Guus (39) explains how he uses his knowledge and experience to help.

“I have been living in The neighborhood of the future for several months now and what I like about it is that really everyone matters. Like all the other residents, I get to think about what the neighborhood will look like. What’s more, we are responsible for our own living environment here.

Co-creation

We live in an innovative neighborhood. You can clearly see that in the amount of thought that has been given to everything around us here. Yet that alone is not enough, innovation stands or falls with cooperation in our neighborhood. Not only cooperation with neighbors, but also with knowledge institutions, the municipality and companies in the neighborhood. We call that co-creation.

Tonight, I will attend another meeting of the Users Council, a group of (future) residents, neighbors and interested parties of Brainport Smart District. Together, we give solicited and unsolicited advice to organizations and projects within the district development. Because I feel responsible for the neighborhood, I applied for the council a few months ago. Through my work as an ICT specialist, I deal with the issue of privacy through apps on a daily basis. By joining the Users Council, I can use my knowledge and experience to improve the neighborhood. While it’s handy that I have this knowledge, of course it’s not necessary. There are also people who participate purely from their experience as residents.”

BrandevoortLab

To return to the many apps I check in the morning, the BrandevoortLab is the perfect example of how we partner with residents and other parties in the neighborhood. It is a kind of digital library. This morning, for example, I saw that there will be a fun event next week where we can meet new residents. A call was posted asking people to help think about how the evening should be organized. What topics should definitely be covered? I indicated that I would like to talk about digital safety.

By contributing in this way makes me feel that I live in a neighborhood that really suits my needs. And I think several residents of our neighborhood feel the same way.”