BACK TO SCHOOL WITH... DÉRIVE #2
SESSION #2: EFFECTS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN PUBLIC LIFE
The second in a series of three evenings curated by Hedwig van der Linden and Kevin Westerveld of Dérive about the spatial and cultural impacts of digital technologies, with Martijn de Waal, Paul Rutten and Bruno Ávila Eça de Matos. Taking place on Tuesday 17 November 2026, 18:00 - 22:00. Tickets available here
Tickets for individual evenings are €17.50. A three-evening package is available for €45. All tickets include a simple dinner before the lecture. Dinner is served from 18:00–19:00, and the event starts at 19:00. Please note: The elevator will be out of service from 16 November to 8 January. Our school is located on the 6th floor, so please be prepared to take the stairs.
POWER STRUCTURES OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
In this series of Back to School with..., we examine how digital technologies are reshaping the built environment, and how these transformations influence the ways we inhabit and experience it. How are digital technologies influencing the way our cities function, how they are imagined, represented, and designed? What does it mean for the way environments are produced, consumed, and understood? By examining the relationships between power, representation, and space, this series aims to develop a better and critical understanding of the (post)digital condition and encourage possibilities for imagining alternative futures.
The second session is focused on the impact of digitalisation on the public reals. Together with Martijn de Waal (lector civic interaction design at UVA) and Bruno Ávila Eça de Matos (head of Digitalisering at the City of Amsterdam) we will dive into the impact on urban processes, the organisation of the city and its services. What does digitalisation mean for the way that we are using our cities?
About the speakers
About Martijn de Waal
Martijn is a writer and researcher, exploring the entanglement of new media technologies and public spaces. He is lector of the Civic Interaction Design at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences where he works on future visions for a democratic network society, striving to develop new visions, concepts, roles, design approaches and prototypes that contribute to public life. Amongst other things, he co-founded The Mobile City, a non-profit that between 2007 and 2025 organised numerous workshops and events on digital media and urban culture. Some of his key publications include: The City as Interface. How New Media are Changing the City, The Platform Society. Public Values in a Connective World. With José van Dijck and Thomas Poell, and The Hackable City. Digital Media and Collaborative City-Making in the Network Society with Michiel de Lange. In 2026 he published the essay Stedelijk leven onder algoritmes (urban life under algorithms) together with Paul Rutten.
About Paul Rutten
Paul is an independent researcher. He was professor at Leiden University and Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Lector Creative Business at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. Since 2004, he has been involved as a project leader and researcher in the Creative Industries Monitor, the tenth edition of which was recently published. In 2026 he published the essay Stedelijk leven onder algoritmes (urban life under algorithms) together with Martijn de Waal.
About Bruno Ávila Eça de Matos
Bruno is currently Head of Digitalisation, Process and Information at the Project Management Bureau of the City of Amsterdam. Previously, he served as Director of the i-Team and Head of the Digital Urban Planning Lab. Trained as an architect and urban designer, Bruno holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the State University of New York at Buffalo, a Master Smart City Manager from Zigurat and the Universitat de Barcelona, and an Engineering Doctorate from Eindhoven University of Technology. He has various years of experience, working at the intersection of digital innovation, spatial planning and community engagement.
About Hedwig van der Linden & Kevin Westerveld
Hedwig and Kevin are founders of Dérive - an urban practice, based in Brussels and Rotterdam. They operate at the intersection of architecture, public space, and spatial strategy, seeking synergy between conceptual thinking and co-creative practice by creating space for dialogue and local coalitions – consciously starting from the qualities and resources of existing habitats. In April 2026, they were selected for the Prix de Rome Architecture with their proposal: Welcome To The Black Box with explores the spatial consequences of accelerated industrial growth caused by digitalisation.
Schedule Session #2
17 November 2026
18:00 – 19:00 Doors open and dinner served
19:00 – 19:10 Welcome by Independent School for the City
19:10 – 19:30 Introduction by Hedwig van der Linden and Kevin Westerveld of Dérive
19:30 – 20:10 Presentation by Martijn de Waal and Paul Rutten
20:10 - 20:30 Presentation by Bruno Ávila Eça de Matos.
20:30 - 21:00 Conversation between speakers and audience
21:00 Drinks and aftertalk