Evert Verhagen (1955) is founder and owner of Creative Cities and founder and owner of REUSE BV. He is a partner in Maatschappij Noordzeekanaal.
Education
He holds a degree in Hydrology, has been working in different capacities for the community of Amsterdam and has been an advisor on many projects throughout the world.
Evert Verhagen is working today as the project manager for Noorderpark in Amsterdam.
In 2007 he founded REUSE BV a company that is focused on reusing industrial buildings and sites..
He currently works as an advisor for the Province of Overijssel on the Culture and Economy program of the Twente region.
In 2009 he developed a new way to introduce the Dutch public into the harbour of Amsterdam: the Harboursafari.
Representing the City of Amsterdam Evert Verhagen is the advisor for the redevelopment of the abattoir project in Casablanca Morocco since 2007.
He organised a two year Community of Practice on the reuse of heritage for the Governmental Building Organisation (Rijksgebouwendienst) (2008 - 2009).
He was responsible for the regeneration strategy for the Tolhuis gardens project in Amsterdam North in 2007.
Other clients were the Port of Rotterdam, de Stad BV, Nirov, KCAP Rotterdam en BDP Birmingham.
Between 2004 and 2006 he was the interim director of Hofbogen BV in Rotterdam. This derelict railway line was bought by four housing companies. They want it to be a katalyst for regeneration in the problematic area of Rotterdam North.
Evert Verhagen was the organisor of a 2003 conference Creativity and the City. He introduced Richard Florida to the Dutch public.
His book, that he edited together with Simon Franke was called: ‘Creativity and the City’.
Culture park Westergasfabriek:
Before the District Council of Westerpark requested him to head the Westergasfabriek project he started as the public works director for the Westerpark district in 1990. Until 2004 he has been responsible for the development of the Westergasfabriek. He headed the team that was responsible for the regeneration of the buildings, for building the park and for initiating the cultural program. The Culture park Westergasfabriek was opened September 2003. On this occasion Olaf Koekebakker wrote “Culture park Westergasfabriek”, a book that offers lots of insights on the processes that made the project possible. In 1996 he published the Development plan for Westergasfabriek. Together with Suzanne Piët he wrote a book about the park competition for the Westergasfabriek park: ‘A park for the 21st century’. He was in 2004 the winner of the Golden Piramid, the Dutch government award for excellent project management. The Culture park Westergasfabriek was nominated in 2007 for the International Urban Landscape Award (IULA). The project won the Landscape Institute Award (UK) in 2007 and the Europa Nostra Award in 2010.
Amsterdam Southeast
He edited and was co-writer of the book on urban renewal ‘Blijven Bouwen - stadsvernieuwing in de jaren negentig’ for a national conference on urban renewal in 1987. He headed the Projectbureau Hoogbouw Bijlmermeer (dealing with the problems of the mayor high-rise apartment buildings complex of Amsterdam) between 1986 en 1988. He wrote a book on the development of the Bijlmermeer high-rise development project: ‘Van Bijlmermeer tot Amsterdam Zuidoost’ in 1987