Changing public space

1. How have the design and management of Dutch city squares evolved through history?
An understanding of the current and future state of Dutch city squares requires knowledge
about their genesis and development through history. To provide a theoretical basis on which
to answer the first research question, the literature on the evolution of city squares is reviewed
in Chapter 2. It also discusses different typologies of city squares that have appeared in academic
literature. The typologies are used in Chapter 5 to support the methodological selection of the
cases. Subsequently, the empirical material on the historical development of each of the selected
redeveloped public spaces is discussed in Chapter 6. Two important elements of the first research
question are design and management. They are foregrounded because they “are critical phases in
the endless process of creating the human environment and keeping it fit for its intended use
…” (Carr et al., 1992: 247). Design refers to the process of articulating the physical appearance of
public space, such as pavement, lighting, fences, and street furniture. It comes into play when the
allocated resources are sufficient to make a substantial change in an existing place. Management
refers to the process of redeveloping public space (i.e., finance, planning), controlling its use, and
maintaining and adjusting its form to satisfy changing needs (Carr et al., 1992).
2a. What are the current trends in the design and management of Dutch public space?
2b. Which socio-cultural, economic, and political dynamics have induced these trends?
To understand the present and future uses of Dutch city squares, a historical review must be
supplemented with an overview of current trends in the design and management of public
space. The first descriptive part of the research question (2a) serves this purpose by unfolding
recent changes in the design and management of public space and how these trends relate to
one another. Section 3.2 and 3.3 provide a theoretical overview of the academic literature on the
matter. After the main trends have been operationalised in Section 5.4, Chapter 7 discusses to
what extent they can be observed in the cases. The research question calls for description but
also entails the need for an explanation of the context of today’s public space: what are the main
dynamics in society and how do they influence the design and management of public space (2b)?
The explanatory framework is addressed theoretically in Section 3.4, while the socio-cultural,
economic, and political dynamics relevant to the cases are presented in Chapter 6 and 7.
3. What are the effects of private-sector involvement in the
redevelopment of urban public space in the Netherlands?
As this research aims to elucidate the process of urban redevelopment, it is appropriate to focus
on the supply side (i.e., the actors involved in redevelopment) rather than the demand side (i.e.,
the users of public space). Researching the supply side has become more complex, since the
number of actors involved in the redevelopment of public space in the Netherlands has risen
in the last decades. In addition to the local government – which is generally seen as the main
responsible actor (Oc & Tiesdell, 1999; Webster, 2007) – the private sector increasingly plays
a role in the redevelopment of urban public space. A growing proportion of public space and
the adjacent buildings is the property of corporate investors (Konijnenbelt, 1999; Nio, 2002;
AIR, 2007). Because of the variation in who gets involved, Atkinson (2003) argues that an
agency model is crucial to a comprehensive review of public space. Agency models, alternatively
called actor, behavioural or decision-making approaches, emphasise the roles, behaviour, and
decisions of different actors, and the impact they have on development (Guy & Henneberry,
2002). Chapter 4 theorises on the roles and objectives of different actors in the redevelopment of
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