True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.
A Restorative City is rooted in human rights and guided by UN declarations, principles and EU directives. At its core, it minimizes unnecessary government intervention and favors democratic and equitable (horizontal) relationships over hierarchical (vertical) ones, creating a foundation on which equality and trust can flourish. Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a Restorative City aims to achieve socially just urban and rural development by 2030, incorporating all voices, including those of future generations, into policy-making. The city is seen as an interconnected ecosystem, promoting cohesion and equity across all sectors. Urban design in a Restorative City addresses existing inequalities by ensuring equitable access to public spaces and essential services in all neighborhoods. It embraces a “circular justice” approach and sees justice as a shared social value, emphasizing moral development and restoration rather than punishment.
This reader examines the concept of Restorative Cities, focusing on their core principles and the role of detention houses within this framework. Specifically, it aims to i) define a Restorative City by outlining its core principles, ii) map and compare different Restorative Cities, iii) identify detention houses associated with Restorative Cities, and iv) explore the function of detention houses within a Restorative City context.
When you see a gruesome picture over and over again, it really doesn’t have any effect.
Stichting Restorative Justice Nederland participated in Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, collaborating with Doorpakkers, a Dutch forensic care organization, to present the exhibition “Detention Houses in Restorative Cities.” This exhibition was based on the insights and research gathered over the past few months as part of the INSPIRE project. Partly inspired by Andy Warhol’s “Death and Disaster” series, the exhibition highlighted urban and social inequalities within the framework of a Restorative City. The exhibition examined the connection between (in)justice and detention houses through photographs and presents inspiring examples of small-scale detention facilities from across Europe. In addition to the exhibition, we organized five Restorative City Walks throughout Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week. These walks explored the city as a Restorative City highlighting the connection between (in)justice in the city and detention houses.
In this episode of Let’s Talk RESCALED, host Noa Shoshan is joined by two guests from the Netherlands: Gert Jan Slump, a criminologist and co-founder of the Restorative Justice Netherlands Foundation, and Tanja Jadnanansing, Chair of the Executive Board for the Amsterdam Zuidoost district council.
Together, they discuss Amsterdam Zuidoost’s evolution into a restorative district and the potential for implementing detention houses as alternatives to large-scale prison institutions. The conversation explores themes of community, justice, and urban transformation, with a focus on the principles of Restorative Cities. The audience leans more about the Erasmus+ funded INSPIRE project, the challenges and opportunities of detention houses, and how communities like Zuidoost can lead the way in justice reform.
In this episode, Let’s Talk RESCALED invites Gabriela Slováková, Director of the Criminal Policy Department at the Ministry of Justice in the Czech Republic and CEO of the CZ Yellow Ribbon Project. Gabriela shares her insights on the Yellow Ribbon initiative, its role in raising awareness about reintegration, involving communities and its impact of fostering a culture of second chances. The discussion also focusses on the importance of adopting a broader ecosystem perspective, a topic central to the Erasmus+ funded INSPIRE project.
As early as 2012, the United Nations named Utrecht the first ‘human rights city‘ in the Netherlands. Utrecht received this title because the city had been working for years to translate international agreements on, among other things, poverty and privacy into local policy. For example, Utrecht was the first Dutch municipality where descendants of enslaved people could change their surname, it was the first city with an environmental zone for passenger cars and its local policy led the way in complying with national agreements for allocating social housing to residence permit holders.
Through the INSPIRE project, Restorative Justice Nederland aims to refine the concept of a restorative city by identifying key principles, such as dialogue, community involvement, democracy and horizontal relationships, and urban design. In addition, the role of small-scale detention within a restorative city is explored. After a first article about Utrecht, Gert Jan Slump and Laura Verstraete now bring us the casestudy of Amsterdam Zuidoost in this blog.
April 11th 2024 marked fifty years since the release of the film Papillon, based on the thrilling book by Henri Charrière from 1969 about the penal colony Devil’s Island in French Guiana, upon which Charrière was once imprisoned. Fifty years after the release of the film, I visited another prison island, Bastøy in Norway, where I was guided around by its former director, Tom Eberhardt.
One day, societies are inclusive, safe and sustainable. – RESCALED
On October 21st we departed from Prague Airport to find inspiration regarding steps toward this kind of society – ones that we could make happen in the Czech Republic. We planned and executed the trip in a single month, because when the opportunity to visit Restorative Cities came within the INSPIRE Project, it was one we could not refuse. Our group of three – Katka as coordinator of Kotlaska Community Centre and Garden, Silvie as a lawyer and Lucie as counsellor – could not be more excited.
Is it possible to turn an old prison system, heavily based on static security, into a modern system of detention houses, where we include the voice of those living there? In Norway, people in detention don’t lose their civil rights apart from their liberty. We have the same rights as any other citizen. However, do we have the same democratic right to be involved in decisions that affect our lives?
Since Bastøy Prison is often highlighted as a model for alternative detention, we wanted to see it with our own eyes. In February 2024, Restorative Justice Netherlands visited Bastøy Prison in Norway to explore its approach.
Bastøy stands out as a striking contrast to the gray, institutional prisons that have defined the past two centuries. Built on the philosophy of human ecology, it emphasizes reconnecting individuals with nature. During our visit, former director Tom Eberhardt shared the vision behind Bastøy. He inspired us to re-imagine what prisons can be and showed that transformative change is not just an idea, but a lived reality.
RESCALED and Stichting Restorative Justice Nederland visited two groundbreaking health intervention programs from Médicos do Mundo in Lisbon, Portugal.
The PCVM is a Risk Reduction and Harm Minimization program. The mobile unit provides a safe space for individuals to consume psychoactive substances under the supervision of professionals trained to educate for safer consumption and act in case of overdose or other emergency situations.
Saúde a Girar, Médicos do Mundo’s Outreach Team, delivers health intervention to people living on the streets, moving between all neighborhoods of Lisbon with their mobile unit. They provide basic healthcare, health education, promotion of sexual and reproductive health and facilitate referral to other social services.
In October 2024, our colleagues Katka, Silvie, and Lucie from Rubikon traveled to the Netherlands, where they had the opportunity to visit the cities of Eindhoven and Utrecht, both committed to the Restorative City concept. During their visit, they participated in Dutch Design Week and attended an exhibition on detention houses in restorative cities, organized by the Dutch INSPIRE partner.
They also explored several inspiring organizations applying restorative justice and RESCALED principles, including Doorpakkers (Intermezzo), Perspectief Herstelbemiddeling, Slachtofferhulp Nederland, and Lister.
In June 2024, all partners in the INSPIRE project – RESCALED, RJN, RESHAPE and WayBack – traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Run. Organized by Rubikon Centre (Czech partner in the INSPIRE project), the Czech Probation Service, the Prison Service, and RunCzech, this event raises awareness about the challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals in finding employment and reintegrating into society.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.