Presented as an animated documentary on a multi-screen surround projection, Freeland explores the prospects of complete liberation of urban planning. It questions whether classical centralized planning is still needed in times of increased individualization and if instead a self-organized city can be imagined. What can be organized individually and when will we need our neighbours? What are the “minimal common grounds” of our developments? Freeland is rooted in two projects: it combines the practical side of the development strategy designed by MVRDV for Almere Oosterwold with the research on bottom up urbanism addressed by the AnarCity studio led by The Why Factory at TU Delft and the Berlage Institute.
MVRDV’s Almere Oosterwold is a revolutionary model in urban planning as it steps away from governmental dictate and invites organic urban growth, stimulating initiatives by which inhabitants can create their own neighbourhoods including public green, energy supply, water management, waste management, urban agriculture and infrastructure.
The Why Factory’s AnarCity unveils utopian scenarios that fantasize on radical liberated urbanization in different situations and contexts such as the fall of government, climate crises or voluntary anarchism. The movie takes the viewer on a time-travel back to the utopian Freeland. Successes, failures and surprises play out in a series of intriguing narratives
‘Freeland’ is a collaborative project by MVRDV and The Why Factory and was made possible by the financial support of the City of Almere.