Housing: residents' protest and citizens' initiative

With around twenty-five examples, the exhibition shows how residents themselves shape their city and living environment. Always together, with collective strength, in diverse communities. The Netherlands has a multitude of citizens' initiatives that, alone or in cooperation with the government and the market, control the city.

The exhibition shows: it is possible, and that is hopeful. But citizens' initiatives are also vulnerable and often still move on the margins of institutions. How do they get stronger? What can they learn from each other? And how do we all contribute to a just city that is shaped by residents themselves? These questions will be the focus of five interviews in October 2025.

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Living: residents' protest and citizens' initiative

Introduction by Melissa Koutouzis, co-initiator of Woonprotest and Woonmanifest and board member of the Tenants Network Amsterdam. She also works at Transnational Institute, which focuses on global initiatives around equitable living, water, energy and food. Projects in the exhibition such as City in the Making, Right to the City, Defend Noord, Boschaard and Wildemanbuurt show how residents influence their living environment through action and initiative.

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