City of Arnhem creates air supply system to improve social cohesion

The mayor of Arnhem has asked Rosanne van Wijk’s pioneering Van Wijk Agency to examine how the various groups of inhabitants in Arnhem can support each other and live in peace. Arnhem is the most diverse city in the Netherlands: it is home to Amphibian people, Terrestrians, and is the only place on earth that accommodates the Homo Brackish. This diverse composition makes Arnhem a very creative and progressive city, but also poses a challenge in terms of bonding together these very different groups of inhabitants.

The diverse population of Arnhem, that is largely the result of the changed climate and rising sea level, cannot be served by the City in a one-size-fits-all way. Terrestrians live on dry land and wear clothes for protection against the cold. Amphibian people live in and with water and no longer wear clothes. The mayor has therefore been concentrating on local, district-centred developments and projects in order to meet everyone’s needs. However, a purely local approach would mean that people continue to live and work in seclusion. Thisis why the mayor is now stimulating cross-border efforts to foster bonding and reciprocity, starting with a collaboration with Rosanne van Wijk.

Van Wijk’s team proposed an air supply system that connects Amphibia, Terrestria and the Brackish World. A pilot is currently being executed. Situated in between the districts like a large creature with tentacles, the air supply system consists of a network of tubes that transport and distribute air at different temperatures throughout the districts. Amphibians can send out obsolete hot air, which Terrestrians in need of extra heat can use, and vice versa. When and where needed, the Homo Brackish can plug into the system to obtain both hot and cold air. All users are able to custom set the humidity levels of the air supply.

The pilot was launched this Wednesday and will run for one year. Afterwards, the Van Wijk Agency will meet with users and the mayor for an evaluation. If successful, the system will be rolled out to other parts of the city.