From the right to clean air to safe streets, play spaces, and opportunities for social interaction, citizen movements around the world are advocating for urban environments in which walking, cycling, and public transport are valued on par with the car. But how do these movements organize themselves? Which tactics do they deploy, and what barriers do they encounter? Which opportunities remain underexploited? And, crucially, how can they collaborate to scale up their efforts into lasting, systemic change?

During this Stadsform event, these and related questions will be explored with leading voices from research, policy, and civil society. The evening opens with a talk by Enrica Papa (University of Westminster), who will reflect on community-led practices for the 15-minute city as part of the European Common_Access project. This is followed by Jordi Honey-Rosés (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), who will discuss Barcelona’s radical street pedestrianization through the Superblocks programme. Annekatrien Verdickt (Filter Café Filtré) will then reflect on the experiences of a Brussels-based citizen movement striving for healthier, safer, and more child-friendly cities.

The evening concludes with a panel discussion moderated by Freke Caset(Ghent University). The panel brings together Vincent Gysels, district alderman in Antwerp, who will reflect on how participatory actions are experienced and supported from within the political sphere; Thomas Vanoutrive (University of Antwerp), who will offer a critical perspective on these dynamics; and Annemiek Prins (University of Amsterdam), who studies how citizen initiatives seek to (re)claim accessibility as a common good.

Ijsblokkenactie at Conscience Square, Antwerp, 1968. Source: Ensembles.