ABSTRACT
Good placemaking takes time, perseverance and money. Gathering programme resources requires a good story, a high level of ambition, and a once-in-a-lifetime goal. This chapter looks at the question of investment and the “attention cycle” for programmes. The 500th anniversary of the death of Hieronymus Bosch was a golden opportunity for the city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, which needed an intelligent marketing strategy, a brand, and a new vision of the future for an old city. Building the coalitions to support the vision took ten years – a marathon rather than a sprint. Keeping the momentum going was a major challenge, particularly given the short attention span and impatience of politicians, residents, and the media.
