Breda University of Applied Sciences Portal

Haggis-Burridge, M

Micro-fiction: have you tried.

Do you remember when... #012.

Micro-fiction: I found The Holy Grail in 1976.

Melissen, F

Leisure in (un) sustainable times : An exploration of the role of leisure in sustainability transitions

Neelis, I

Valentijn, S

Eijgelaar, E

Nesterova, N

Neuts, B

English

MONA 1.5 Report on the main survey outcomes

Paper presented at ATLAS Annual Conference 2025 – Tourist destinations at a crossroads. Space, community, products, politics and evolutionary processes in the age of transitions., Vila-Seca, Spain

Put - van den Beemt, W

Hover, M

Next generation zoos preserving planet earth? : The ranger as storyteller

Creative and entertainment games : Taking entertainment video games seriously

van Leeuwen, M

Iglesias, M

Horsten, P

The World Leisure Field School 2025 : The value accelerator in creating accessible leisure and events

Adi Saatlo Anzures, Fereshteh

de Wijs, S

In 2020, the Urban Life and Placemaking (ULP) 
specialisation was launched as part of the 
Academy for Leisure & Events portfolio. From 
the start, ULP has focused on the dynamic 
nature of urban contexts and the role leisure 
and events can play within them. With the vast 
majority of the world’s population living in cities 
- a number that continues to rise - urban areas 
are increasingly the places where people shape 
and experience their everyday lives. Cities are 
also sites of contrast: they offer vibrant leisure 
opportunities that cater to diverse lifestyles, 
yet they simultaneously struggle with pressing 
societal issues. It is precisely this dual nature 
that positions leisure and events as powerful 
tools for urban transformation. At ULP, we view 
leisure and events not only as experiences, but 
as instruments for building more inclusive, just, 
and joyful cities - or, as we say, loveable and 
liveable cities.
Since the programme was launched, nearly 
100 students (20-25 annually) have joined 
ULP. Five years in, we are reflecting on what 
has been achieved, what is changing, and 
what lies ahead - for both the programme 
and the urban contexts we aim to shape. In 
an ever-changing world, reflection is key to 
staying relevant and impactful.
Bridging theory and practice
Our curriculum is designed around the interplay 
between (academic) knowledge and real-world 
application. Courses such 
as Community Development, Concepting, 
Place Branding, and Vision provide students 
with theoretical grounding, but always link back 
to practice. Assignments are based on real-life 
urban challenges presented by external partners 
including Bühne in Breda, the City of Eindhoven, 
Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend, and Festival 
Popmonument. These collaborations are more 
than just assignments; they are stepping stones 
to professional networks.
A defining feature is the Urban Scope course, 
during which second-year students go on field 
trips, each shaped around a theme (Eventful 
Rotterdam, Inclusive Amsterdam, Sustainable 
Tilburg, Creative Nijmegen, Futureproof 
Eindhoven, Safe Gent, Youthful Antwerp, 
Narrative Bergen op Zoom, Hospitable Den 
Bosch, Playful Breda) and involving  visiting 
multiple locations and organisations. These 
field trips expose students to the multiplicity 
of urban stakeholders, reinforcing one of our 
core competencies: learning to act with and 
by stakeholders. This principle underpins all of 
our partnerships and builds the foundation for 
sustainable collaboration.
What becomes clear is that cities are complex 
ecosystems of people, interests, identities, and 
environments. Learning how to navigate these 
systems is not something that can be taught 
solely in a classroom. It requires experience, 
conversation, observation, and trial and error 
in real contexts.
Projects for the City
And that is where the Projects for the City 
(PFTC) course comes in, where students 
recruit and execute their own projects in real 
urban contexts. These projects range across 
topics such as experience design, community 
development, event production, marketing, 
and promotion. The course encourages 
initiative, creativity, and 
ownership while offering students the 
chance to build professional portfolios.
Over the years, ULP students have completed 
around 60 projects, commissioned by more 
than 45 partners including city marketing 
organisations, cultural events, hospitality 
companies, and municipal departments involved 
in urban planning and regeneration. Many of 
these collaborations continue beyond the 
project itself, showing how meaningful and 
lasting connections can be formed between 
students and the field.
Live and study in a European City
The third-year international semester provides 
a unique opportunity to live, study, and work 
in European cities such as Bologna, Krakow, 
Thessaloniki, and Trondheim. Our motto is live like 
a local, act like a professional. In these cities our 
students undertake real-life projects embedded 
in local contexts ranging from city exhibitions 
based on Urban Scope perspectives to hands-on 
interventions addressing local issues. These 
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Contributing 
to liveable and 
loveable cities
Urban Life and Placemaking now and for the future
&
Fereshteh Adi Saatlo Anzures and Simon 
de Wijs have been involved in the core 
team of the Urban Life and Placemaking 
specialisation since the beginning.
We are the 
connectors. We join 
forces to create 
cool places making 
urban life better 
and more fun.
activities culminate in our 
own yearly Social Interventions Conference, 
held both in Breda and online, where students 
present their work to a broad audience 
of stakeholders. During their stay abroad 
students in earlier years did projects with local 
organisations such as Torino Stratosferico, 
Tourne Bilbao, Booklovers Club Valencia, 
Erasmus Student Network, and Porto i/o.
Alongside these projects, BUas weekly delivers 
online courses, creating a European classroom 
that connects all cities involved. This results 
in a rich learning environment that fosters 
intercultural exchange and collaboration. In 
doing so, students do not only gain professional 
experience; they also expand their personal 
horizons. Living abroad fosters resilience, 
open-mindedness, and a deeper appreciation 
of diversity - qualities that are vital for 
professionals who want to shape urban life with 
empathy and creativity.
Placemaking Week Europe
We also engage with external platforms like 
Placemaking Week Europe (PWE), which brings 
together a large group of placemaking experts 
and enthusiasts from across Europe every 
year to share insights and practices around 
greening, mobility, inclusion, and more. When 
visiting the PWE with students and lecturers, 
we often notice, however, that leisure, despite 
its potential, is not as foregrounded in the 
discussions as it could be.
This observation encouraged us to reflect more 
critically on our own curriculum. If leisure and 
events are to be understood not just as a goal 
but as a means to improve urban life, we must 
ensure they remain central to our teaching, 
projects, and research. This reflection became 
an important moment of co-creation with 
our students.
Futures literacy with students
Looking ahead is just as vital as looking back. 
We invited our current second-year students 
to reflect on possible, probable, and disruptive 
futures (for ULP). While many aspects of our 
programme are already outward-looking and 
collaborative, students even called for more 
activities beyond the classroom, diverse and 
real-life learning environments, and deeper 
collaboration with stakeholders. This desire is 
mirrored in their preferences for themes such as 
diversity, inclusion, social cohesion, and cultural 
collaboration, all of which highlight the human 
and social dimensions of urban life.
Students also expressed a wish to engage more 
broadly within BUas - collaborating with other 
specialisations, academies and programmes, 
and learning in open, flexible environments. One 
particularly resonant suggestion was to engage 
with multi-stakeholder environments, such as 
living labs that apply multiple helix models of 
innovation.
When it comes to disruptive futures, students 
demonstrated awareness of macro challenges. 
From over-construction, lack of space and 
housing shortages to loneliness, social media, 
AI, climate change, and political instability. 
While this shows a strong connection to current 
global trends, many voiced concerns and a 
somewhat pessimistic outlook. This feedback 
inspires us to foster greater futures literacy, 
helping students imagine alternative, more 
optimistic scenarios where their role as change 
makers is possible and relevant.
Some also expressed concern about the 
job market, questioning whether their 
ULP background would be recognised 
or outperformed by other, perhaps more 
conventional, programmes. This only reinforces 
the importance of positioning leisure clearly and 
confidently at the heart of urban innovation.
Putting leisure centre stage
Together with our students and partners, we are 
reasserting the centrality of leisure and events 
- not just as outputs of the urban experience, 
but as drivers of positive change. We aim to 
educate students who can work across scales 
and contexts: from specific neighbourhoods and 
projects to macro-level urban strategies.
To help reinforce this approach, we have 
developed the Wheel of Themes (Figure 1), 
a curriculum design tool that keeps liveable 
and loveable cities at its core. Each semester 
or term then takes on a leisure-driven theme, 
such as The Creative City, The Eventful City, The 
Attractive City, The Fantasy City, The Playful 
City, as focal point. This structure gives students 
clear thematic grounding while keeping the 
programme vibrant and relevant.
 
Figure 1
These central themes (the core rings) then allow 
us to explore a wide range of urban dynamics 
through a leisure lens, connecting theoretical 
and practical dimensions from the other rings. In 
this way, the themes act as creative frameworks 
that open up new questions, ideas, and 
partnerships within each combination of rings.
Urban Living Lab Breda 
It is no coincidence that at this very moment 
we have the opportunity to deepen our 
collaboration with Urban Living Lab Breda. The 
lab is at the intersection of research, education 
and practice and facilitates collaborations with 
public, private, and societal stakeholders. Here, 
we learn from others and share our belief: leisure 
is essential to build better cities.
This is our passion: we are the connectors. We 
join forces to create cool places making urban 
life better and more fun. By continuing to be 
curious, to learn, experiment, and co-create in 
ways that celebrate both the complexity and 
joy of urban life. And above all, to continue 
striving together with our students, partners, 
and the community for cities that are not only 
more liveable but also more loveable.
If leisure and events 
are to be understood 
not just as a goal 
but as a means to 
improve urban life, 
we must ensure they 
remain central to our 
teaching and projects.
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Contributing to liveable and loveable cities : Urban life and placemaking now and for the future

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Micro-fiction: have you tried.

Do you remember when... #012.

Micro-fiction: I found The Holy Grail in 1976.

Leisure in (un) sustainable times : An exploration of the role of leisure in sustainability transitions

MONA 1.5 Report on the main survey outcomes

Next generation zoos preserving planet earth? : The ranger as storyteller

Leisure in (un) sustainable times : An exploration of the role of leisure in sustainability transitions

Creative and entertainment games : Taking entertainment video games seriously

The World Leisure Field School 2025 : The value accelerator in creating accessible leisure and events

Contributing to liveable and loveable cities : Urban life and placemaking now and for the future

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