The Good Bench, a bench with a purpose

First there was the well known Good Place: thousands of us have heard and felt inspired by this interview series in which Robin Cox held lengthy conversations on various public benches. He is asking people - often coming from various countries other than the Netherlands - how their (urban) life and their own ‘good place’ looks like. Watching this conversations you’ll hear about connection, human values, reasons to stay still or to move on. Life stories shared candidly outdoors, in the urban nature.

And then - in collaboration with Kristen Zupancic from Plot Twist Placemaking - a true and unique Good Place Bench was born. We saw them first in action in Rotterdam during the Placemaking Week Europe 2024 having conversations with professionals attending the placemaking conference. From conversations to collaboration and the Good Place Bench: how did all this happen?

Robin: Shortly after starting the podcast series, at one point I interviewed Kristen in Amsterdam about her journey, her work and dreams. After that, we both came up with the idea of the bench, a physical object designed to empower real connections. in 2024 we launched the ‘1.0 event bench’ and traveled along events - Placemaking Europe in Rotterdam, Street Summit, Stadmakersfestival Den Haag and 20th International Conference on Urban Health in Marrakech - holding and recording conversations. We’re now in the phase of building our ‘2.0 bench’ with a curved shape which stimulates even better the interaction and conversation. It is an object we envision to be produced around the world and we are now exploring various options, such as 3D printing. After a period of testing and receiving such positive feedback, we are now talking to various partners and producers and hope to launch the very first official Good Place Bench soon.

So how would the makers describe Good Bench’s philosophy and mission?

Robin: Imagine a place where citizens can meet, share their stories or provide a listening ear. The Good Bench is about true connections and we already experience it work so well the past years. Real conversations do lead to connection and communities. And this has become our mission, where we see the bench as a vehicle for conversations amongst citizens, knowing that ‘good citizens will lead to good cities.’ We need each other, we should build collectivity and responsibility. And the ultimate dream is to have a network of benches around the world, all facilitating these conversations with stories for others to hear and engage. The Good Place Bench ideal is also there for the local communities and we hope that its philosophy will be embraced and used by many others. Our dream is to ‘activate’ the idea and program around this bench. Through ‘programming’ the purpose of the Good Place Bench will grow.

To achieve all this, it would be wonderful if a municipality or any project developer focused on increasing social cohesion would offer us the opportunity to place the Good Place Bench on a tactical relevant location, where we can invite citizens to be involved. We would host conversations with many locals and various communities, and share these stories with everyone living or working there. By creating this type of programming for several months, will hopefully have the effect that the bench becomes a central place for conversation and connection. Something longlasting.

“ It’s my mission to help people feel inspired and connected so they can shape and find their good place.”

— Robin Cox

There must be conversations which made long lasting impressions next to the professional discussions hosted at events like Placemaking Europe in Rotterdam, Street Summit, Stadmakersfestival Den Haag or 20th International Conference on Urban Health in Marrakech, where experts and city enthusiasts proudly shared their mission to create better, greener and healthier environments. And indeed, when making time to really connect Robin tells that people will share the most touching thoughts and experiences, often involving very personal themes as mental health, sexual harrasement or fighting a desease.

Robin: One story, of Goodson Shalubala, working to increase children’s safety in the Lusaka peri-urban areas has touched me a lot. Not so much the cause itself, but more the way his life mission became a quest to positively impact the own community. Truly inspiring.

So, there is time for many good, connected and deeply human places. Which would be the thoughts for the future for our friends from the Good Place"?.

Robin: Good Place the podcast, the program or the bench: these are all tools made for and made with the people around us. We aim to offer everyone these tools in order to be able for to live life in our cities as comfortable and well as possible. And tell many people that they are also in charge of shaping their very own good place. It is time to engage more with the places we are living in. And then we can create stronger communities and a sense of belonging. The world needs more collecitivity, more human connection and positivity. Let’s facilitate that!