Street experiment Roetersstraat

Create Your Campus Challenge

Want to be a real change-maker? Ready to shake things up on Roetersstraat? Got bold ideas—and the appetite to really make them happen?

Submit your idea to the Create Your Campus Challenge! The ambition of the City of Amsterdam, local residents, entrepreneurs, and institutions on Roetersstraat is to transform it from a traffic corridor into a liveable street with space for growing up, meeting each other, healthy living, and sustainable mobility.

Picture this: children cycling to school on their own, students feeling safe walking home at night, biodiversity flourishing, and neighbours actually stopping to talk. Sounds good? Now make it real.

Do you have a radical but realistic idea for a street experiment that brings one or more of these visions to life? Submit your idea and turn your concept into action. Win the first prize and get the chance to run your own street experiment on Roetersstraat in April.

Fill in the form below and start changing your campus—literally.

Apply your experiment!

What can you win?

From all submissions, five entries will be selected, and two winners will be chosen: one winner selected by the jury and one winner selected by the public. The jury winner cannot also be the public winner. Both winners will get the chance to implement their idea during the Week van de Rechtvaardige Straat (Week of the Just Street) in April, together with a network of partners (including the UvA, the neighbourhood, the City of Amsterdam, and the Lab of Thought). As such, you will get experience and expert guidance on how to transform a street, equipping you with vital knowledge to create future projects yourself.

In addition, both winners receive a materials budget and gift vouchers:

Jury winner: €500 in gift vouchers + materials budget up to €1,000
Public winner: €250 in gift vouchers + materials budget up to €500

How does it work

Round 1 - submit a developed idea

Fill in the online form with a well-developed proposal for your street experiment on Roetersstraat. Be creative in both content and format. Submitting more than one idea is not possible.

Deadline: Monday 2 March
Round 2 - pre-selection

The CYC jury makes a pre-selection of up to five best ideas that advance to the final.

Deadline: Friday 13 March
Round 3 - pitch your idea to the jury

Selected street experiments present their idea with a short video pitch. During the final, the jury decides the jury winner. The public can vote for the public prize. Selected teams post their videos on Instagram with the hashtag #createyourcampus. The initiative with the most likes wins the public prize. The final takes place at Roeterseiland Campus and is open to all interested people. The jury consists of a Roetersstraat resident, UvA, the City of Amsterdam, and a creative professional.

Jury meeting: Thursday 26 March

Conditions

CYC is looking for experiments that kickstart a transition: What is the biggest small step to make Roetersstraat a better place for its different users? The experiment explores alternatives that are fundamentally different from the status quo, while also being safe and feasible within the available resources and time (to be realised between 13–19 April).

Requirements:

You work in a team of at least 2 and at most 5 people. At least two team members take courses at REC.
You are available and willing to carry out the street experiment during the Week van de Rechtvaardige Straat, from 13 April to 17 April.
The jury winner receives €500 in gift vouchers (after the experiment has been carried out). The public winner receives €250 in gift vouchers.
There is a materials budget up to €1,000 (€500 for the public winner). Include an estimate of materials and other costs needed for implementation*. It is important to show that the budget is spent fairly. The CYC organization can advance costs for a well-substantiated budget.
Your experiment takes place within existing laws and regulations and safety criteria.
Experts provide tailored advice to the five finalists (including Marco te Brömmelstroet of UvA/Lab of Thought, Jesse Jorg of RAUM/We the City, and/or representatives of the City of Amsterdam).

*Assume a budget up to €1,000. With the public winner, the CYC team will look at how the budget can be reduced to €500.

Assessment criteria

Your plan will be assessed on:

Transition characteristics: proposals are tested against five characteristics of transition experiments: problem-driven, radical, strategic, mobilising, and feasible. The form explains what these mean in this context.
Collaboration: indicate who you want to work with (within the team and with external individuals and/or organisations).
Contribution to the neighbourhood: explain how the experiment and any side or follow-up activities benefit the local area.

Any questions? Contact us at placemaking@uva.nl

Examples

Pop-up parkingservice

It is difficult to imagine a greater contrast. Instead of a parked car, you can relax with your neighbours in a hot tub surrounded by a mini bamboo forest. Add a drink, some delightful Caribbean music, and you can completely escape in your own street.

Amsterdam Detours

At the intersection between a famous congested street (Damstraat) and a quieter but equally interesting route, De Nes: over three Fridays, various route choice influencers were tested: alternative signage, information about traffic congestion and a coloured pattern on the pavement.

Super Sint Maarten Parade

Every year, the Pretvormer Foundation organises Super Sint Maarten in Amsterdam's Indische Buurt neighbourhood. What started as a small-scale residents' initiative with just a parade for the neighbourhood children has grown over the years into a valuable cultural event.

Interested in more examples?

Overview of street experiments worldwide: https://streetexperiments.com/world-ma

Placemaking (street)experiments: