Changing public space

as an entrepreneurial city. The question is whether this also applies to Dordrecht, Enschede, and
’s-Hertogenbosch. This is investigated by consulting the main policy documents of the casestudy
cities as well using information derived from the interviews with the key actors involved in
the redevelopment projects (see Section 5.3.1 and Appendix A). Abbreviations and explanations
regarding the organisations mentioned in the text can be found in the glossary at the end of the
thesis.
6.2 Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands with 588,697 inhabitants (on 01-01-2006,
Marlet & Van Woerkens, 2007). At the outbreak of the Second World War, a bombardment
and the ensuring fires destroyed the historic core of the city centre. After the war, the city was
reconstructed, and Rotterdam was given a modern core unlike that of any other old city in the
country. For two decades, the main urban task was the reconstruction of the city centre (Aarts,
1995; Berggren, 1997). The main policy document was the so-called Basisplan (Basisplan voor de
Wederopbouw van Rotterdam), set up by urban planner Cornelis van Traa in 1946. The plan long
served as the main policy document directing the urban development of the city. However, new
plans have appeared in recent decades such as the 1985 Binnenstadsplan, which triggered the
redevelopment of a number of public spaces in the city centre. Table 6.1 outlines the different
policies related to public space that have been formulated since the Second World War and the
resulting changes.
6.2.1 Policy and structure in Rotterdam
The 1946 Basisplan was mostly focused on rebuilding the centre of Rotterdam and strengthening
the port function of the city. In line with the prevalent modernist thoughts of the CIAM
(Section 2.5), the planners aimed to create a functional city by directing housing to the city’s edge
and work-related functions to the city centre. This concentration and separation of functions
was possible because the local government had expropriated all the damaged parts of the city
centre after the bombardment (Berggren, 1997). The reconstruction of the centre and port area
was so successful that employment rates increased swiftly, attracting many workers to the city.
To combat the subsequent housing shortage, the city improved its infrastructure and constructed
new neighbourhoods at the city’s edge in the 1950s and 1960s. Housing in the city centre was
still scarce, though some was built (such as the mixed retail and housing complex Lijnbaan built
in the 1950s, see below). The attention for public space was limited in the period immediately
after the war, because the built environment first had to be reconstructed before the spaces
in-between could be improved (Goossens et al., 1995). Again, there were some exceptions such as
the development of the Schouwburgplein and the train station square (Stationsplein) in front of
the Central Station.
Table 6.1 shows that the 1946 Basisplan has long been the main policy document underlying
urban (re)development projects in the city. This does not imply that the plan did not evolve; the
Basisplan was rather a chameleon in which new insights were inserted (Aarts, 1995). At the end
of the 1970s, the port flourished as never before but the advancement of technology had led to
less rather than more employment. A more mixed economy was required with culture, retail, and
housing as important functions of the city centre. The government realised it needed a new policy
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