Build4People

Build4People is thrilled to announce the publication of the video clip documentation of the Build4People Science Workshop “B4P Transformation Toolbox” which took place at the Cambodia-Korea Cooperation Centre (CKCC) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) on 27 May 2025.

This vibrant gathering of Cambodian and international experts was jointly organised and hosted by the Build4People Work Packages “Behaviour Change”, “Sustainable Neighbourhoods” and “Sustainable Urban Transformation”.

The workshop aimed to introduce and discuss the B4P Transformation Toolbox (TTB) with local stakeholders. This tangible product is the result of the collaborative efforts of the Build4People team and compromises which several interconnected components, including guidelines, manuals, applications, and capacity-building materials designed to foster sustainable neighbourhood development in urban Cambodia.

Special focus was placed on the TTB guideline “Governance and Participation”. In this context, the participants were introduced to the method of post-occupancy-evaluation (POE), a process which allows to assess the performance and effectiveness of a built environment, such as a building.

To gain a deeper understanding of the method, participants had the opportunity to experience an exemplary POE exercise with a spatial focus on the RUPP campus during the workshop.

#Build4People #BMFTR_SUREregions #UrbanTransformation #SustainableCities #Cambodia #RUPP #ScienceWorkshop #InterdisciplinaryResearch #GreenUrbanDevelopment #publicparticipation #transformationtoolbox #governance #sustainableurbantransformation

Build4People is thrilled to announce the release of the 10th and concluding video of its online exhibition Cambodia’s Green Pioneers. The current video clip is a compilation of the previously introduced nine pioneers, summarising key statements and providing condensed visual impressions from the various clips.

Through the Build4People Online Exhibition „Cambodia’s Green Pioneers“, the Build4People project employed the power of video storytelling for the first time as part of a social marketing campaign. 

The key aim of this campaign was to showcase positive role models of environmentally friendly behaviour and sustainable entrepreneurship in Cambodia, a country which has achieved considerable economic progress in recent time. However, this also went along with increasing environmental degradation impacting the quality of life for many residents.

During the selection process, we placed great importance on presenting a diverse mix of gender, age and various approaches to sustainability.

The Build4People project would like to take the opportunity to express its deep gratitude to the team at Impact Hub Phnom Penh who provided outstanding support in identifying green pioneers, filming the videos, and producing the clips.

#Build4People #BMFTR_SUREregions #sustainablelifestyle #behaviourchange #greenpioneers #changeagents #sustainableurbantransfromation

Build4People is pleased to announce the publication of the Planning and Design Guideline Governance & Participation, a key element of the B4P Transformation Toolbox, the central outcome of Build4People’s ongoing Research and Development Phase (2021–2025).

This newly released guideline is the result of several years of intensive transdisciplinary collaboration within the Build4People project. It synthesizes conceptual and methodological insights from participation research, practical experiences gathered through the implementation of participatory formats in close cooperation with local research partners, and the expertise of future Build4People partners in the field of digital participation tools.

The documented practical experiences reflect important lessons learned from adapting and further developing widely established participatory approaches to the specific socio-cultural context of Phnom Penh. The guideline showcases a range of best-practice examples:

• User-centered approaches aimed at making public spaces more inclusive
• Social marketing strategies that actively engage diverse “green pioneers” in Phnom Penh, provide visibility to them as role models, and thereby foster sustainable lifestyles.
• Low-threshold participation formats such as pop-up kiosks and the Build4People Citizen Science App, which help systematically capture and visualize citizens’ needs and perspectives.
• Larger-scale participatory instruments like Urban Living Labs (e.g., the Build4People Ecocity Transition Lab) and the Build4People Sustainable Building Arena, which enable co-creation processes across stakeholder groups.

The guideline is intended to serve as both a theoretical and practical resource for researchers, urban practitioners, and decision-makers aiming to promote inclusive and participatory urban transformation processes in Phnom Penh and beyond.

Participation is always an open, evolving process. In this sense, the guideline should also be understood as a living document, one that will continue to grow through future experiences and contextual adaptations in Phnom Penh, allowing it to remain relevant and impactful over time.

Download link:

Our particular thanks go to all of the authors and reviewers who made this publication possible.

Authors:

• Anke Blöbaum, Department of Environmental Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
• Michael Waibel, Department of Integrative Geography, University of Hamburg
• Anja Jannack, Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture at TU Dresden
• Sovanarith Sieng, UN-Habitat Bangkok Programme Office, formerly SMMR project
• Andreas Deuß, Department of Environmental Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
• Christina Karagianni, Department of Sustainable Building Technology, Technical University of Applied Sciences Lübeck
• Yannick Müller, CityLAB Berlin, Germany

Reviewers

• Rolf Messerschmidt, Eble Messerschmidt Partner, Tübingen, Germany
• Sokunlanita May, Chair of die Association Women in Architecture and Engineering in Cambodia (W.A.E.)

Finally, our acknowledgement goes to the staff of Eble Messerschmidt Partner who developed the overall concept and graphic design of this guideline with logistic support from Build4People’s consortium lead at the Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) of University of Hamburg.

This video clip is a documentation of a public lecture held by the interdisciplinary research project Build4People at the Raintree Phnom Penh on 28 May 2025. It was prepared by the Build4People team in cooperation with the Cambodian Institute for Urban Studies (CIUS) and the association Women in Architecture and Engineering of Cambodia (WAE) and was mainly attended by architecture and urban planning students from Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (PUC), Norton University (NU) and from Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA).

The main objective of the lecture was to give an overview on the topic of gender-sensitive and inclusive urban planning from different disciplinary perspectives and to exercise the method of Post-Occupancy-Evaluation (POE) which puts the user of the urban built environment into focus.

The lecture event started with a brief introduction about the Build4People project and an inter-active session to generally raise awareness on the issue of gender in the field of architecture and urban planning provided by the Build4People representative Dr Michael Waibel, Hamburg University.

Following this, Ms. Lena Loeffeler, scientific assistant at the University of Hamburg, presented the scientific rationale as well as good-practice examples of gender-sensitive and inclusive planning, including a short visual planning practice with the students.

Then, Ms. Selina Thomas from the architecture and urban design practice Eble Messerschmidt Partner (EMP) with abundant experience in implementing people-centered planning projects, provided insights from a planning perspective and showcased good-practice examples from Germany and Austria.

After this, Dr. Anke Blöbaum, Magdeburg University, grasped the topic from the perspective of environmental psychology and introduced about the empirical method of Post-Occupancy-Evaluation (POE) in detail which specifically serves to evaluate specific spatial needs amongst the urban population.

The practical POE exercise was guided by Sokunlanity May, co-founder of the non-governmental association Women in Architecture and Engineering of Cambodia (WAE). She introduced about the two sites of field research, one around the Phnom Penh Central Station and the other one around the Central Market, as well as about the guiding research questions.

Then, the lecture audience split up into several working groups, guided by different Build4People team members and did brief field research. After the return of the groups, there was some time for them to evaluate and to summarize their findings before each group received the opportunity to present the key results.

Build4People would like to thank everyone involved in the lecture, in particular our cooperation partners and the engaged participating students.

#Build4People #BMFTR_SUREregions #empowerment #inclusiveurbantransformation #behaviourchange #gendersensitiveurbanplanning #genderresponsiveurbanplanning #citiesforpeople #peoplecentredurbandevelopment