that should be further investigated. The team from TU Delft will focus on the development of spatial typologies for urban manufacturing in the metropolitan areas of Rotterdam-The Hague, London and Brussels. The other project members, BECI, Latitude, ULB and the VUB (Brussels) and UCL and the RSA (London), will focus on governance and network models for supporting the sector, and opportunities for harnessing resources and technology to develop more sustainable production. 

More information on Cities of Making can be found here.