Townmaking

This week, host Servaz van Berkum sits down with Lukas Reichel, founder of Som Mobilitat, a car-sharing cooperative in Catalonia with about 4,000 members and 160 cars. Together, they discuss Lukas’s journey, the motivations behind starting Som Mobilitat, and how the cooperative contributes to building stronger, more sustainable communities.

This conversation is part of our Societal Impact series, where we feature individuals making a difference through community-driven initiatives and their pursuit of a more sustainable, inclusive urban environment.

This episode was a collaboration between Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, BonoSiebelink, and Servaz van Berkum. Special thanks to Lukas Reichel and Walter Dressher.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

Please note: This is a special recording of our conversation on ISA and ASG in Dutch. If you’d like to hear the English version, you can find it in the episodes from 1st and 8th August. We’ll be back to English in the next episode.

In deze speciale Nederlandstalige aflevering van Towwnmaking spreken ingenieur Paul Timmer en host Servaz van Berkum over Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) en Adaptive Speed Governance (ASG), beiden helpen de bestuurder van een voertuig veiliger te helpen.

ISA is een systeem dat is ontworpen om bestuurders te waarschuwen wanneer een voertuig de lokale snelheidslimiet overschrijdt. Sinds juli 2022 is ISA verplicht gesteld door de Europese Unie voor alle nieuwe voertuigen, zoals auto’s en vrachtwagens.

ASG, ontwikkeld door het Townmaking Institute in samenwerking met de Gemeente Amsterdam, is oorspronkelijk ontworpen voor e-bikes en kan de veiligheid van alle typen voertuigen verbeteren zonder gebruik te maken van camera’s, sensoren of herinrichting van de openbare ruimte, en zonder privacy te schenden.

In deze aflevering gaan we dieper in op de werking en doelstellingen van beide systemen, de voordelen voor verkeersveiligheid en de uitdagingen die zich voordoen bij de implementatie.

Deze podcast werd geproduceerd en samengesteld door Paul Timmer, Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, Bono Siebelink en Servaz van Berkum. De muziek is van Mickey Smid.

Voor meer informatie over het Townmaking Institute en deze podcastserie, bezoek townmaking.com.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

Our guest this week is Indranil Bhattacharya. In this episode, host Servaz van Berkum and Indranil explore the nature of data, highlighting how, without context, it’s merely a collection of numbers. They dive into the challenges data presents and discuss why responsible use is essential for building a fair, human-centered society.

Indranil explains how we can better understand data integrally with what it represents, emphasizing that its true value exists with the knowledge to understand numbers, not the numbers themselves.

This episode was a collaboration between Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, Bono Siebelink, and Servaz van Berkum.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

In this episode of Townmaking, host Servaz van Berkum sits down with Thieu Besselink, who focuses on regenerative farming for the Townmaking Institute. They discuss how regenerative agriculture can secure the future of our food systems by healing ecosystems, revitalizing soil, and moving away from harmful agricultural practices. Thieu shares insights on how these methods can sustainably meet global food needs while empowering individual farmers and communities through the commons, giving them the agency to lead local change.

Together, they explore why it’s crucial to rethink our relationship with food, especially as conventional farming depletes essential resources like soil. The conversation highlights how regenerative practices promote biodiversity, sequester carbon, and enhance crop productivity, all while building resilient communities and protecting the environment for future generations.

This episode was a collaboration between Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, BonoSiebelink, and Servaz van Berkum. Special thanks to Thieu Besselink.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

In this episode, host Servaz van Berkum sits down with Daniel Picado, a community organizer and founder of Pais Plural, an LGBTQI+ organization in Venezuela. Together, they explore Daniel’s personal journey, the mission that drives his work, and how his efforts have shaped his dedication to building a more inclusive, plural, and citizen-centric society.

Through Daniel’s story, we delve into the broader themes of creating societal impact—highlighting the everyday work that brings meaningful change to communities. Daniel shares his vision for a more equitable society, his experiences and how his personal calling has guided him through the challenges he has faced.

This episode is part of our Societal Impact series, where we feature individuals making a difference through community engagement and their pursuit of a more just and livable urban environment.

This episode was a collaboration between Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, Bono Siebelink, and Servaz van Berkum. Special thanks to Daniel Picado.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

This week, host Servaz van Berkum and Mobility as a Commons (MaaC) expert Walter Dresscher continue their conversation on shared mobility and urban development. We discuss how MaaC could reshape project development across different housing sectors: private sector rentals, homeownership, and social housing. How can we ensure shared mobility is accessible to everyone, regardless of income or background?

At the heart of this is the idea that urban and project development should focus on the needs of future residents. One of those needs, mobility, has an outsized impact on the cost of development. If we want to bring down the cost of mobility in housing and discourage people from parking their cars on the street, we need to rethink access to mobility in smarter, more sustainable ways. As Walter points out, shared mobility, and particularly MaaC, offers a promising way to achieve these goals.

This episode was a collaboration between Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, Bono Siebelink, and Servaz van Berkum. Special thanks to Walter Dresscher.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

Mobility as a Commons (MaaC) expert Walter Dresscher joins us once again to continue our discussion on community-owned shared mobility—a model that rethinks mobility ownership by sharing vehicles like cars, bikes, and more. We’ve previously covered this topic in our July 11th and July 18th episodes, so feel free to revisit those for additional context on MaaC.

In today’s episode, Walter and host Servaz van Berkum, will dive deeper into how MaaC intersects with urban and project development. We’ll explore how mobility influences building design and, more importantly, how MaaC could drive down the cost of project development and housing.

This episode was a collaboration between Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, Bono Siebelink and Servaz van Berkum. With special thanks to Walter Dresscher.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

In this episode, host Servaz van Berkum shares aspects of Marc Bemelmans' Narrative Record, an educator and passionate cyclist. As a vocational teacher in Amsterdam, Marc trains the next generation of bike mechanics. Together, they discuss his life, his love for bicycles, and his strong ties to both the mechanical craft and the field of education, where he has dedicated most of his career.

Narrative Records document the lived experiences of specialists like Marc, providing valuable insights of what shaped them, what their daily lives feel like, their specialized and unique knowledge, and changes they envision. For more about Narrative Records, listen Episode 13 published on September 5th episode or visit Townmaking.com.

This episode was a collaboration between Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, Bono Siebelink, and myself, Servaz van Berkum. With special thanks to Marc Bemelmans

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

In this episode of Townmaking, host Servaz van Berkum is joined by Indranil Bhattacharya and Thieu Besselink to explore the latest in the Townmaking community. The discussion dives into Adaptive Speed Governance (ASG), Cycling Corridors, and Mobility as a Commons, highlighting how these initiatives are reshaping urban environments.

This podcast was produced and curated by Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, Bono Siebelink, and Servaz van Berkum, with music by Mickey Smid.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.

In this episode host Servaz van Berkum sits down with Indranil Bhattacharya to dive into the concept of Narrative Records. These records capture the everyday lives and lived experiences of people across Europe, Africa, and Asia, giving us valuable insights into what makes communities more liveable.

We explore how these stories can help shape better environments and why they’re so important to the work we do at the Townmaking Institute. We also discuss how others can get involved in building and expanding these records, creating a growing collection of voices that reflect real, lived experiences.

This podcast was produced and curated by Indranil Bhattacharya, Omar Zuberi, Bono Siebelink, and Servaz van Berkum, with music by Mickey Smid.

This podcast is published by the Townmaking Institute under the Next Commons principles (https://nextcommons.townmaking.com/).

See https://www.townmaking.com/ for more information.