Kern – network for centre areas and placemaking

Kern, established in 1986 as NRW Dutch Council Shopping Centres, is the knowledge and network organisation for all stakeholders involved in operating and revitalizing centre areas. These can be city and town centres, as well as neighbourhood proximity centres, multi-functional transport hubs, and edge of town locations.

The association has been rebranded from NRW into Kern in 2021 to emphasize the changing role of centres in cities, towns and neighbourhoods, and to broaden the interest of the association into F&B, culture, integrated also with living and working.

Centre areas are about a balanced variety of functions like living, working, socializing, and consuming that area attractive to visit and spend time in.

Kern has about 350 members representing nearly 200 organisations. Members are active in real estate such as investors, developers, and managers, as well as in retail and other sectors using space in centre areas, as well those involved in centre areas an working for public organisations as municipalities.

Activities organised by Kern include the Kern annual conference held in spring which includes the presentation of the Kern project award as well. Kern organises study visits to locations and projects that are reference for vital centre areas. These can be new projects, transformations, and good examples of area revitalisation and area branding. Study visits take place approximately four times per year. Furthermore, Kern organises knowledge expert sessions about relevant themes and trends for those involved in centre areas. These sessions are mostly organised as hybrid meetings, allowing those present physically to meet peers and to network, and enabling those who can not make it to be involved in the knowledge session. And Kern offers an international study tour at least once a year. Recent tours were organised to Helsinki and Vienna & Bratislava. The next destination in September 2023 will be Warsaw.

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