Walking from Rotterdam to The Hague (40 km)

Hello and welcome, new members! 👋🏼 I am so excited to have new flâneurs on board. This project started a few years ago as an archive on interviews about our walking experiences in cities all over the world, so if you want to share your stories and to be featured in an interview on the website, don't hesitate to reach out!

Night of the Refugees is an annual fundraising event held in the Netherlands to raise awareness and support for refugees. Participants walk a 40-kilometer route through the night, simulating the experience of a refugee's journey. The event is organized by the Dutch Refugee Foundation and has been running since 2007. The funds raised go towards providing emergency aid, education, and legal assistance to refugees around the world.

In the weekend of June 17-18th, I am eager to take up the challenge and participate in the Night of the Refugee event. My motivation for doing so is to raise awareness regarding the struggles that refugees face in their daily lives and support organizations that offer crucial aid such as shelter, medical care, and sustenance.

To demonstrate my solidarity, I will be walking 40 km from Rotterdam to The Hague, exclusively at night. In case you are able and willing, I would be immensely grateful for your contribution to this cause via a small donation. All donations received will be directed towards the NGO responsible for organizing the event, with the aim of assisting refugees and individuals who have been displaced due to some of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.

Upcoming Walks & Salons

This upcoming Sunday (30th of April) we will meet in the morning in Clingendael Park. The purpose of this walk is to connect with other fellow flâneurs from this group and enjoy a refreshing morning walk in a beautiful place. Join us here.

In the afternoon, we will meet at The Collector in The Hague to have a discussion on cognitive architecture and street safety. No prior expertise in any topic is needed, everyone who loves urban design and wants to engage in a discussion about beautiful & safe streets is warmly welcomed.

"Studies have shown that battered houses and neighborhoods, and abandoned and dilapidated buildings make us feel unsafe, thus evoking fear and anxiety. We already know that these feelings activate our survival mechanisms and kick our sympathetic nervous system into action. In their book Cognitive Architecture: Designing for How We Respond to the Built Environment, Sussman and Hollander (2015) explore the negative psychological impact urban cities have on humans. They argue that humans are generally healthier when their built environment contains a variety of independent shops, unique spaces and buildings rather than generic, cement buildings and repetitive chain stores."

Source: The Psychological Impact of Architectural Design

Book Club

These days I am working on setting up a book club for The Flâneurs Project. The first book that we will discuss is Jane Jacobs' brilliant book: The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The book club will take place online, on Zoom most likely, to make it accessible to all members around the world.

The Realisation Festival (29th June - 2nd July)

Some weeks ago I have been informed that my bursary application for The Realisation Festival has been successful. 🎉 Realisation is a gathering that is part retreat, part symposium at St Giles House, Dorset, UK. As an educational space, St Giles’s green landscape encourages participants to reflect on their relationship to enquiry, dialogue and well-being as tools for social change.

I find this an incredible opportunity to connect in conversations with philosophers, artists, creators, dreamers, and to envision what's next for The Flâneurs Project.