In 2016, the Government of Suriname, financed by a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), launched the Paramaribo Urban Rehabilitation Program (PURP), which contributes to the socio-economic revitalisation of Paramaribo’s historic inner city. It aims to attract new residents and commercial activities to the centre of Paramaribo, to restore value to its cultural heritage, to reduce traffic congestion and to strengthen the institutional framework for managing its sustainable development. The program also aims for a climate-smart approach to infrastructural interventions.

Between 3 and 8 November 2019, TU Delft students travelled to Paramaribo and, together with local stakeholders, focused on the analysis of local conditions and possible strategies that can support a sustainable revitalisation of the Heerenstraat, a street with enormous potential to become one of the Historic Inner City’s most iconic destinations due to its inherent beauty and the public activities that the community is continuously organising.

By focusing on the interaction of various layers on an intervention at a smaller, the workshop aimed at understanding and visualising a concrete roadmap towards a more lively, active and safe space in this specific case study within the Historic Inner City.