City-zen Days: Cooling with Drinking Water

May 21, 2019

Using water for heating and cooling is hardly a novel idea. Implementing it on a large scale, however, is a totally different ball game. One of City-zen’s demonstrations was finding out what would be needed to make this possible. During City-zen Days, a presentation by the Dutch blood bank Sanquin and water company Waternet revealed […]

Implementing Smart Grid Technology: Context beyond Technology

In 2050, it is expected that 80% of the world population will live in cities. What are the effects of, among other things, solar panels, electric cars and home batteries on the lives of citizens and the local energy grid? How can a reliable, affordable and accessible energy grid be retained? A key City-zen project […]

How to move forward towards Carbon Neutrality

May 20, 2019

Signals are coming at us from left, right and center: when it comes to climate change, we need to act NOW. But where do we start? And which way should we go? City-zen offers possible avenues for exploration. For example, the energy transition roadmap for the municipality of Amsterdam (exemplified in detail for two neighborhoods) […]

City-zen Days: Retrofitting for the Future

May 17, 2019

Retrofitting projects formed an important part of the discussions during City-zen Days. To venture beyond the theoretical, actual participants in these projects were asked to offer their opinions and share experiences in panel discussions. And to complete the transformation from theory to practice, City-zen Days visitors went on field visits to see a handful of […]

City-zen Days, FuckUp Nights: Timing is Everything

On April 2nd, together with the FuckUp organization, City-zen organized an evening filled with stories of professional failure. Instead of sharing success stories that are often hard to identify with and even harder to replicate, sharing stories of failure has proven to be insightful, educational and entertaining at the same time. Here are two prime […]

City-zen Days Amsterdam: Inspiration, Lessons Learned & Networking

May 16, 2019

From 1-3 April 2019, City-zen Days took place in Amsterdam. This three-day event provided heaps of inspiration and learning to over 100 participants. A wonderful mixture of City-zen consortium partners, sustainable entrepreneurs, civil servants and the general public spent three days on multiple locations throughout the city, taking in theoretical information as well as practical […]

Retrofitting: A Living Lab That Delivers Surprising Insights

April 25, 2019

One of City-zen’s demonstration projects is ‘Retrofitting Amsterdam towards zero energy building’. Private homeowners, owners associations and housing corporations in Amsterdam applied the City-zen subsidy towards increased energy efficiency. In this report you can see how 14 (out of 66) remarkable projects have come into fruition, battling a variety of challenges along the way. Residents’ […]

City-zen Days Amsterdam: first impressions

April 15, 2019

The three-day conference on how to reduce CO2-emissions in metropolitan areas spurred discussions, enriched minds with lessons learned and offered excellent networking opportunities. We were honoured by the presence of Amsterdam’s Deputy Mayor Marieke van Doorninck, responsible for Spatial Development and Sustainability. Keep your eyes on this site for detailed reports on riveting presentations and […]

SAVE THE DATE – City-zen days from 1 to 3 April 2019 – Amsterdam

October 12, 2018

  Amsterdam invites you to experience the heart of its energy transition from 1-3 April 2019. We are very happy to announce the dates for the City-zen Days in Amsterdam on 1-3 April 2019! More information to follow; please put these dates in your agenda. We will be starting to build the programme soon. If […]