Iris Fiebiger

To help navigate the sometimes alien world of city-based production, we've compiled a quick-reference guide to some of the most common urban manufacturing terms and definitions used by the Cities of Making project and in CityChangers.org articles. Got another to add? Let us know. A B C D E F...

Urban manufacturing presents many benefits. To have it reach its full potential, however, we need to tackle several challenges. From defining the concept to bringing together myriad actors – here come the top six challenges of urban manufacturing. Big names like Heinz and Guinness used to produce in London. Like...

London has a long history of manufacturing. Its industrial activity continues up to this day in areas like Haringey, Old Oak & Park Royal, and the Maker Mile. The Cities of Making project examined these London areas. The result: three extensive case studies and many valuable lessons about urban...

Is urban manufacturing bad for the environment? Or can it be green and play a role in the fight against climate change? We look at the current picture of production to see how sustainably urban manufacturers work and where there is room for improvement. Urban manufacturing has an image problem....

Urban manufacturers hardly collaborate. Fair enough. Who wants to share trade secrets after all? The Cities of Making project challenges this perception. Their findings indicate that exchange between urban manufacturers brings plenty of benefits. In this article, we explore why manufacturers do not collaborate, explain why they should, and...

Are you wondering why urban manufacturing matters? Still trying to understand what it is all about? We are here to help. Digging through the extensive material of the Cities of Making project, we have collated the key facts and figures that paint a clear picture of urban manufacturing. Manufacturing is...

Barcelona has long been plagued by housing issues. Now the city is fighting back. Equipped with an extensive plan, Barcelona wants to tackle a multitude of challenges. We sat down with the city’s housing manager Javier Burón Cuadrado, who walked us through their initiative. The city of Barcelona is synonymous...

Accommodating diverse groups of people within the same city poses a challenge. Toronto has managed to overcome it and continues to strive for a more inclusive and affordable housing market. We caught up with Jennifer Keesmaat, Toronto’s former Chief Planner, who served us up some notable Torontonian examples. A Brief...

The cohousing project Vrijburcht in Amsterdam was built almost two decades ago. Despite the many difficulties that have cropped up along the way, Vrijburcht has stood the test of time and – over the years – benefitted from a lot of valuable lessons. Menno Vergunst and Johan Vlug, landscape...

What do a liberal arts degree, a congested street, and the City of Toronto have in common? They all link back to our CityChanger Jennifer Keesmaat, an unconventional urban planner. We sat down with this inspiring changemaker to find out what makes her tick. Jennifer Keesmaat is famous for her...

Have you ever heard of cohousing? This alternative living model promises to combine privacy and community, use space efficiently, and provide plenty of greenery. Eef Tanghe, CityChanger and founder of Cohousing Projects, makes the case for cohousing and highlights the importance of knowledge sharing. A block of flats. Each flat contains...

Everyday people can make a difference in their communities. This is the vision that Community Land Trusts (CLTs) build upon. They are groups of local people who create community assets. And they provide an innovative solution to the housing affordability crisis. Sounds pretty cool, right? We spoke to Peg...

If you think prefab houses are revolutionary, check this out! Homes produced by an advanced soft serve ice cream machine and houses floating thanks to an ancient Greek principle – these and other unusual homes are what we’ve got in store for you. As our cities grow and evolve, new...

Making housing healthy is not a piece of cake. To give you an idea of the challenges you might come across, we have dug through a myriad of guides and condensed the top five challenges into bite-sized pieces. Our surroundings impact our health. Since we spend up to 90% of...

The growing population of urban dwellers has an archenemy: space. Many cities don’t have enough of it. Or so it seems. Creating more space in dense cities is a tricky (yet possible) task. Below we’ve summarised some of the challenges you may stumble across. Even though many of our cities...

Improving the housing market is no easy task and getting the ball rolling requires a lot of time and persistence. The beginning is always the hardest, after all. To help you out, we have created this handy step-by-step guide of how to get started with housing. The housing market is...

The benefits of alternative – or communal – living models are vast. Sharing is not just caring but also great for our pocket, mental health, and the housing market. So, what’s the catch? Introducing alternative living models can be tough. Are single-family homes the answer to all our housing questions?...

Debates about housing can be frustrating. People point fingers, refuse to listen, or simply aren’t interested at all. The International Social Housing Festival (ISHF) addresses this problem. Its aim: organise a productive debate on housing and engage everyone. We sat down with Sina Rasilainen, head coordinator of ISHF 2022,...