Stad-Forum is an independent think tank that has advised the Amsterdam’s city council on urban development over the past decade. Stad-Forum did this on its own initiative or at the request of the mayor and alderpersons. It held a mirror up to Amsterdam, offered residents and experts a platform and connected them with civil servants and politicians.

Initially, Stad-Forum put a wide range of topics on the agenda through knowledge sessions. We then brought parties together around pressing issues. We generated attention for the development of the city through public activities, aimed at both professionals and laypeople. We zoomed in on the city center for which we, with the input of many, outlined our own vision for the future. And then we zoomed out to the Greater Amsterdam region. We did this in a special way: we entered into lengthy discussions with residents and entrepreneurs with a filmmaker, journalists and researchers. From the latest research “Nu aan de buurt. Nieuwe energie eerlijk verdeeld” the perspective on the distribution of scarcity was born. Over the years, the core team has worked together with a variety of researchers, journalists, photographers and designers to give content and shape to the program.

Stad-Forum – once the result of an austerity measure – will cease to exist in 2023 as a result of financial and substantive shifts in the municipality’s priorities. We deeply regret this and advise the municipal council to continue the rich and sensible tradition of organized contradiction in a different form. In the meantime, we look back with pride on a long series of inspiring projects and meetings.