AMuse: placemaker Marianne de Beer

Profession: Senior policy advisor economics municipality
of 's-Hertogenbosch
Age: 38
Proud of: That as a municipality we are emphatically shaping the Innovation Quarter in cooperation with stakeholders and market parties.
Key in placemaking is ... Having courage and staying true to the DNA of a place.

“I studied Economic Geography and Economics at Utrecht University and got my PhD on entrepreneurship in residential neighborhoods. Den Bosch was one of my case studies in this regard. This allowed me to get to know the city well. Den Bosch has a scale that really appeals to me: not too big, not too small. Large enough to be ambitious, small enough for personal contact. It is a real networking city; meeting each other and engaging in conversation are central. That suits me well. That's why I've stuck around.”

“The great thing is that from my position as senior policy advisor on economics, I get to build the city's data ecosystem. I bring people and parties together. To do that, I go out a lot. Of course, I have to get to know people before I bring them into contact with each other. I actually act as a kind of oil man. I connect opportunities, possibilities, people, companies and educational institutions.”

“That is also the core of the concept of the Innovation Quarter to be developed in Den Bosch. I firmly believe that only when people know each other and know what they can gain from each other can they really work well together and create innovations. Haphazardly putting people and companies in an area does not mean that they will cooperate. Physical proximity alone is not enough.”

“It's also about social proximity. For that, there have to be communal facilities. But you won't make it with that alone. They have to be facilities where people are somehow challenged to engage with each other. This requires programming that encourages interaction and getting to know each other. A condition for the concept to succeed is that people come to the area who really want to contribute to it. The great thing is that there is already a strong communal feeling in Den Bosch to move the city forward. That works very stimulating.”

“We have the ambition to make the Innovation Quarter the hub of the Bossche data ecosystem. This idea didn't just fall out of the sky. It fits very well with our economic profile. In Den Bosch, the focus has been on data and IT for much longer. The question also came from a number of data companies that were already located here. They asked us whether something could not be done in the city to further strengthen the data ecosystem. We embraced this as a municipality. The concept behind the Innovation Quarter fits the place well. Previously, construction was not allowed outside the fortress. Later, when it was allowed, the first factory was established on that site. The factory was obviously aimed at the industry of the time, but it was very innovative for its time. On those foundations we are now building on.”