Exhibition Bold city brave decisions in Graz opened

Last Wednesday, the exhibition ‘Bold city, brave decisions: How the city of Groningen transformed itself into an exemplary city’ opened at the Haus der Architektur Graz.

In 2024 we are celebrating the 60th jubilee of the twinning of cities Graz and Groningen. For this occasion, the Haus der Architektur Graz invited us to present the city of Groningen to the people of Graz. With the exhibition, we show how the city has been transformed in recent decades. In doing so, we encourage a lively exchange on the challenges the twin cities have faced and are facing, and the future bold decisions they will have to make.

In Northwest Europe, many mid-size cities are developing into very attractive centres. So are Graz and Groningen, cities that both have steadily growing populations as a result. The challenges facing these mid-size cities vary, but are numerous.

How can growing cities respond to recent challenges for sustainable urban development? How can we create highly livable, sustainable, and inclusive cities which can grow along with their populations? Whom can we learn from, to make inspired decisions on how to design and manage the cities of the future? In other words, how can we make cities livable today?

These questions, among others, were addressed during the opening in a panel discussion between Judith Schwentner (vice mayor of Graz), Bertram Werle (director of urban planning Graz), Bert Popken (corporate director of the Municipality of Groningen) and Jeroen de Willigen (creative director De Zwarte Hond). Moderator was Beate Engelhorn (director Haus der Architektur Graz). Peter Potman (Dutch ambassador to Vienna) also spoke at this evening.

This is the beginning in a series of travelling exhibitions under the title ‘Bold city, brave decisions’. The first talks have already been held with cities in Belgium and Germany. Findings that emerge from the exhibition per city are, of course, going to be shared. So keep an eye on us for the follow-up!

The exhibition has been made possible with the special support of the City of Graz, Municipality Groningen, Haus der Architektur and KEUK. You can still visit the exhibition until 15 September 2024.