How Urban Living Lab Breda puts community agency before research agendas

This article was written for Uncover magazine – From Global to Ground (10th edition). You can read the full magazine here. 

Authors: Diaan van der Westhuizen, PhD, is a researcher and lecturer at the Academy for the Built Environment and Logistics and project leader at BUas ULLB, Linn Luijerink is a researcher and lecturer at the Academy for Leisure and Events, project leader and coordinator of BUas ULLB, Amber Klijn is a researcher and lecturer at the Academy for Leisure and Events, project leader and ULLB neighbourhood commissioner in De Heuvel. 

The ABCD approach
Although we work from an applied science research perspective by putting knowledge into practice in the real world, our methodology is not typical of how institutions usually engage with local communities. First and foremost, we are committed to the principles of Asset-Based Community Development, or the ABCD approach for short, first coined by the book Building Communities from the Inside Out (Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993). Instead of starting with community deficits (what is ’wrong’), we start with what works: the community assets. It is not that we deny the challenges communities face, but we refuse to define communities by their problems. The ABCD approach first acknowledges the skills, networks, initiatives and energies that communities already have. Citizens are not framed as passive recipients but positioned as primary actors in their own change. This requires special institutional restraint, given that the first impulse of researchers and students is to make an impact in communities through their research. 

Find energy from what is there, not from what is missing 
Our approach builds on the pioneering work by Ger Pepels, Henk Schol and Marc Holvoet, who developed the Collaborative Space (‘Samenwerkplaats’) model in the Breda neighbourhood of Hoge Vucht, described in a 2021 edition of Uncover magazine. (Pepels et al., 2021). Their purpose was to put residents in the driver’s seat to shape the future of their neighbourhood. To achieve this, a space was created within the neighbourhood where the partners came together to set priorities, build trust relationships, and define and coordinate action. ULLB facilitated this space where existing local energies could be made visible through research, experience walks, conversation tables, and co-creation with volunteers. Over time, these activities facilitated constructive links between citizens, students, the Breda-North neighbourhood council, municipal council members and Verbeter Breda. This work culminated in the opening of the Bieb Hoge Vucht (library) and a new youth centre in 2025. In that  same year, ULLB solidified its commitment to neighbourhoods with funding for the project ‘Building Sustainable Communities – Energy from Below’ (‘Energie van Onderop’) a regional partnership deal with the Province of West-Brabant based at the BUas Chair of Leisure in the Social Context led by Professor Jörn Frike.  

As researchers/lecturers from BUas, together with our partner institutions (Municipality of Breda, Avans, Curio, De Rooi Pannen, and Netherlands Defence Academy), we take on the role of city makers. We walk alongside residents in a facilitative role, starting with the local commissioners who can identify the most pertinent needs and opportunities. In practice, this means our gatherings are not consultations where institutions present plans. They are dialogues where residents identify priorities, map assets and decide what matters – and the neighbourhood agenda that emerges carries equal weight alongside municipal planning documents. For example, commissioners from De Heuvel asked us how they can attract more elderly participation to De Vlieren, their local community centre. Instead of arriving with surveys, ULLB invested time in expanding the events calendar by adding a soup evening and Musical Bingo as regular occurrences. In Doornbos Linie, city maker Stefanie Vermeulen joined the Buurtsalon on Edisonplein with a steady stream of students researching and exploring solutions for lighting and safety issues in the square, a challenge identified by residents and local businesses alike. 

The alongsiders principle
Sometimes communities ask us to offer expertise, to make connections, execute targeted projects, and most importantly, expect us to step back when they have built sustained capacity to carry initiatives forward by themselves. We work in neighbourhoods as ‘alongsiders’ with our local commissioners, rather than in front of them. For some time, residents in De Heuvel have been working with the Municipality of Breda on the refurbishment of Nolensplein. To help resident visualise the proposed changes, one of our Built Environment placement students from BUas applied his skills to create 3D visualisations of the proposed changes, which were proudly displayed during a public participation event  – arranged by the municipality – at the square. We are not short-term service providers or consultants but build on a long-term presence in specific areas to carry knowledge forward, invite new collaborations, and be part of the ongoing evolution of the place. Our role matters: conventional urban living labs bring innovation to the residents; we encourage residents to innovate with us, and as institutions, we figure out how to (creatively) support them. 

Education without extraction
Students are called upon to work on resident-focused projects and push parts of a broader neighbourhood agenda forward one step at a time. Commissioners Frank Weijters and Joëlle van Loon identified intergenerational connection as a priority (De Heuvel). This led the Minor in Inclusive Placemaking students to explore elderly participation through the monthly Music Bingo. Later, Built Environment students continued working with the elderly, researching dementia-friendly wayfinding and ‘ageing in place’ through weekly walk-alongs that gathered insights and uncovered concerns.  

ULLB staff find a home for these projects through cross-disciplinary coursework, placement and graduation assignments, or existing capacity across Leisure & Events, Built Environment & Logistics, Tourism, and Creative Business. At ’t Zoet, Leisure & Events students organised and executed the programme for the summer opening of the park. Built Environment students transformed a shipping container into the ‘Sugar Cube’ – an exhibition box showcasing ’t Zoet’s history and future plans through local documents, student research and design proposals. Keeping components of the curriculum flexible, or inviting lecturers to adopt a relevant project, helps avoid imposing work onto communities.  This approach also creates its own difficulties. Community projects often do not follow the same timelines as block and semester courses. Priorities sometimes shift mid-project.  Students must develop critical skills of working with uncertainty: negotiating between what communities ask of them and their own academic requirements, sometimes despite language, cultural and social barriers. These capacities – humility, adaptability and social awareness – are ingredients of genuine co-creation and form part of our hidden curriculum of critical skills.  The role of the ULL staff member is fundamental in supporting student learning within this real-world context. Rather than being sent out on scouting expeditions into neighbourhoods, students work on projects that link current priorities and students' interests with the willingness of local commissioners, who act as clients and co-mentors. 

As one of the commissioners, Joëlle van Loon, noted: “Education is organised better – communities benefit from students instead of them just costing. They really contribute.”  The ULLB began building initiatives such as a once-a-month soup evening and Musical Bingo event at De Vlieren, the local collaborative venue. Students start by volunteering at these events and gain a personal understanding of the people and local opportunities.  Our capacity building across various neighbourhoods demonstrates this. In De Heuvel, an upcoming three-day art festival ‘In de Kleur van de Heuvel’ is coming from ongoing citizen engagement. At ’t Zoet, a Built Environment graduation student redesigned the route from the city centre to the park, tested design-build moveable benches, and presented this to the municipality. And in Doornbos-Linie, under the guidance of city maker Stefanie Vermeulen, 36 students from eight programmes and four institutions organised the ’Light Up’ Edison Plein festival earlier this year. 

Working with the local community is always an opportunity to discover where real energy emerges, unexpectedly. In a neighbourhood like De Heuvel, ideas, talents and stories are everywhere – though they often hide in small encounters, casual conversations or shared experiences on the street: a resident mentioning a neighbour who paints during the Soup Evening, a conversation revealing hidden creative talents looking for an outlet, an artist sharing their work over coffee. This is precisely how the art festival ‘In de Kleur van de Heuvel’ started – with the dreams of a few residents. What makes this work special is that you (as a lecturer or researcher) do not come to deliver research; rather, you come to connect. By engaging residents, professionals and neighbourhood partners, a rich picture emerges where strength, passion and motivation reside. 

Then we connect this energy with our students: they bring curiosity, fresh perspectives and a learning mindset – and that aligns seamlessly with the dynamics of the neighbourhood. When they work alongside people in neighbourhoods and focus on what is genuinely needed, a mutually meaningful exchange arises. Students learn in a real context, experience impact and build confidence; the community, in turn, gains new ideas and support, and sees their wishes realised through the collaboration. 

Transdisciplinary placemaking
At ULLB, we bring together community assets with expertise from different academies, most notably, the Academy for Leisure and Events, the Academy for Built Environment and Logistics, the Academy for Tourism, and the Academy for AI, Games and Media. With communities as co-creators and municipalities as collaborators, we can transcend academy silos in favour of authentic transdisciplinary teaching and learning. We organise our involvement in the overlapping subject areas: Built Environment students creating an info box exhibition, and Leisure and Events students drawing the crowd through an event. 

We keep citizens engaged by offering a diverse skillset of bringing people together – first connecting with people, then making plans for what could be done. For example, Club van Ons started as the story bus run by Stefanie Vermeulen (Avans) and Anne van Den Broek (BUas); a parked campervan in local neighbourhoods for passers-by to join them for a cup of coffee and record their stories in an on-board podcast. Now, the travelling bus has expanded into an open-mic stage with collaborating artists, voice coaches and storytellers helping citizens find their unique voice. 

For example, an activation might amplify an existing neighbourhood activity such as the Music Bingo, introduce new networks like De Heuvel art festival, or gather community input through walks with the elderly. A short-term intervention of an underutilised space can be transformed into an event venue, like at ’t Zoet temporary park. Citizen ideas, such as the Nolensplein square redesign, can be tested visually and relayed to the municipality. Residents experience neighbourhoods holistically: their physical spaces, social networks and activities all together: ULLB’s approach mirrors this reality by putting education into the real world. We would like to thank BUas, our partners, and the Municipality of Breda, for seeing our vision and entrusting us with another four years of funding until 2029. In the words of the Executive Municipal Councillor for Education, Arjen van Drunen (Gemeente Breda, 2026): 

“Students [at Urban Living Lab] work on real community challenges, and residents think alongside them from the start”.  

More information: 
https://urbanlivinglabbreda.nl

Sources
Gemeente Breda. (2026, March 10). Urban Living Lab Breda blijft nóg 4 jaar bouwen aan de stad van morgen. https://www.breda.nl/nieuws/urban-living-lab-breda-blijft-nog-4-jaar-bouwen-aan-de-stad-van-morgen

Kretzmann, J. P., & McKnight, John. (1993). Building communities from the inside out : a path toward finding and mobilizing a community’s assets. ACTA Publications.

Pepels, G., Schol, H., & Holvoet, M. (2021). Samenwerkplaatsen, samen bouwen aan de toekomst van de wijk: Urban Living Lab Breda (ULLB) exploreert nieuwe wegen in stedelijke samenwerking. Uncover, 5, 39–40.

Steen, K., & van Bueren, E. (2017). Technology Innovation Management Review (Vol. 7, Number 7). www.timreview.ca

Photography
Gemma Vriens