Changing public space

Table 5.3 Research objects in the new typology of Dutch city squares
Actors
Function
Commercial
Non-commercial
Cultural
square
Retail
square
Café
square
Civil, residential or
parking square
Public Schouwburgplein Markt Oude Markt Grote Markt
PPP
Loeffplein
Statenplein
Van Heekplein
Beurstraverse
information on the relation between public spaces. Moreover, these clusters are part of the same
spatial context and are thus subject to the same urban policy, though they may differ in the
timing of their redevelopment. Given their similar setting, any differences in their design and
management may be attributed to differences in function and the composition of actors rather
than to differences in context or policy. We have therefore selected clusters consisting of two
public spaces, each with a different function as well as a different actor composition, whereby one
square had been publicly realised, the other by PPP.
Accordingly, four city centres were selected for the case studies: Rotterdam, Dordrecht,
Enschede, and ’s-Hertogenbosch (Figure 5.5). Within these cities, clusters of two recently
redesigned squares have been examined. The Schouwburgplein and Beurstraverse are the
research objects in Rotterdam, which was one of the first cities to acknowledge the importance
of involving the private sector in the redevelopment of public space. The Grote Markt and
Statenplein were studied in Dordrecht. And in Enschede, we investigated the Oude Markt and
H.J. van Heekplein (the latter, the site of a demolished textile mill, is named after the textile
industrialist Hendrik Jan van Heek (1814-1872) and is here abbreviated to Van Heekplein). In
’s-Hertogenbosch the focus is on the Markt (including Pensmarkt) and Burgemeester (Dutch for
mayor) Loeffplein (here shortened to Loeffplein).
When these research objects are fitted into our typology of Dutch squares, each cluster
consists of one square redeveloped by the local government alone (public) and one redeveloped
jointly by the local government and the private sector (PPP), and thus differ in actor composition.
However, regarding function only the publicly redeveloped squares show differences. All of the
PPP research objects are retail squares (Table 5.3). This is not surprising, in light of Table 5.2,
which showed that the involvement of the private sector is almost entirely restricted to retail
squares. Apparently, investments in retail squares yield higher profits than investments in cultural,
café, or non-commercial squares. This preliminary finding is elaborated in Section 8.2.2.
5.3 Research methods
The main research methods used in case study research are in-depth interviews, focus group
meetings, observation, and analysis of secondary data (Braster, 2000). All four methods have
been applied in the empirical part of the thesis and are outlined below.
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