1. Why this toolbox?
The “Toolbox for City Changers” is for people who want to make their neighbourhood safer, greener, more inclusive and more resilient to climate change, and need practical tools to do so. It brings together experiences from Berlin, Vienna, and Ljubljana. Changing Cities from Berlin supports 70+ initiatives that demand superblocks for their neighbourhoods — for a more livable city. Wir machen Wien from Vienna grew out of Platz für Wien, the city’s biggest ever campaign for better public spaces, which gathered nearly 60.000 signatures. And Prostorož is a Slovenian non-profit urban design studio leading the way in creating human-centred spaces.
This handbook is for everyone asking:
How can we make our city more liveable?
All following chapters help answer this question step by step. We believe that cities should be designed for people and that everyone has the right to a beautiful and safe neighbourhood. If you do, too, keep reading.
What this handbook offers
As an essential part of the Toolbox for City Changers, this handbook summarises...
- How superblocks work as a planning concept to make your neighbourhood safer, greener and more people-friendly (chapter 2)
- How tactical urbanism can turn these ideas into reality with little effort and cost...
- ...and how street design tools and interventions can help neighbourhoods make better public space tangible (chapter 3)
- What it takes to inspire as many people as possible to support your cause and actively get involved (chapter 4)
- How various [monitoring tools] provide measurable arguments for redesign (chapter 5)
- And lastly, a step-by-step guide to turn your idea into a vision into change (chapter 6).
Toolbox for City Changers
The Toolbox for City Changers is an Erasmus+-funded project that aims to give people the knowledge, practical skills and confidence to shape change in their own neighbourhoods. Its three workshops brought together residents, local initiatives and practitioners to share experiences and explore how to build a neighbourhood initiative, test ideas in public space and engage in local decision-making. This handbook makes the tools and approaches available beyond the workshops, so that more people can adapt them to their own local context.
The three workshops
- Superblocks & Playful Interventions, 5 March 2026 in Ljubljana: How local initiatives emerge, how superblocks and Kiezblocks work, and how playful actions attract attention.
- Tactical Urbanism & Street Design, 23 April 2026 in Berlin: How temporary, low-cost interventions visibly open up different uses of street space, and how groups can develop street design visions together.
- Mobilisation & Monitoring Tools, 30 May 2026 online: How initiatives gain supporters, track progress and structure their campaigns with goals, milestones and shared tasks.