Changing public space

of Enschede, and can thus be regarded as a medieval square. The Oude Markt has a circular
shape, with a large church (Grote Kerk) in the middle. Since the beginning of the 1980s, the
square has gradually become the main cluster of cafés and restaurants in the city, visualised by the
dominance of many sidewalk cafés. It can therefore be regarded as an archetypical café square.
However, there are also a number of cultural facilities in its immediate surroundings including
a theatre, cinema, and concert hall. Moreover, the square is regularly used for outdoor activities
such as a second hand CD market, sport events, and concerts.
The Oude Markt was redesigned in 2004 within the framework of the Stadserf redevelopment,
which included most of the historic city centre. The main goal was to assure that the
redevelopment of the Van Heekplein would not negatively influence other historical parts of
the city centre. Therefore, the municipality argued that the Stadserf also needed to be upgraded.
This idea was strongly supported by the association of local entrepreneurs (FCE), who feared
increased competition of the shops, cafés, and restaurants that would settle on the new Van
Heekplein.
After the redevelopment plans were outlined in the 1996 handbook, the local government
appointed a project manager specifically responsible for the upgrading of the Stadserf. His team
focused on actively involving local inhabitants and entrepreneurs in the decision-making process
through walking tours and large information sessions in 1997 and 1998. The discussions mainly
focused on the design of the Stadserf. The local government selected landscape architecture
agency Sant & Co to design the new Stadserf in 1999. OKRA, which was responsible for the
new design of the Stationsplein and Van Heekplein, was not involved because it was already busy
designing the Van Heekplein. Moreover, the local government favoured the idea that each public
space would be allowed to have its own identity. Enschede therefore explicitly chose different
designers of public space in the city centre, in contrast to Dordrecht where the main argument
had been to create a sense of unity by using one single landscape architect (Section 6.3.1).
Sant & Co made a preliminary plan and presented it in April 2000 (Sant & Co, 2000). The
plan suggested the use of red brick throughout the Stadserf, because this would best match the
atmosphere and built environment of Enschede. To indicate the difference between pedestrian
streets and traffic streets, the traffic streets would be equipped with so-called ‘cart tracks’ in the
pavement. These cart tracks would also emphasise the egg-shape form of the city centre. The
Oude Markt would be paved with brown brick to match with the yellow-brown colours of
the church. The sidewalk cafés would be bounded by a strip along the cafés to visually separate
them from the rest of the square and their unity improved with regard to furniture, awnings,
wind shields, and so on (Figure 6.12). Sant & Co also proposed the removal of lime trees at the
Oude Markt. During the last redevelopment in 1981, a row of lime trees was planted between
the sidewalk cafés and the church to reroute motorised traffic. Later, when the city became
increasingly traffic free, the trees became of no avail. Sant & Co’s plan was to remove and
replant them elsewhere in the city centre, in order to enhance the unity of the Oude Markt and
to restore the view on the church. Local inhabitants strongly opposed the plan, because they
regarded the lime trees as characteristic elements of the square.
The redevelopment of the Oude Markt was delayed by the simultaneous redevelopment
of the Van Heekplein. The market, held twice a week on the Van Heekplein, needed to be
temporarily relocated in order to build the underground parking garage and to repave the
square. The local government had assigned the future Music Quarter as temporary location of
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