In May 2025, Łódź became, for three days, an energetic laboratory for urban renewal. Inside the city’s former industrial halls, citymakers, designers, policymakers and investors from across Europe came together. Not to speak in abstractions about the city of the future, but to share concrete lessons from their own projects.
A clear thread ran through the programme. Physical interventions alone do not create meaningful places. Identity, culture and local ownership determine whether areas truly flourish.
Within that wider conversation, Rinske Brand contributed to two sessions. In Brownfield Unicorns: Turning Terrible into Terrific, she facilitated a discussion on complex redevelopment sites. Places shaped by difficult histories, governance tensions and high expectations. Together with Jan Kattein (Jan Kattein Architects), Franz Jurkowitsch (Warimpex), Thomas Vints (Mayor of Beringen) and Kathrin Obernhumer (TabakFabrik Linz), the session took a close look at what these transformations actually require. The discussion focused on governance, long term commitment, positioning and the role of culture in shifting perception and momentum.
In the panel Place Makeovers: How to Create Your City’s New Hot Spot, the focus moved to places where pride has faded. Moderated by Miriam Staley (Leading Minds Worldwide), Rinske joined Robert McKaye (The Bentway Conservancy) and Ewelina Jaskulska (Architektoniczki) in conversation. While their cases differed, they converged on a shared insight. Successful repositioning of an area never starts with marketing. It starts with the soul of the place and its users, with cultural energy and with the serious organisation of local ownership.
What became visible once again in Łódź is the strength of the growing international movement towards culture driven development. Cities that truly move forward are not only building in brick and concrete. They are building meaning, coalitions and long term commitment. That is increasingly where the real difference is made.