opzoomeren

• Opzoomeren, opzomeren

From Opzoomer(straat) +‎ -en, the name of the street in Rotterdam where the concept originated. The word is commonly interpreted as consisting of zomer +‎ op- -en, “to summer up” (whence the separable conjugation and alternative spelling opzomeren), even though the street name (named after the 19th-century philosopher Cornelis Willem Opzoomer) in fact derives from the surname Opzoomer, which is ultimately traced back to the etymologically different toponym Bergen op Zoom.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔpˌzoː.mə.rə(n)/
• Hyphenation: op‧zoo‧me‧ren

opzoomeren

1. (chiefly Rotterdam) to increase the quality of life and social cohesion in a residential street, especially in poorer areas, through communally organized initiatives such as social events and beautification projects [from c. 1990]
   • 2004, Karin van Doorn, Empowerment: over laten en doen, p. 37:

     De auteurs van het onderzoek schetsen opzoomeren als een 'stille kracht'. Er gaan geen miljarden in om zoals bij de herstructurering van wijken, maar als ontmoetingsbeleid is opzoomeren minstens zo effectief, zo niet effectiever.

     The authors of the research describe opzoomeren as a 'silent force'. It does not involve billions [of euros] as is the case in the restructuring of neighborhoods, but as a social policy opzoomeren is at least as effective, if not more so.

Rarely conjugated as a nonseparable verb (past participle geopzoomerd), reflecting the word's etymology.