Inclusive Placemaking for Ageing in Place
Rethinking Participation in a Superdiverse City
H. Spaaij (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
R.J. Kleinhans – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Studies)
L.M. Calabrese – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
Michiel Kreutzer – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Architectural Engineering +Technology)
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Abstract
This thesis explores how elderly residents of The Hague Southwest, particularly those with migration backgrounds, limited Dutch proficiency, and intersecting social identities, can be meaningfully engaged in placemaking processes that support their ability to age in place. In a neighbourhood shaped by spatial segregation, political framing of newcomers, and participation models that often exclude the most marginalised, autonomy in later life is far from guaranteed.
Grounded in an intersectional theoretical framework, the study investigates how urban actors can create more inclusive engagement strategies. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted at four apartment buildings along Lozerlaan, where workshops, informal conversations, and observations revealed key barriers and facilitators to participatory inclusion. These included language and literacy gaps, mistrust, internalised disempowerment, and the need for culturally sensitive, low-threshold engagement.
The research produced four actor-specific communication products: booklets for Haag Wonen, architects, municipal planners, and residents. Rather than offering generic guidelines, these booklets function as invitations to reflect on roles, responsibilities, and the meaning of “residents” in a superdiverse city. A spatial design proposal for the Cirkelflat illustrates how fieldwork insights can be translated into architectural interventions that promote ownership, pride, and social connection.
This thesis ultimately argues that placemaking should be understood not as an aesthetic exercise, but as a relational and political process rooted in care. In times of growing polarisation, inclusive placemaking offers an opportunity to centre everyday experiences, redefine institutional roles, and design urban futures from the perspective of those most often left out.