Activating a regenerative urban tourism approach: practices and interventions via a living lab setting in Amsterdam North

How to navigate your way through an era that is increasingly referred to as an era of poly-crises, where disparate crises interact in such a way that the overall impact far exceeds the sum of each part (WEF, 2023)? Some of the social, environmental and security risks described in the 2023 World Economic Forum year’s report are close to a tipping point. “This is the moment to act collectively, decisively and with a long-term lens to shape a pathway to a more positive, inclusive and stable world” (WEF, 2023, p 10). How do we move from poly-crises to a more regenerative and poly-potential rich narrative (Wahl, 2024) and above all, what is needed in order to start thinking and acting in such a way? By realigning our focus to poly-potential, we can help our - selves remain focused but also open to new possibilities. In view of this growing sense of urgency and the need to bridge theory and practice in particular, a new way of carrying out a doctorate has emerged in The Netherlands: the Professional Doctorate (PD). It aims to translate research and reflections into actionable insights, not only for enriching applied educational study programmes, but also for industry practitioners (PD LTH, 2024). It is a national pilot that runs from 2023-2031. This paper is part of my PD-trajectory on activating a regenerative urban tourism approach in an urban living lab setting and will take until November 2029.