I ended the last blog by announcing I would address the most fundamental issue in cities: Governance. On the 27th of February a first workshop will be held on the matter based on the TAIDA (https://www.kairosfuture.com/publications/reports/taida-a-framework-for-thinking-of-the-future/) method. I am learning this during the course I am following in Stockholm to […]
I have as long as I can remember questioned things from why certain rules are in place (like all children start off doing) but also why systems work as they do despite wicked issues like poverty, exclusion and pollution. But questioning, although a start never felt like enough. So I […]
Are we really experiencing a democratic crisis or a crisis of democracy? What is wrong with our system? Trust in the system, in governments and in government administrations seems to be rapidly decreasing in many parts of the world. Ideologies are not clear anymore because they are not adapted to […]
One of the lessons that I have learned during my period in public service is that only few people have the natural ability to develop, to formulate and to operationalise a true long term vision. It is a personal skill that can be developed and trained but government organisations today […]
This paper was written in preparation of the EURICUR (European Institute for Comparative Urban Research) kick-off seminar in Ghent, June 27 2016. I wrote this paper from the perspective of the city that I was working for at the time and some of the points might be dated after two […]
This is a translation into English of an article the I wrote in Dutch a while back. It was originally written for Impuls, the journal of the Flemish Expertise Centre for Municipal Managers. It was published in the September 2015 edition of the journal and intended to be an introductory […]
The New Year starts with little traditions. During receptions we wish people well, sometimes even specifying in which fields. Others will formulate new years intentions, mostly forgetting to put them into practice soon after. Although a pity, as most intentions are mainly focus on our selves no real harm is […]
Tijdens de veertien jaar dat ik strategisch coördinator voor de Stad Gent was, heb ik ook de eer en het genoegen gehad om verantwoordelijk te zijn voor de invoering van de zogenaamde BBC (beleid- en beheerscyclus). Op het eerste gezicht voegde de Vlaamse decreetgever met het Gemeentedecreet in 2005 een […]
citiesofpeople vertrekt vanuit de visie dat onze maatschappij nood heeft aan een toekomstbeeld dat gemaakt wordt door en vertrekt vanuit de mens. Lokale gemeenschappen vormen de basis van de menselijke samenleving en de bestuursvorm die onze steden en gemeenschappen aannemen zijn bepalend voor de manier waarop we onze toekomst tegemoet […]
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