Post by Viviana Romero Pastrana

https://lnkd.in/eqvdcnHQ 🏡 Decentralizing the model toward Veendam In Groningen, the pressure on student housing continues to grow. But what if the solution is not building more… 👉 but rethinking where and how we live? Veendam offers something many cities no longer have: space, community, and untapped potential. 💡 A simple (and powerful) idea Develop an intergenerational housing model: 👵 Older adults with available rooms 🎓 Students in need of affordable housing 🤝 Exchange based on companionship, support, and coexistence With coordination from the Gemeente Veendam, this model can be: ✔️ Safe ✔️ Structured ✔️ Scalable 🌍 But this is more than housing It is an opportunity to build a local-global innovation ecosystem Imagine a collaboration between the UNAM and the University of Groningen where students and researchers work on: 🌽 Nixtamalization of maize Adapting a traditional Mexican process to European maize Creating added value for regional agriculture Exploring new food innovation pathways With potential links to local industry such as Royal Avebe. 🚀 The result? Veendam becomes more than a satellite town: 👉 a living lab for rural innovation 🏡 Affordable housing 🎓 International talent 🌾 Local agriculture 🏭 Industry collaboration 🧠 Final thought Maybe the future is not about concentrating everything in Groningen… but about smart decentralization toward places like Veendam. Not as an alternative — but as a strategic complement. #Housing #Innovation #RuralDevelopment #Netherlands #Students #Sustainability #IntergenerationalLiving