NovaTerra - Connected Cities

ovaTerra
nova terra special on the eu supported project ‘connected cities’ / december 2005
3 connected cities
4 reinventing the new town mindset
8 transport development areas
12 connecting the greater south east
17 going underground: light, air and space!
20 swingnet
25 emerging network for the randstad metropolis
30 bus rapid transit
Special Edition

Nova Terra Special on the EU
supported project ‘Connected
Cities’, December 2005.
http://connectedcities.net
Publisher
Nirov, The Hague, The
Netherlands (www.nirov.nl)
Editorial Board
Jan Hein Boersma
Evelien Brandes
Yttje Feddes
Huib Haccou
Frank van der Hoeven (issue
editor)
Derek Middleton (English
editing)
Michiel Smit (editor in chief)
Josja van der Veer
Graphic design
Studio Bau Winkel, Martijn
van Overbruggen
Print
Grafisch Bedrijf Tuijtel,
Hardinxveld-Giessendam
Correspondence
Nirov, Michiel Smit,
Postbox 30833, 2500 GV
The Hague, The Netherlands,
smit@nirov.nl
Office support:
Helen Kokshoorn,
kokshoorn@nirov.nl
ISSN
1570-0402
Project part-financed
by the European Union
Content
17
Editorial
3 connected cities
Frank van der Hoeven
4 reinventing the new
town mindset
Pascaline Gaborit
8 transport development areas
Peter Hine, Jeremy Edge, Kathy Gal and Michael Chambers
Sustainable development and growing mobility in
the South East of England
12 connecting the greater
south east
Arno Schmickler
Cover illustration: Netherlands Centre for the Underground Construction, Gouda
4
22
8
27
17 going underground:
light, air and space!
Inge van Berkel
22 swingnet
Frank van der Hoeven
27 emerging network for the
randstad metropolis
Daan Zandbelt
40 bus rapid transit
Stefan van der Spek and Jacques Splint
12
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NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 3
Connected Cities
Frank van der Hoeven, Delft University of Technology, Lead Partner Connected Cities
Nova Terra is a not-for-profit magazine. It publishes
mainly in Dutch and is distributed to two networks in the
Netherlands: Habiforum and the Netherlands Institute
for Housing and Planning (Nirov). Both work to raise and
maintain the quality of spatial plans, urban design and
development projects. This English language supplement
to Nova Terra is dedicated to the activities of the
Connected Cities project, an EU-sponsored Interreg IIIC
network for sustainable mobility and spatial
development, and dedicated to improving accessibility
and quality of life in urban and rural areas.
Connected Cities will ‘travel’ through Europe; every six
months the focus and the location of activities will
shift to another region. Starting off in the Belgium/
Netherlands region, it will proceed to Bulgaria/Greece,
Portugal/Spain and Italy/Greece, before concluding in
the England/France region. The central issues during the
first six months are changing urban relations, highquality
public transport and Transport Development
Areas. This supplement reflects that focus. New Towns,
once a promising solution to deal with metropolitan
growth in Europe, now seem to be struggling with the
development of multi-centred urban areas. Originally
built to serve a one-to-one relation with their mother
city, the New Towns are being forced to reinvent their
role, identity and transport provision.
Fifty years have gone by since the first New Towns
emerged. Metropolitan development in South East
England is now guided by the Sustainable Communities
programme, which revolves around four growth areas
adjacent to London. It will be interesting to see during
the course of Connected Cities how this new thinking
engages older practices. Prominently located in the
growth areas outlined by the Sustainable Communities
programme are two New Towns: Basildon in the Thames
Gateway and Milton Keynes in Milton Keynes-South
Midlands. The idea of Transport Development Areas
(TDAs) may play a key role in these new or reinvented
ideas. TDAs are about concentrating urban growth in
areas well-served by public transport, an approach that
can readily be incorporated into the spatial or urban
planning of many cities and regions in Europe. But it is
the first time that such a practice has been explicitly
labelled and presented as a coherent set of actions.
This may help to focus attention on existing policies
and plans that support the idea, as well as implant the
concept where no such ‘tradition’ exists.
The Dutch province of Zuid-Holland is struggling to
become metropolitan and seems to be developing its
own version of TDAs: Stedenbaan. This conversion of
older transport systems into new ones goes hand in hand
with a shift in spatial policies. But as the transit systems
in Zuid-Holland goes through a period of rapid change,
who is actually keeping an eye on the network as a
whole? The fact that technical distinctions between light
rail, metro, rapid transit, commuter train and regiotram
have all but disappeared has not been reflected in
practice. For underground construction it matters little
what direction the development of such a network takes,
and in dense urban areas it is clear that vast stretches
will have be built underground. After decades of
experience in the use of underground facilities, we have
come to understand that underground facilities need
different design and management strategies to deliver
their full potential.
With so much attention for rail-based transport one
could easily overlook Bus Raid Transit. Cities that do not
yet have a high-quality public transport system might
want to look into the improved bus systems currently
offer, which can meet high standards at a much lower
price. The case of Phileas in Eindhoven shows that the
planning of such a transport system can be integrated
into the urban planning process. Which brings us back
to the core of Connected Cities – the cutting edge of
sustainable mobility and spatial planning.
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NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 4
William Morris (1868)
The idea of the New Town
was based upon the Garden
Cities concept by Ebenezer
Howard in 1902.

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 5
Reinventing
the New Town mindset
The New Towns were built in response to demographic growth, urban sprawl and uncontrolled
metropolitan expansion. But they have only partly lived up to their promise and now experience
similar problems to the suburbs: poor public transport, dependency on the private car and low
urban densities. The New Town concept needs to be reinvented to promote sustainable transport
and development.
Pascaline Gaborit, The European New Towns Platform (ENTP), Brussels
The idea of the New Town arose at the turn
of the 20th century with the publication in
1902 of Ebenezer Howard’s Garden Cities
of Tomorrow. After the Second World War,
the UK Ministry of Town and Country
Planning launched an extensive New Towns
programme under the New Towns Act 1946.
Since then 21 New Towns have been
established in the UK and more than 40 in
the whole of Europe. With hindsight, building
New Towns from scratch cannot be considered
a very environmentally friendly form of
development. Although the New Towns did
retain some green areas, they did not preserve
the original landscape or its biodiversity.
The New Towns were created alongside
existing towns or around several villages.
They attracted ‘neo-urban’ residents, who
use different centres for shopping (malls
or out-of-town centres), employment
(‘technopoles’) and entertainment (cinemas,
green parks, leisure centres and sports
stadiums). These urban mutations are so
deep and radical that they pervade all
aspects of society, from mobility to the
design of buildings. They affect lifestyles,
families, consumers, employees and workers
in the New Towns and in the periphery.
For most New Towns the era of rapid growth
is over and they now face similar problems:
poor transport facilities apart from the links
to the mother cities, poorly designed
housing, simultaneous ageing of buildings,
outdated infrastructure and a poor image.
They generally lack a proper town centre,
were built to low urban densities and have
recently attracted low income households.
The challenge facing New Towns face is to
consolidate consolidating and restructure
the urban fabric to accommodate changes
in the population structure, household
structure and lifestyles, and to redefine their
sustainability objectives.
household and demographic change
In the New Towns, as in most European
suburbs, housing was designed for nuclear
families. As the quality of public transport
serves was average at best, this group
became largely dependent on the private
car and this had a direct impact on family
structures. Women were more or less
prevented from taking paid employment and
had to stay at home to care for their families.
The New Towns generally did not provide
leisure activities for children or kindergartens
and crèches within walking distance, as in
the old centres.
The housing stock in the New Towns made
a similar impact on public life. In Milton
Keynes, for instance, ‘the single family
housing was emphasised for nuclear
families with two children, assuming a male
breadwinner and a female homemaker.’ 1
The problems of accessibility outlined above
limit the opportunities open to women
by reducing the possibility of combining
domestic tasks with employment,
disadvantaging women in the labour market.
In the industrialised world this situation is
now changing. Local authorities face two
important demographic processes: the
arrival of foreign migrants with large
families and low incomes in need of decent
housing, and the ageing of the population.
In the Dutch New Town of Spijkenisse, for
example, only ten per cent of the population
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NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 6
The image and
attractiveness
of New Towns
has declined
The Dutch New Town of Spijkenisse, near Rotterdam. (photo: Mischa Keijser/ HH)
was above 55 years old in 1983, but this will
rise to twenty-five percent in 2009. 2 Such
changes not only require policy strategies
geared to providing the type of housing
needed in the future, but also to deliver
suitable transport, services, leisure and
other facilities.
image and economic development
The image and attractiveness of New
Towns has declined, and they are no longer
considered to be the ‘best choice’ for those
who want to live outside the congested
urban areas. People initially moved to the
New Towns because of the quality of the
environment and the lower land prices.
Policies designed to attract the middle
classes through the provision of better
housing and education services have been
successful, but the context has now changed.
The main problem facing New Towns today
is their identity. Rather than becoming real
communities they were simply places to
live and are now generally thought of as
dormitory towns, despite the fact that
employment provision has grown.
Jobs have been created in the New Towns
mainly because of their location close to
large cities. They have attracted businesses
by offering good infrastructure, tax incentives
and facilities. Business parks have been
developed, often around new technology
clusters and innovative industries. Some
towns have attracted more services and hightech
companies (for example Nokia in Espoo);
others have attracted logistical companies.
New Towns have succeeded in providing a
wide range of cultural and leisure activities,
and in most cases residents are encouraged
to participate in the social life of the town to
raise the sense of community. They now face
the difficult task of further strengthening
their economies in a sustainable way to
avoid negative impacts on the quality of
life of their inhabitants and the identity of
the town.
mobility
The New Towns and suburbs have both
experienced a period of rapid growth,
signalling the end of the ‘city’ as a coherent,
architectural and compact territory. They had
to provide services, housing and transportation
from scratch. Transport provision was a crucial
issue because of the distances to the centre
of the core city, but low densities of these
new urban areas did not make it easy to build
functional and efficient infrastructure.
Both in the New Towns and in the periphery,
the planning of infrastructure has not
caught up with urban development. In the
best cases, the demand for transport
between the new urban areas and the
original town centres has been met. While
the master plans for most New Towns
included provisions for lateral connections
with other centres, the available budgets
have generally not been sufficient to deliver
the planned infrastructure. The public
transport links that have been built link the
centre of the metropolitan area to the
periphery via rapid transit, metro and
motorways. Internal rail and bus routes and
links with other areas in the periphery were
not provided; virtually all these journeys are
therefore made by car.

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 7
Milton Keynes is a good example. Its urban
structure is based on a grid and the town
is zoned into separate residential and
industrial blocks, and employment is
dispersed across the town in different
locations. The population density is
extremely low, which means that people
have to travel long distances between
activities. Milton Keynes was specially
designed to cater for easy and fast travel by
car, with plentiful parking and dispersed land
uses, so it is no surprise that the use of public
transport in Milton Keynes is about half the
national average for towns of a similar size.
Changing this situation will require a
considerable increase in public transport
provision and stringent measures to curb car
use. Moreover, the structure of the town,
which is ill suited to the operation of public
transport, and the car culture are major
obstacles that have to be overcome.
Despite these obstacles, Milton Keynes
Council has launched a programme to
stimulate greater use of public transport.
The long-term vision is to increase journeys
by public transport to three to four times
current levels. Given the growth in the
population, this would equate to an increase
in the number of public transport trips per
year from about 7 million now to about 35
to 40 million in 2031. The council is currently
studying the structure of the city and its
suitability for public transport, focusing on
options for Bus Rapid Transit. The need
to reduce dependency on the car is widely
felt and Milton Keynes is just one many
New Towns that aim to improve their
transportation systems.
Jobs have been created
in the New Towns
mainly because of their
location close to the
large cities
The French New Town of Melun-Senart, near Paris.
(photo: Pascaline Gaborit)
towards sustainable new towns
Most New Towns now have a public
transport policy, and many of these propose
better bus or light rail connections, highquality
facilities and frequent services.
In some towns, like Milton Keynes, improving
public transport will require considerable
investment to overcome the problems posed
by the urban structure. In other cases, for
example in France, local authorities are
relying on regional or national decisions to
improve the transport system. Transport
policies for most of the towns are still quite
limited: car use is sometimes still facilitated
through the provision of parking places and
many areas within the New Towns are not
accessible by public transport.
Raising urban densities may be an important
condition for the introduction and use of
more sustainable transport systems. This is
a longer-term goal and will not be easy to
achieve – it would mean developing real
town centres and require further economic
growth and higher local authority budgets.
In the meantime, decision makers in New
Towns have realised two things: increasing
congestion is not an asset for their town; and
they need an alternative public transport
system directed principally at the elderly,
lower-income families and students, but also
to offer viable options for people who do not
want to travel by car every day.
Mobility and transport have implications for
all the other aspects of the New Towns: their
economies, urban planning and governance.
These are global challenges which require
what Stevenage calls the ‘reinvention of the
New Town mindset’. This should seek to
generate wider ownership of the New Town
concept by external stakeholders and focus
on developing the potential of the New
Towns within the wider sub-regional and
regional context.
Notes
1 Jane Hobson, New Towns, the modernist planning
project and social justice: the case of Milton-Keynes
UK, conference lecture about ‘urban development’,
Cairo Egypt, 6th October 1999.
2 Gemeente Spijkenisse, Statistisch jaaroverzicht 2004,
the Netherlands.
References
– JP. Antoni, Urban sprawl modelling: A methodological
approach, in Cybergeo 207, 1 March 2002.
– Akio Doteuchi, The changing face of suburban
New Towns – Seeking the ‘slow life’ for an ultra-aging
society, NLI Social Development Research Group,
October 2003.
– ENTP, Contextual analysis of 6 New Towns, NEWTASC
INTERREG IIIB project.
– Pierre Merlin, New Towns in Perspective, INTA Press,
April 1991.
– Alan Parker, Transport and ecologically sustainable
cities, Town and Country Planning Association
of Victoria, Australia, 2004.
– RTPI News, No sound planning basis for the
development of Milton Keynes, Planning,
June 4, 2004.
– Revue Esprit, La ville à trois vitesses: gentrification,
relegation, périurbanisation, Jacques Donzelot,
March-April 2004 France.
http://www.newtowns.net
Z

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 8
Founded on an understanding of the interrelationships between accessibility, location, design
and intensity of land use, the Transport Development Area concept developed in the UK is a cross-
sectoral mechanism for delivering higher density development around public transport nodes.
The approach unites land use planning and the development industry with transport planning
and transport operators. Urban design, community involvement and active urban management
are key components for a workable package.
Transport Development Areas
Peter Hine, Symonds Group / Jeremy Edge, Knight Frank / Kathy Gal, gal.com / Michael Chambers, RICS
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(RICS) has been developing the concept of
the Transport Development Area (TDA) with
key stakeholders for a number of years
now. In 2002 RICS published a good practice
guide that provides planning and transport
practitioners with the tools needed to
identify and implement TDAs. 1 The guidance
was sponsored and supported by thirteen
government authorities, professional
institutes and transport organisations. 2
This sponsorship lent significant backing
for implementing the ideas developed in
the guidance. TDAs can be developed in a
wide range of circumstances, ranging from
transport nodes in large conurbations to
relatively small market towns.
In essence, a TDA is a means of securing well
designed, higher density, mixed-use
development around good public transport
nodes in towns and cities. It does not seek
to lay down a rigid blueprint and can be
applied in ways that suit the needs of a
particular location.
It does not require new legislation or
changes in policy, but it does require the
commitment of local authorities and other
partners if the concept is to be carried
forward successfully. TDA is an integrated
land use planning approach to create a more
specific relationship between development
density around urban public transport
interchanges and the level of public
transport services provided. As an economic
concept, TDAs are also a focus for more
institutionalised arrangements whereby
public transport operators receive additional
funding based on the transfer, where
appropriate, of part of the higher financial
returns to development which might be
achievable in such areas. TDAs, therefore, can
deliver significant transport and development
benefits by enabling financially more
attractive (or at least less uncertain)
development opportunities, and by offering
the prospect of additional investment in
public transport improvements. They also
contribute to the sustainability objectives of
the Transport White Papers by integrating land
use and transport, reducing both the need to
travel and reliance on private transport.
the tda approach
The basic concept of the ‘TDA Approach’ is
already recognised within the existing policy
framework. However, our research found
Opportunity diagram
that the approach to identifying and
implementing TDA-style development of key
sites or locations within urban areas has
been both inadequate and inconsistent.
While the planning system can and does
deliver TDA-style development, benefits
can be gained from greater clarity or more
positive direction at the policy level, and
from the provision of detailed guidance on
TDA identification and delivery.
Securing widespread application of the
TDA Approach across a range of urban
circumstances will require commitment by
all stakeholders. The RICS guidance sets out
the practical mechanisms for designating
and delivering TDAs and the policy process
that will be needed from the national to local
planning level. The key messages in the
guidance are that TDAs should be a key focus
of locational policy, the TDA Approach is a

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 9
mechanism for delivering suitable outcomes,
and that long-term planning is essential.
Although the concept of concentrating
development around appropriate transport
nodes is not new, it is difficult to realise
successfully because many different
elements need to be brought together to
make it work. TDAs are not a quick fix,
but early action can be taken.
The TDA approach is not exclusively meant
for the United Kingdom. It can work in many
different situations throughout Europe.
The following discussion of the UK situation
serves only to illustrate the relation between
TDA and national, regional and local policy
frameworks. The underlying principles
remain the same for other countries.
regional guidance
There is considerable scope for the new
Regional Spatial Strategies being developed
within the UK to take account of the TDA
TDA Linkages
approach and promote its inclusion within
more local planning frameworks and local
transport plans. TDAs should be actively
promoted as a regional objective, to be
applied across as wide a range of urban
settlement types and rural centres as
possible. It is vital to the approach that key
stakeholder groups, such as the transport
providers and the development industry,
are engaged at an early stage.
Where appropriate, Regional Spatial
Strategies should encourage local authorities
to ensure that within TDAs permissions for
higher density development include
developer contributions towards public
transport and local transport objectives. The
Regional Transport Strategy – prepared as an
integral part of regional spatial planning –
should include measures relevant to TDAs,
such as accessibility criteria, increased public
transport choice, car parking standards and
demand management.
The London Plan – the first spatial
development strategy in the UK – indicates
that designation of sites for TDA-style
development should be undertaken by the
various London boroughs, with the London
Plan itself providing appropriate policy
advice and characterising the key
opportunities across Greater London.
Local authorities should seek to make
maximum use of the most accessible sites,
such as those in town centres and others
which are, or will be, close to major transport
interchanges. They should develop a clear
vision for development of these areas,
prepare site briefs and, where appropriate,
consider using compulsory powers to bring
development forward. The TDA Approach
supports Government policies designed to
promote both urban and rural regeneration,
with access to key services and facilities
delivered through integrated local transport
solutions.
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NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 10
survey, analysis, plan
At the pre-deposit consultation stage,
structure plans and local development
frameworks should incorporate as a specific
objective the promotion of TDAs as a focus for
locational policy to be applied across a range
of urban settlement types and rural centres.
Key sites and central locations will normally
be the most appropriate for formal TDA
designation. Other locations such as nodal
points and interchanges on main public
transport routes, however, will readily lend
themselves to adoption of the underlying
principles. Local authorities should apply the
TDA approach in three key phases: survey,
analysis and plan-making. Knowledge about
the likely locations of TDAs is crucial. Local
authorities should keep a number of factors
under review. First, the principal physical and
economic characteristics of the area,
including supply and demand in the real
estate market as well as the size,
composition and distribution of population.
The communications, transport system and
traffic in the area should be considered, as
well as the environmental characteristics.
Finally, we should not overlook overall
accessibility appraisal, including the transport
network, service levels, network capacity and
scope for expansion.
The survey phase will identify likely locations
with the potential to adequately serve more
intensive land use developments and
markets able to promote and support such
development. The analysis stage should
consider significant excess capacity in
existing infrastructure, including public
transport, utilities and social infrastructure.
It should look at the potential for
development in existing or new public
transport corridors. And it has to identify
opportunities for improving public transport
accessibility.
Early discussion and liaison between local
authorities, developers, landowners,
operators, the Regional Development
Authorities (RDAs), Local Enterprise
Companies (LECs), the Welsh Development
Agency and all other stakeholders is essential
to the successful application of the TDA
Approach, with development frameworks
TDA Management Company Model
and local transport plans providing the initial
basis for this. Local planning authorities
should prepare appropriate TDA-related
policies and proposals, taking particular
account of boundaries, transport
accessibility appraisals, urban design,
density, parking standards and other key
issues. Planning frameworks should identify
key criteria relevant to the TDA Approach,
particularly in relation to transport
accessibility and urban design. Major TDA
development opportunities should be
supported by a detailed design or
development brief including, where
appropriate, boundaries and density ranges
(particularly for residential development).
Implementing the TDA Approach The key
ingredients for successful implementation
of the TDA Approach are the establishment
of an overall partnership, funding, land
assembly, a specific delivery mechanism and
on-going monitoring and review.
Partnerships
The most complex schemes may benefit from
forming TDA delivery companies to secure
implementation, delivery and management.
Government regeneration policy underlines
the need to secure an Urban Renaissance
through effective partnerships. These should
allow ‘joined-up strategies’ to be developed
with local people and other organisations
and interests involved to tackle local
problems and realise local opportunities.
Partnerships formed to take the TDA
Approach forward should include the local
authority, normally in the lead or enabling
role, landowners, investors, developers,
designers, transport operators/providers and
occupiers. TDA development may involve
developer contributions to public transport
infrastructure, but this will vary greatly
according to local circumstances and the
economic viability of individual schemes
within the TDA.

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 11
Prime Minister Tony Blair and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott visit Greenhithe in Kent.
(Source: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)
Land assembly
Land assembly will often be an important
issue for TDA-type development, particularly
for large development sites. Many parties
may hold land within a potential TDA and
land ownership surveys need to be
undertaken by the TDA promoter at an early
stage. In some cases the use of, or threat of
the use of, compulsory purchase will be
necessary for planning authorities to secure
the TDA development within appropriate
boundaries. However, in most cases
agreement between all landowning
stakeholders should be the objective.
Active urban management
Much of the advantage to be gained through
the TDA Approach will be squandered unless
an appropriate regime of on-going active
urban management is put in place. Town
Improvement Schemes are a potential
mechanism for allowing local authorities
and other stakeholders to deal with area
improvement and maintenance of
environmental quality. The concept may
prove to be of particular importance with
regard to TDAs, along with appropriate joint
ventures and/or partnership agreements.
tdas in action
Since RICS published its guidance report,
the TDA project has continued to attract wide
support from a range of diverse groups,
including the Local Government Association,
the Royal Institution of British Architects, the
Greater London Authority, Scottish Enterprise
and the Institution of Highways and
Transportation. While these organisations
recognise the benefits of TDAs, others have
been implementing them in practice. The RICS
guidance contains a wealth of case studies
from locations throughout the country. These
cover TDAs at town, city and even up to county
level. Spatial strategies for regions such as
London and South East England have focussed
heavily on the need to produce ‘well-designed,
higher density, mixed-use areas, situated
around good public transport access points in
urban areas’. Recognising the important
leadership role that London can play, RICS
published further research in 2003 that
looked at how TDAs could be developed
further in London. 3 The study found that TDAs
have the capability of delivering many
of the London Plan’s key objectives, from
affordable housing to transport
improvements and urban regeneration.
Sustainable communities
‘Sustainable communities’ has rapidly
become the new buzz phrase in UK planning.
Virtually every consultation paper or report
issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister now has the ‘sustainable
communities’ strapline. This may be an
excellent marketing strategy, but there is a
danger that the constant repetition of the
sustainable communities mantra and the
multiple ways in which the term is
interpreted will, in the end, leave it devoid of
meaning. That would be a pity because the
concept, however it is interpreted, is
intrinsically sound. The UK Government
launched its Sustainable Communities Plan
in February 2003 with the avowed objective
of creating ‘prosperous, inclusive and
sustainable communities’. From an RICS
perspective, some of the key priorities
should be:
– locating new housing and commercial
development in the most sustainable
places;
– providing the infrastructure needed to
support communities;
– socially inclusive policies in housing that
create balanced communities;
– regeneration policies that are sensitive to
local communities’ needs and reflect the
‘soul’ of an area;
– strategies for areas in decline as well as
growth areas in the South East.
Transport-oriented development Through
its work on TDAs, RICS has argued that the
successful integration of land use and
transport can play a key role in reducing many
of the difficulties posed by modern urban
development. The orientation of integrated
economic and residential activities around
public transport nodes and the creation
of relatively self-reliant sub-centres within
wider metropolitan areas are important
factors in reducing the need to travel and
encouraging the use of more sustainable
public transport modes. The TDA good
practice guide has demonstrated the benefits
that can be gained from providing highdensity,
high-quality, mixed-use development
around transport nodes. Testing this approach
in London and the Thames Gateway3 will be
the focus of the Greater South East activities
within the Connected Cities project.
Notes
1 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Transport
Development Areas – Guide to Good Practice, London,
2002.
2 The Greater London Authority; the Institution of
Highways and Transportation; the Institute of
Logistics and Transport; LT Property; the Local
Government Association; Railtrack Property; the
Royal Institute of British Architects; the Royal Town
Planning Institute; Scottish Enterprise; the Strategic
Rail Authority; Strathclyde Passenger Transport
Executive; Transport for London; and the RICS London
Regional Board.
3 TDAs – the London dimension, april 2003, RICS
London Region. See also www.rics.org
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NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 12
The European Spatial Development
Perspective proposes creating several
dynamic zones of global economic
integration and a network of
internationally accessible metropolitan
regions. Such a vision can only become
reality by complementing international
and national hubs with regional and
local growth opportunities. How is this
vision applied to the Thames Gateway
Regeneration Corridor in the Greater
South East region of England?
Sustainable development and growing mobility in the South East of England
Connecting
the Greater South East
Arno Schmickler, South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Guildford, UK
Illustrations: SEEDA (unless indicated otherwise)
The region around London in the South East
of England is home to about 21 million people
living on only 16% of the total UK territory.
This economic powerhouse creates 42% of
the UK’s gross value added1 and many global
headquarters are located in this area. Key
international gateways, such as Heathrow
Airport, Southampton and Felixstowe
seaports and the Channel Tunnel provide
access to London as one of three world
cities. 2 Strictly speaking, London itself is only
a small but very important part of Greater
London; Greater London consists of the City
of London, the City of Westminster and 31
other London boroughs. In order to better
understand and reflect the intrinsic relation
between London and its surrounding region,
three Regional Development Agencies have
recently joined forces in the Greater South
East super-region, including Greater London,
the East of England and the South East
England regions.
accommodating growth in the greater
south east
Major population growth needs to be
accommodated within the Greater South
East. London itself is expected to grow from
currently 7.4 million inhabitants to 8 million
by 2016, and further growth will take place in
the East and South East. To respond to this
challenge the Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister (ODPM) launched the Creating
Sustainable Communities plan in 2003. This
document sets out policies, resources and

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 13
partnerships to achieve a step change in
the Government’s approach to tackling ‘the
challenges of a rapidly changing population,
the needs of the economy, serious housing
shortages in London and the South East and
the impact of housing abandonment in
places in the North and Midlands’. 3
The Creating Sustainable Communities
programme aims to take pressure off London
through the provision of 250,000 new homes
in the South East. These new homes will
mainly be located in four growth areas:
Thames Gateway, Ashford, Milton Keynes-
South Midlands and London-Stansted-
Cambridge. Alongside housing growth, an
extra 120-180,000 jobs in the Thames
Gateway and 120-150,000 in Milton Keynes-
South Midlands are envisaged by 2016 as a
key component of the programme.
Delivery of the Sustainable Communities
programme can only be achieved by
interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral working.
The UK Planning Policy Guidance on
Transport 4 makes the case for a switch away
from reliance on the private car and urban
dispersal towards more sustainable modes of
travel and urban growth. The key principles
outlined in this guidance are important
preconditions for urban renaissance and the
delivery of the Sustainable Communities
plan. They include promoting more
sustainable transport choices and reducing
the need to travel; promoting social inclusion,
in part by revitalising towns and cities as
places to live and work; focusing major
generators of travel demand in urban areas
near to public transport; giving more road
space to pedestrians and cyclists, and giving
priority to people over traffic in towns.
a polycentric mega-city region
The Greater London area is undergoing a
process of decentralised concentration –
concentration on a global scale (global cities)
with simultaneous decentralisation and
suburbanisation at the regional and local
scales. The ever increasing mobility of people
and goods in particular presents a challenge
to urban cohesion. Not only transport
technologies but also information and
communication technologies have altered
South East England: Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Green Belt land and the Growth Areas.
Source: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Creating sustainable
communities: Making it happen, Thames Gateway and the Growth Areas,
London 2003, p.7
settlement structures. The combination of
both – transport and communication
technologies – is leading to a new correlation
between space and time, and hence to
fundamental changes in the relationship
between the city and the region. 5
In particular, transport technologies have
enabled a transformation of resident
communities into itinerant communities: an
ever increasing number of people understand
themselves to be global commuters in a digital
market place. Castells introduced the concepts
of the ‘network society’ and ‘informational
capitalism’ to describe this process. 6
Within a region like South East England the
challenge is to better utilise the existing
infrastructure and to encourage people to
use public transport by improving the quality
of the travel environment. The existing
infrastructure, however, was mainly
developed for the purpose of serving industry
and followed the planning ideal of separating
functions; for example, the rail network in the
Greater South East is London-centric to
accommodate historic commuting patterns
from the urban fringe to the core city. This
segregation of functions and socio-spatial
fragmentation can be seen as the peak of the
planning ideal of the industrial age (Fordism).
But this ideal loses its strength when
economic growth, as well as scientific and
social progress, begins to demand a higher
integration of functions and a more
sustainable approach to dealing with scarce
resources. Urban and regional planning,
therefore, needs to adapt mechanisms as
well as the built environment and its
infrastructure to the needs and requirements
of post-industrial regions.
To achieve this change it is important to
understand the economic and community
relations within the region and beyond.
A vital aspect of this is recognising the
interdependency of London and the South
East to keep the region on a successful track:
the global city of London relies on the South
East and vice versa. For London to be a global
hub and to continue creating the economic
power needed for the whole country – and for
Europe – it is crucial to counterbalance the
regional economies around those hubs
(economic equilibrium). In this context the
concept of a polycentric mega-city region
needs to be looked at in more detail.
spatial and functional polycentricity
The European Spatial Development
Perspective (ESDP) argues for polycentric
spatial development and a new urban-rural
relationship. 7 The ESDP also calls for the
Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 14
creation of several dynamic zones of global
economic integration and a network of
internationally accessible metropolitan
regions with an integrated hinterland – areas
like the Greater South East England. The
question that arises is how these zones of
global economic integration develop in terms
of their spatial and functional organisation.
Recent research carried out in the Interreg
IIIB NWE POLYNET project led by the Young
Foundation studied eight European megacity
regions in North Western Europe: South
East England, Rhine-Main, Rhine-Ruhr, Bassin
Parisien, European Metropolitan Region
Northern Switzerland, Central Belgium,
Greater Dublin and the Randstad. POLYNET
emphasised that polycentricity is not only
scale-dependent, but also that there is a very
clear distinction to be made between spatial
and functional polycentricity. One activity of
the project focused particularly on businessto-business
communication (virtual as well
as physical/f-2-f) in advanced producer
services in order to map spatial and
functional polycentricity in the study
regions. 8
Based on this extensive quantitative and
qualitative research, POLYNET defined 51
functional urban regions (FURs) in the
Greater South East. FURs ‘comprise a core
defined in terms of employment size and
density, and a ring defined in terms of regular
daily journeys (commuting) to the core’. 9
Thirty FURs are located to the west of London
and only eighteen to the east – this illustrates
a greater dependency of the east on London
and is an indicator of an increasing east-west
imbalance. While the idea of strengthening
regional economies should in principle lead
to an economic equilibrium, there are still
(and will always be) factors favouring certain
locations above others. In the Greater South
East the Western Corridor is economically
very successful and buoyant (Thames Valley
economy), whereas the Thames Gateway
regeneration corridor in the East is struggling
to realise some mixed-use development that
would include higher-order businesses. This is
why workers from the Thames Gateway still
generally commute to business locations in
Canary Wharf or the City of London.
connecting higher density with
higher quality
Some key spatial policy questions can be
derived from the polycentric development
pattern in the Greater South East. How
should policy respond to the increasing eastwest
imbalance? Current public funding is
very much aimed at the east and north of
London to achieve a shift of gravity in the
Greater South East region – will the market
follow the funding? And how can a shift to
more sustainable modes of transport be
achieved? Advanced functional polycentricity
creates orbital and tangential movement
patterns that are no longer dependent on a
core city. Very often these movements cannot
be accommodated by public transport using
existing infrastructure networks that are
centred on a core city; as a result the private
car becomes an even more predominant
mode of transport.
To respond to these challenges, changes in
policy and subsequent implementation are
needed. Decoupling gross domestic product
from transport growth was formally
introduced onto the European agenda at the
Gothenburg Council in 2001, adding the
environmental dimension to the Lisbon
South East England: Functional Urban Regions.
Source: POLYNET report, Action 1.1 SE England, p.3
agenda. This policy is of particular
importance for developing the Greater South
East, where the existing transport networks
are being put under extremely high
pressures. Sustainable transport and a shift
from the private car to other modes of
transport are at the heart of the Gothenburg
Council and subsequent national/regional
policies to address climate change and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions (Kyoto targets).
Together with the ESDP’s goal of develop
dynamic, attractive and competitive cities
and urbanised regions, providing a parity of
access to infrastructure and knowledge,
these aims can only be achieved by concerted
action. Such a vision can only become reality
by complementing international and national
hubs with regional and local growth
opportunities, particularly in locations that
can provide sustainable mobility – in other
words, public transport hubs. In tackling the
challenge of building sustainable urban
spaces in growing metropolitan regions, we
need to ensure that future growth is achieved
with the maximum possible social cohesion
and protection of the environment. More
self-contained urban areas can help to reduce
commuting and bring about mixed

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 15
communities, but the integration of land use
planning and transport is also essential to
deliver that vision.
The aim of achieving higher densities
around public transport hubs needs to be
accompanied by high quality urban and
architectural design. Higher density should
not only be financially more attractive for
investors but also provide a higher quality of
life and support more sustainable patterns of
development. This comes close to the
American practice of Transit Oriented
Development (TOD) or the idea of Transport
Development Areas (TDAs) that the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has
been developing with key stakeholders for a
number of years. 10
Concentrating development and integrating
land use and transport have also been
identified as key actions to assist the Urban
Renaissance agenda in England. ‘In England,
urban areas provide for 91% of the total
economic output and 89% of all the jobs.
Maintaining and improving the economic
strength of our towns and cities is therefore
critical to the competitive performance of the
country as a whole. 11 The potential for change
is limited since ‘more than 90% of our urban
fabric will still be with us in 30 years time.’ 12
Therefore the quality of new developments is
decisive to achieve the step change towards
building a sustainable urban environment.
‘Successful urban regeneration is designled.’
13
the thames gateway growth area
Within the Greater South East substantial
public funding is being channelled into the
Thames Gateway, a major regeneration
corridor. A great challenge for this area is to
avoid becoming a cluster of dormitory towns
for people commuting into London. Therefore
it is important to strengthen locally
distinctive patterns of culture and integrate
mixed functions. In the context of large
mega-city regions, it is vital for small and
medium-sized towns to build upon their
intrinsic local potential and develop an
identity. A clear vision is needed which
complements rather than duplicates existing
or emerging urban patterns in polycentric
city regions. The contribution small and
medium-sized towns can make to a larger
city region goes well beyond providing cheap
housing within easy commuting distance to
employment centres. Particularly in times
when the pressures resulting from the core
city are increasing – both in terms of demand
for housing and employment land – it is
important to carefully mature the concept of
a network of complementary small and
medium-sized towns. 14
The Thames Gateway already has an
established history, beginning with the
development of the Docklands area. The
benefits of Canary Wharf and the Isle of
Dogs in London are becoming visible and
accountable some 25 years after strategic
decisions were made. With the shift in focus
to the east, London is aiming to regenerate
major areas of previously developed land and
to provide space for further growth. The
proposals for Olympia 2012, with the main
facilities to be built in the east of London
centred around the new high-speed train
station to be opened in Stratford, underpins
the new role of the Thames Gateway. But the
Thames Gateway extends well beyond the
boundaries of London.
regeneration needs
The Government has not defined this
regeneration corridor along administrative
boundaries but by regeneration needs,
including large areas of derelict land and
deprived communities. The Thames Gateway
is an area of approximately 80,000 hectares
in size, measuring 65 kilometres long and up
to about 30 kilometres wide. It contains
about 700,000 households and is home to
around 1.6 million people and provides about
500,00 jobs. 15
The Thames Gateway offers the greatest
development opportunities in the South East,
together with the major concentration of
previously developed land and deprivation in
the country. It has the potential to deliver
around 120,000 new homes and 200,000
new jobs by 2016, subject to the appropriate
physical and social infrastructure being in
place. The Gateway will play a key part in
delivering sustainable growth for South East
England. As it has the largest collection of
previously developed land (3000 hectares)
near any European capital city it represents a
major opportunity to address the housing
shortage without large-scale release of green
belt land. 16
rail catalyst
The high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link
(CTRL), with its international passenger
stations in Ashford, Ebbsfleet, Stratford and
King’s Cross/St Pancras, can be seen as a
prime regeneration catalyst in this corridor.
Together with other major regional transport
investments, such as Crossrail and Fastrack,
CTRL will transform accessibility for the
Thames Gateway area. An important
precondition for delivering the sustainable
communities in the Thames Gateway is the
understanding that this large-scale
development cannot be served purely by carbased
transport system. New river crossings
are being designed to accommodate multimodal
traffic, making room for light rail and
bicycle connections. Of strategic importance
here are two new Thames crossings near the
Royal Docks (Gallions Crossing) and near
Thurrock (Lower Thames Crossing). The latter
in particular will divert traffic from the
Channel ports away from the congested
South East region and the M25, leading it
directly north, circumnavigating London
completely.
five strategic development locations
Within the Thames Gateway development
is focused on five strategic development
locations: 17
1 The East London Gateway, particularly
around Stratford and the Lower Lea Valley,
accommodating the development needed
to make the London Olympics in 2012 a
success and building on the good existing
transport infrastructure.
2 The area south of the Thames from
Greenwich Peninsula to Woolwich, where
there is potential for 20,000 new homes,
developing the former Woolwich Arsenal
site and including a new use for the Dome
site with its successful Millennium
Community. Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 16
3 The area north of the Thames at Barking
Reach – London’s largest area of previously
developed land.
4 Thurrock Riverside, with a substantial
development potential for employment
land, incorporating the Port of London and
the proposal for a new container port at
Shellhaven.
5 North Kent Thamesside around Ebbsfleet
International Passenger Station and the
Medway Estuary.
Further housing and employment will be
allocated to key locations in the Gateway,
such as Medway, Southend, Basildon and
Sittingbourne-Sheerness.
sustainable growth through partnership
The key to delivering government targets
in a sustainable way is the partnership
approach. Neither political configurations nor
individual budgets are equipped to deal with
regeneration on such a large, strategic scale.
The fact that the public sector input is
achieved at all levels, from local authority
to a specifically dedicated government
department, ensures ‘joined-up’ policy
changes and development implementation.
This direct and coordinated public sector
approach visibly encourages the private
sector to begin to invest considerable
resources in an area which otherwise fails to
attract private sector interests. In all
undertakings in the Thames Gateway, risks
have to be taken and initial costs for
remediation of previously used land are high.
However, an extremely tight Green Belt policy
and government direction on reusing
previously developed land offers the private
sector a real incentive to look at building on
recycled land. A relaxation of that policy for
the sake of achieving higher development
profits would ultimately lead to the failure of
the Urban Renaissance agenda. Tackling
major contamination and pollution issues,
addressing social problems, unemployment,
crime and vandalism, and recharging former
industrial sites with the value of aesthetics
by using the rich history can change
perceptions and enable the disjointed
communities to reintegrate into the socioeconomic
fabric of urban society. Integration
The Thames Gate
South East England: Functional Urban Regions.
Source: POLYNET report, Action 1.1 SE England, p.3
of commercial and residential use rather than
segregation, provision of community services
and parks, promotion of sustainability in
terms of recycling and building efficiency, and
encouraging high quality design will make a
difference to the existing urban environment
in the Thames Gateway.
Notes
1 National Statistics, 22 December 2004, www.
statistics.gov.uk.
2 Saskia Sassen, Cities in a world economy, Thousand
Oaks Ca., 1994.
3 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Sustainable
communities: Building for the future, London,
2003, p.2.
4 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Planning Policy
Guidance 13: Transport (PPG 13), London, 1994.
5 See: Arno Schmickler, From commuterland to regional
citizenship. South East England – A growing region in
Europe, in: Christ, Wolfgang & Martin Fladt, Jahrbuch
der Modellprojekte 2003 / 2004, Weimar, 2004.
6 Manuel Castells, The rise of the network society,
Cambridge, 1996.
7 European Commission, ESDP – European Spatial
Development Perspective. Towards balanced and
sustainable development of the territory of the
European Union, Luxembourg, 1999, p.11.
8 POLYNET project reports edited by Sir Peter Hall and
Dr Kathryn Pain, The Young Foundation, London
2004/05, www.icstudies.ac.uk/html/whatdo_A.asp
9 POLYNET Action 1.1, Summary report, p.2.
10 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Transport
Development Areas – Guide to Good Practice,
London, 2002.
11 Urban Task Force, Towards an urban renaissance: Final
report of the Urban Task Force chaired by Lord Rogers
of Riverside, London, 1999, p.32.
12 Urban Task Force, Towards an urban renaissance: Final
report of the Urban Task Force chaired by Lord Rogers
of Riverside, London, 1999, p.113.
13 Urban Task Force, Towards an urban renaissance: Final
report of the Urban Task Force chaired by Lord Rogers
of Riverside, London, 1999, p.49.
14 See: Detlef H. Golletz & Arno Schmickler, From spaces
to places. Enabling Sustainable urban growth in South
East England with a practical focus on the
Queenborough-Rushenden Zone of Change, in:
Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung, Kleinund
Mittelstädte in Stadtregionen. Informationen zur
Raumentwicklung, Heft 8, Bonn, 2005.
15 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, The Thames
Gateway, London, 2004.
16 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Creating
sustainable communities: Making it happen: Thames
Gateway and the Growth Areas, London, 2003.
17 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Creating
sustainable communities: Making it happen: Thames
Gateway and the Growth Areas, London, 2003. Z

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 17
Rotterdam Blaak station.
Going underground:
light, air and space!
Building underground is becoming more common. For transport infrastructure and retail, commercial and
leisure functions, underground spaces can offer surprising advantages – and save money. Design and
safety are key components in making underground facilities successful. Inge van Berkel of the Netherlands
Centre for Underground Construction reviews the case for going below ground.
Inge van Berkel, Netherlands Centre for the Underground Construction (COB), Gouda
Photos: Netherlands Centre for the Underground Construction (COB), Gouda
During an unexpected diversion on the Rotterdam metro I passed
Beurs, Oostplein, Voorschoterlaan, Gerdesiaweg and Capelsebrug
stations. For me and my fellow stranded train passengers, the
alternative metro routes were well signposted and clear, and the
brightly lit stations soon cleared up my morning sleepiness. But at
Kralingse Zoom it was suddenly much darker; here the station is
above ground and the day was still dawning. The next day a lorry
crashed into a metro train further up the same stretch of line. These
two experiences in one week do not seem to fit our expectations
about the underground. The benefits of going underground often
go unnoticed.
More and more developments are going underground. Not
everywhere, but where land is in great demand. Economics and safety
are the main reasons. Countless examples already exist: dwellings
wholly or partly underground, offices, tunnels for all possible modes
of transport, car parks, public records and archives, museums and
water storage facilities. They all show that the restrictions on working
underground can be exploited to raise quality. Many examples can be
found in a book published in 2002 by the Netherlands Centre for
Underground Construction (COB), 1 which showcases buildings that
could never have been built above ground, such as the Guggenheim
Museum in Salzburg, a museum without an exterior but with a
uniquely sculptured interior – a work of art in itself.
extra value for money
The benefits of going underground can be counted in euros
recovered per square metre. Making double use of the land returns
a profit, once the initial investments costs have been written off.
The underground functions free up space above ground for a range
Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 18
of other activities, from intensive uses, such as homes and offices
(above underground car parks, for example) to more extensive
activities, such as boulevards and wildlife sites/nature parks.
The extra benefits in these cases comes from the above-ground uses
or combination of uses. Value added can be measured in terms of
improved quality, too. Under certain conditions the underground
element creates a multiplier effect: a successful underground
function can become an attraction in itself and generate increased
flows of shoppers, for example, or museum-goers. Examples include
the much talked about Koopgoot in Rotterdam, the Souterrain in
The Hague and the Beelden aan Zee museum in Scheveningen.
The central theme of Connected Cities – sustainable solutions for
transport nodes – can be given added value by making innovative
and inspired use of the underground space.
The underground environment creates opportunities not possible
above ground. As Lao Tse pointed out, ‘Architecture is what is left
when you take away the walls.’ Designers of underground places are
faced with a challenging task: in essence, to design the inner and
underground ‘outer’ spaces together in a way that creates a safe,
well-organised and attractive experience. These are the most widely
used ways to raise quality:
– Daylight access: the Artez Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (HKU
University of Professional Education) in Arnhem, the underground
office extension to a historic building on the Maliebaan in Utrecht,
Rotterdam Blaak
station.
the Koopgoot in Rotterdam and the Louvre in Paris, to name just a
few. ‘Light, sightlines and legibility are the three fundamental
principles that underpin the layout of the underground space.’ 2
– Use of materials: the Beelden aan Zee museum in Scheveningen,
the Souterrain in The Hague, the Moscow Metro.
– Noise control: prevention of noise reverberation, for example in
the Second Heinenoord Tunnel under the Oude Maas river.
– Orientation aids: sightlines, orientation features, for example the
prize-winning underground car park at Arnhem Central Station.
– Physical environmental quality: constant temperature and
humidity, noise insulation, as in the Zeeland Record Office in
Middelburg, the National Archives in Limburg and the
underground houses at the ‘Kleine Aarde’ in Boxtel.
Designs should pay particular attention to (social) safety,
maintenance and management, and the transition between the
surface and the underground environment.
Transitional areas
Design aspects that play an important role in the transition from
surface to below ground are:
– Envelope/interior
– Views, sightlines, legibility
– Daylight, lighting, colours
– Integration in the surroundings, identity

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 19
Some of the best designed transitional areas are underground
stations. For example: Canary Wharf, where the curving signature
glass canopies allow natural light to penetrate deep below ground,
enhanced by functionally designed artificial lighting; the lighting
built into the escalators accentuates sightlines and orientation.
Or the Bilbao metro, where escalators rapidly transport travellers
to street entrances covered by tree-shaped glass canopies. In the
Netherlands, the ‘lid’ above Blaak station both signals the location
of this transport node and forms a landmark that is recognisable a
long way off.
Designs can also be inspired by very different forms and uses. The
roof of the oval Water Temple in Japan, for example, is at ground level
and consists of a pond full of lotus plants. The entrance is a concrete
stairway which cuts the pool into two as it descends, the stillness of
the surrounding water preparing the visitor for the inner sanctuary.
Or the long descent into the underground Volcano Centre at Saint-
Ours les Roches in the Auvergne, where a funnel-shaped artificial
crater forms the heart of the museum.
Safety
Our deep-seated fear of going below ground, apart from the need
to seek shelter or protection (such as hiding in caves), has been
reaffirmed with regularity in recent years by several accidents and
even some attacks in tunnels. In the Netherlands, these events have
partly been responsible for the drafting of the Addition Road Safety
Regulations bill, which contains standards to be met by tunnel
designs. A new Commission has also been established to advise
on tunnel safety. But the need to improve the safety and image of
underground buildings is not restricted to tunnels. In densely
populated areas with high levels of mobility the motto is ‘cars
underground’ and, luckily, we are seeing more and more welldesigned
underground car parks. Well-known examples in the
Netherlands are Laakhaven in The Hague, Ossenmarkt in Groningen,
the Van Heekgarage in Enschede, Souterrain in The Hague and the
Museumplein in Amsterdam. What makes all these successful is their
spacious design and use of light. The ‘Safety concept for underground
car parks’ 3 is a useful aid for integrating safety into the design right
from the start. A similar safety concept was drawn up for
underground retail areas at the end of 2005, and another is being
contemplated for underground transport nodes, such as stations.
Transport nodes
Underground transport nodes can vary from the almost unnoticed,
such as viaducts, to highly complex ‘human hubs’, such as Blaak and
Schiphol stations. For a station to qualify as ‘underground’ at least
part of the transfer or transport activities must have no visual
relation with the surrounding area; they must be covered by other
functions and/or located below ground. Sometimes the transfer
function is combined with commercial or leisure activities, such as
shopping and amusements. Most metro stations are underground.
Significant differences between train and metro are that metro
trains tend top be shorter than heavy rail and have shorter breaking
distances, they stop at every station (in general there are no
‘stopping-train station’) and the timetable is more frequent.
That is why every world city has an easily accessible metro system.
The decision to go underground is generally made for one or more
of the following reasons:
– Compact interchange between transport modes
– Avoiding the barriers presented by the city
– The only physical option
– Economic potential
The design of the entrances to the stations may be the decisive factor
in their ease of use. Good examples are both diverse and numerous.
Some are industrial in character, such as the Wilhelminastation in
Rotterdam and the Jubilee Line in London, others are grand or
monumental, as in Moscow, and a few are almost homely, like the
Souterrain in The Hague. Important factors are a feel for scale and
dimensions; visual calm; use of sustainable, high quality building
materials and products; avoiding dead corners, reverberations or
draughts; and – always – regular maintenance and good
management.
underground wins on quality
Underground use of space can be the vital solution for connected
cities where no realistic options are available above ground. The
challenge of working underground inspires original design and
sustainable solutions for urban nodes, which in turn benefits the city.
One expression of this are the popular underground museums found
the world over, such as the Museonder in the Hoge Veluwe National
Park, the Water Museum in Arnhem, the volcano museum in
Auvergne mentioned earlier, the Noashima Contemporary Art
Museum in Kagawa and the underground extension of the Van Gogh
Museum in Amsterdam. Another are the public transport nodes that
are attractions in themselves, like the metros on Moscow, London and
The Hague; and the pedestrian tunnel at the Wilheminastation in
Rotterdam, which won a Dutch Design Award. Even the underground
shopping centres that attract huge numbers of visitors. By making
the necessary investments in quality, the benefits of underground
development, below as well as above the ground, can be counted out
in hard cash – and, above all, experienced.
This article is based partly on a presentation by R.G.M. Stringa (Holland Railconsult) at the
COB-Middag in 2002. Other material is drawn from Verborgen ruimte by Von Meijenfeldt
et al., COB/V+K, 2002.
Notes
1 Von Meijenfeldt et al., Verborgen ruimte, COB, Gouda, 2002.
2 Jaap Huisman, in Verborgen ruimte (p.106).
3 Veiligheidsconcept voor ondergrondse parkeergarages, Nienke Maas, Richard
Kleefman, TNO Bouw COB/BZK, 2004. Z

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 20
SWINGnet
Several new public transport systems are being introduced in the urban conurbation of Zuid-Holland:
TramPlus, RandstadRail, Stedenbaan and the Rijn-Gouwe Light Rail line. These offer tremendous
opportunities for sustainable urban development based on closer ties between transport and spatial
development. But although the planning community is buzzing with talk of ‘urban networks’,
little thought is given to the network itself. It is time to put that right.
Frank van der Hoeven Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture
In the second half of the 20th century the
number of people using public transport in
the Netherlands fell far below the numbers
travelling by car. The total length of the
journeys people make each day has increased
considerably. Motorway traffic in the
Randstad has increased to five, ten and on
some roads even twenty times the volumes
fourty years ago. On some stretches, the
number of vehicles already exceeds 200,000
per day. At the same time, the cities have
grown in size and are enveloping roads that
originally lay beyond the urban edge. These
new urban areas suffer from high levels of
noise disturbance, air pollution and
congestion. To stimulate the use of
sustainable transport systems, Dutch
planning policies promote new development
near stations and transport hubs to shorten
distances between public transport stops
and places where people live and work.
Concentrating homes, shops, educational
institutions and offices near the stations and
hubs served by bus rapid transit, light rail,
metro and train services will make these
services more competitive. The high-quality
public transport lines would then have the
potential to form the backbones of dispersed
conurbations like the urban area of Zuid-
Holland – the ‘South Wing of the Randstad’.
Such a sustainable approach towards
mobility and urban planning involves simple,
straightforward principles and can be
designed with ease: there is always a railway
The South Wing network in 2010.
line that can be extended or a station that
can be added to open up new areas for
development. Alternatively, existing urban
areas surrounding stations and stops can be
intensified. But in the Dutch province of
Zuid-Holland things are not that easy.
The cities of Rotterdam and The Hague are
gradually merging to form into one larger
regional urban network. New towns like
Capelle aan den IJssel, Spijkenisse and
Zoetermeer have grown as big as the smaller
cities of Delft, Gouda, Vlaardingen and
Schiedam, and the functional relationships
between the new towns, cities and urban
centres are becoming stronger. All this
translates into an increase in traffic and a

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 21
growth in the number of criss-cross
relationships. The network serving private
vehicles is relatively well equipped to deal
with such structural changes, but the public
transport network is still focused on the
centres and central stations of its two largest
cities: Rotterdam and The Hague.
the existing public transport network
In the 1990s the regional public transport
network in the South Wing of the Randstad
consisted of the Metro/light rail, the Sprinter
(rapid transit) and local train services
(commuter rail). This network is supported
by city and rural bus services and a tram
system in the Rotterdam/The Hague urban
area.
Metro/light rail The Rotterdam Metro/light
rail system has two, largely underground
trunk lines: the Erasmus line and the Caland
line. In the eastern part of the city the Caland
line branches off into three separate lines,
two of which continue as light rail services.
Sprinter The Sprinter (rapid transit) service
runs on three local lines in the national rail
network: the Hofplein, Hoekse and
Zoetermeer lines, the last specially built for
connecting Zoetermeer new town with its
mother city, The Hague.
Local train service The local train service
(commuter rail) runs on the ‘Oude Lijn’
(Leiden-The Hague-Delft-Rotterdam-
Dordrecht), the two lines from Gouda
(Gouda-The Hague and Gouda-Rotterdam)
and the Rijn-Gouwe line (Gouda-Leiden).
The commuter rail services share their
infrastructure with interregional trains,
intercity trains, high speed trains and even
freight trains.
the emerging public transport network
In the period to 2010 several important
additions and changes will be made within
the overall network: TramPlus, the Metro,
RandstadRail Rotterdam, RandstadRail
The Hague, Light Rail and Stedenbaan.
TramPlus Rotterdam is making a real effort to
update a limited number of tramlines with
its TramPlus initiative. This will improve
connections with the southern part of
Rotterdam, Barendrecht, Schiedam and the
northern part of Vlaardingen.
Metro In 2003 both of the Rotterdam Metro
trunk lines were connected and now share
a common route in the new town of
Spijkenisse.
RandstadRail The Hague Construction of the
tram tunnel in the centre of The Hague was
completed in 2004. This tunnel is an
indispensable link in The Hague’s version of
RandstadRail, a hybrid tram/train. In 2006
RandstadRail will replace the Sprinter using
the Zoetermeer line, providing direct
connections between Zoetermeer and the
western part of The Hague, including the
city centre. RandstadRail uses former parts of
the national rail network and parts of the
existing tram network in The Hague.
At the moment no one
seems to care about the
complete picture
RandstadRail Rotterdam Two years after
RandstadRail replaces the Sprinter on the
Zoetermeer line, the Rotterdam version of
RandstadRail will replace the Sprinter on the
Hofplein line, which will be connected
through a tunnel to the Rotterdam Metro at
Rotterdam Central station. The Rotterdam
variant of RandstadRail is not a hybrid tram/
train as in The Hague, but is a metro that
runs on a former railway line. Because of
their different backgrounds, the versions of
RandstadRail in The Hague and Rotterdam
differ technically: the carriages in The Hague
have a low floor and those in Rotterdam have
a high floor. Between Zoetermeer and The
Hague both systems will share the same
infrastructure and stop at the same stations.
Half of the platforms at these stations will be
low and half will be high. The two systems
will separate in The Hague and the
Rotterdam version will end at The Hague
Central Station because its high floor makes
integration with the tram system in The
Hague impossible.
Light Rail Dutch Railways and the Province of
Zuid-Holland are experimenting with a light
rail vehicle on the railway line between
Leiden and Gouda: the Rijn-Gouwe line. The
idea is to extend this line into the city centres
of both Leiden and Gouda at street level.
Stedenbaan In the meantime, the local and
regional authorities in the Zuid-Holland
urban region (the ‘South Wing Platform’)
are building up political pressure to replace
the existing commuter rail services with a
system called Stedenbaan, which they
describe as being a metro-like system.
Dutch Railways speak about renewing their
Sprinter formula. The (phased) introduction
of the Stedenbaan will be possible when the
doubling of the rail infrastructure to four
tracks, begun in the late 1980s, is complete.
Doubling the infrastructure will make it
possible to separate the different train
systems. Although this widening is only
partly completed, additional capacity is
already available. In 2007 the new routes for
the High Speed Train to Belgium (HSL Zuid)
and the dedicated rail freight line to
Germany (Betuweroute) will come into
service and these high speed trains and
freight trains will no longer use the existing
infrastructure. It should be noted here that
the Stedenbaan concept is not limited to
introducing a new system; its main purpose
is to act as a catalyst for building new homes,
schools and offices around the stations on
the network.
redefining the south wing
public transport network
In the beginning of the 1990s the transit
network in the South Wing consisted of three
systems: the Metro, Sprinter and the local
train services. In 2008 it will consist of six
systems: TramPlus, the Metro, RandstadRail
(two versions), the Rijn–Gouwe Light Rail and
Stedenbaan. At the moment no one seems to
care about the complete picture; each
authority is working on its own pet project:
The Hague city region (Haaglanden) on
The Hague version of the RandstadRail, Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 22
Light rail in the English city of Nottingham: a modern tram. (source: Bombardier) New vehicle Rotterdam RandstadRail. (source: Alstom)
Rotterdam city region on the Rotterdam
version, the Province of Zuid-Holland on
the light rail between Leiden and Gouda, and
the South Wing Platform is putting all its
efforts into the Stedenbaan concept. A
comprehensive vision on how the different
systems could be integrated into a flexible
network serving the needs of the regional
population is lacking. Standardising the
different systems would be a logical step,
with a view to the need to privatise the
public transport companies and the
obligatory procurement of their services.
But is standardisation actually possible?
What are the main similarities and
differences between the six systems?
TramPlus/Light Rail TramPlus represents
what the British or Americans would call
Light Rail: the modern city tram, a tram with
a higher than average speed (20-25 km/
hour), a greater reach (< 10 km), high-quality
stops and a rail vehicle with a low floor that
matches its raised platform. The longest
distance the TramPlus travels from the city
centre is about 10 kilometres (Rotterdam
Centre to Vlaardingen Holy). At 2.4 metres
wide, the tram is relatively narrow compared
with a metro or train carriage.
Metro The metro is a classic and well known
rail system. It is characterised by a highcapacity
vehicle with a high floor using
tracks separate from other infrastructure,
elevated or underground. The Rotterdam
Metro is a partially hybrid system running at
street level in the eastern part of the city, and
so part of its network is in fact similar to
light rail. The lines serving partially as light
rail cover a distance up to 10 kilometres
(Rotterdam centre to Ommoord/Zevenkamp).
The lines serving fully as a metro cover a
distance of up to 15 kilometres (Rotterdam
Centre to Spijkenisse).
Rotterdam RandstadRail The Rotterdam
RandstadRail is very similar to the Rotterdam
Metro. It differs only in name and its use of a
former railway track and the vehicles have
a high floor – and that is the most striking
difference with the The Hague version of
RandstadRail. The technically minded reader
will note the larger system reach of up to 25
kilometres (The Hague Central to Rotterdam
Zuidplein). Regiotram In Dutch practice, the
term light rail is used for everything that is
not heavy rail. It refers especially to light rail
systems that use the national rail
infrastructure, like those in Karlsruhe, Kassel
and Saarbrücken. The Germans call such
systems Regiotram. The version of
RandstadRail in The Hague comes close to
this concept and covers a distance of 15
New vehicle The Hague RandstadRail. (source: Alstom)
kilometres (The Hague Centre to Zoetermeer
Oosterheem), similar to the Rotterdam
Metro. Currently in the South Wing the term
light rail is only used to describe the Rijn-
Gouwe line. When this line operates in the
centre of Leiden in 2010 it will become a true
RegioTram, in this case covering distances up
to 25 kilometres (Leiden Centraal to Gouda).
Stedenbaan Although there is much hype
surrounding the Stedenbaan, there is no
clear picture of what system or lines will be
involved. It might be a new version of the
Sprinter formula. The main connections cover
distances up to 30 kilometres (Rotterdam-
Leiden or The Hague-Gouda), which is only
marginally longer than the Rotterdam
RandstadRail or the Rijn-Gouwe line.
the benefit of hybrid systems
The fact that all of these rail systems
cover more or less the same distances
suggests that TramPlus, the Metro,

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 23
The South Wing requires a transport
system with vehicles that can
function like a metro or lightrail New vehicle Sprinter. (source: Bombardier)
RandstadRail (2x), light rail and Stedenbaan
are interchangeable. This might offer room
for improvement. The key to such an
optimisation may lie in the hybrid nature of
RandstadRail, which provides what the urban
structure of the South Wing of the Randstad
needs. The South Wing requires a transport
system with vehicles that can function in the
city or conurbation like a metro or light rail,
which do a better job in connecting housing
areas and city centres. But the average speed
of trains makes them a better choice for
routes between the conurbations and cities.
Combining the best of both these types of
service in one system or one vehicle can be
made to work.
The projections for RandstadRail forecast a
significant increase in the use of the
Zoetermeer line and the Hofplein line after it
replaces the Sprinter. The number of
passengers on the Zoetermeer line will
increase from 17,000 to 42,000; on the
Hofplein line an increase from 7000 to
28,000 passengers is expected.
towards two integrated networks
The hybrid nature of RandstadRail could
form the basis of an optimised network for
the South Wing of the Randstad. We will
refer to this network as SWINGnet. With two
RandstadRail versions there are several
possible scenarios, explored in this article
from the Rotterdam perspective. With four
parallel systems (TramPlus, Metro,
RandstadRail, Stedenbaan) it must be possible
to devise a better operational system.
To start with, we have to abandon the usual
focus on ‘systems’. Instead we could examine
the ‘network’; the fact that the Rotterdam
transit network is used by three different
systems (the Metro, light rail and
RandstadRail) is not that important. The
transit network makes it possible to run an
integrated service avoiding unnecessary
transfers, and that is what counts for the
user. The next question is what
characteristics this network should have.
TramPlus, the Metro, RandstadRail and
Stedenbaan could in principle use the same
network. Hybrid vehicles like the Regiotram
make this possible.
But if we try to combine all these lines we
run into a few practical problems. Things go
wrong when the Rotterdam transit network
has to be connected at Schiedam Central
Station to the Spijkenisse Metro, the Holy
and Kethel TramPlus, and to the Delft/The
Hague Stedenbaan. This trunk line cannot
cope with four high-frequency connections.
We have to make choices.
Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 24
Network with RegioTram and Stedenbaan. Network with Stedenbaan and Light Rail. Network with RegioTram and Light Rail.
RegioTram and Stedenbaan Better integration
with RandstadRail in The Hague would be
possible if the Rotterdam transit network is
adapted to the Regiotram concept. It could
then absorb the TramPlus lines with
Beverwaard, Carnisselande, Schiedam-Noord
and Vlaardingen-Noord. The Rotterdam
transit and TramPlus networks could be
interconnected at Schiedam Central Station
and at Parkstad station to provide a better
service for the north-western and southeastern
part of the Rotterdam conurbation;
the present network only serves the northeast
and south-west. Translating such a
model to the scale of the South Wing
would result in three Regiotram networks:
Rotterdam, The Hague and the Rijn-Gouwe
line. Stedenbaan could link these networks
together. Although this is a logical model, it
would require adapting the rail
infrastructure in Rotterdam to low-floor
vehicles. Platforms would have to be lowered
or the tracks raised, and rolling stock would
have to be written off prematurely.
Stedenbaan and Light Rail If the Rotterdam
transit network is integrated with
Stedenbaan it could link destinations up to
25 to 30 kilometres apart: The Hague, Gouda
and Dordrecht. In this model, light rail
systems like TramPlus, The Hague
RandstadRail and the Rijn-Gouwe line could
cover distances from 10 to 15 kilometres. The
problem of premature replacement of rolling
stock can be avoided as long as Stedenbaan
We need to refocus our efforts
on things like ‘new stops’ and
‘adding houses and offi ces’
and RandstadRail in The Hague are operated
separately, much like the current plans.
Regiotram and Light Rail Separating the
transit networks in The Hague and
Rotterdam, as in the previous model, does
not seem very logical at first sight. Things
might work better when Regiotrams arriving
from the Rotterdam conurbation (Hofplein
line or the ‘Oude Lijn’) can use the city tunnel
in The Hague. This will be possible when the
Rotterdam transit network adapts (in time)
to low-floor vehicles and when the
Rotterdam and The Hague network link up
with the Rijn-Gouwe line using the
Stedenbaan infrastructure. The resulting
integrated network would serve the whole
South Wing. TramPlus (≤ 10 km) could then
become a role model for upgrading the
Rotterdam and The Hague tram systems.
towards one integral swingnet
Rail technology is so far advanced that the
distinction between a commuter train, rapid
transit, metro and light rail exists only in our
heads. In a complex and dispersed urban area
like the South Wing of the Randstad we
should forget about them. We need to
refocus our efforts on things like ‘new stops’
and ‘adding houses and offices’. This is the
link with urban planning and urban design.
We can then concentrate on the spatial
quality of the station areas and their day-today
use by the travelling public. Having
concluded that we need just one, possibly
two systems to build a coherent SWINGnet, it
is high time we turned our attention to these
key planning issues.
Information sources
– Alstom Transport: www.transport.alstom.com
– Bombardier: www.bombardier.com
– RandstadRail: www.randstadrail.nl
– Rijn-Gouwe Light Rail: www.rijngouwelijn.nl
– Stedenbaan, Bestuurlijk Platform Zuidvleugel,
The Hague, 2003.
– Stedenbaan brengt stationslocaties tot leven,
Bestuurlijk Platform Zuidvleugel, The Hague, 2005.
– TramPlus: www.tramplus.nl
– Zuidvleugelnet Zuid-Holland:
www.humanhub.nl/zuidvleugelnet.html Z

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 25
In a globalising world, metropolitan development
is not an optional extra, but a necessity.
Metropolitan areas are the engines and portals of
the EU, simply because they contain the largest
pool of labour – and talent. The Randstad is one of
these European engines, but it has not made
effective use of its metropolitan qualities. The
Stedenbaan project resents an opportunity to
close the gaps in the spatial structure and create
a truly metropolitan condition.
Emerging network for
the Randstad metropolis
Daan Zandbelt, Zandbelt&vandenBerg, Rotterdam/Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture
Illustrations: Zandbelt&vandenBerg (unless indicated otherwise)
Most people’s idea of a metropolis is
dominated by skyscrapers – and that scares
them. This is hardly surprising, but illfounded.
Skyscrapers dominate central
business districts, but the rest of a
metropolitan area consists mainly of green
suburbs, business parks, universities,
seaports and airports, landscape parks and,
in the polynuclear Randstad, a dozen historic
city centres and an awful lot of water.
A metropolis is just an urban region that
provides the widest choice of nearly
everything: houses, jobs, schools, leisure
activities and, essentially, transport.
A good public transport system is a basic
requirement for a metropolis, but is sadly
lacking in the Randstad. Of course, the car
will continue to dominate the modal split,
but with the intensification of development
around station areas and improved
interconnectivity there is an opportunity to
develop a proper alternative to the car in the
10 to 30 kilometre range: a rapid transit
network.
blue-yellow caterpillars
The Dutch trains crawl like blue-yellow
caterpillars through virginal green meadows,
ferrying commuters; day in, day out. The public
transport system in the Randstad already
works like a metropolitan transit system.
But it performs even worse than the outdated
transit system in London because it was not
designed for the purpose. National railway
systems are built to unite a country, both
economically and socially: to make it possible
to do business in another region, or to visit
Reinvention of the Dutch rail system.
your aunt at Christmas (and stay for a week).
They are not meant for intensive use by
hundreds of thousands of people each day. But
this is exactly what we have been doing for
decades in the Randstad. For short distances
the trains are too heavy to accelerate rapidly,
so they do not stop very often. The frequency
of services is too low and the seats take up too
much space, leaving no room for standing
passengers. We urgently need to redefi ne the
hierarchy in our transport system: besides the
national system served by InterCity trains we
need a metropolitan transit system daily
commuting in the 10 to 30 kilometre range.
french lessons
How is this done elsewhere? Many
metropolitan areas have dealt with this issue
before. A classic example is Paris. Forty years Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 26
after London it introduced the chemin de fer
métropolitain, the current metro. This system
runs underground most of the way and has a
maximum reach of approximately 10
kilometres. After World War II Paris suffered
from severe congestion and its outer districts
had become slums. To overcome these
problems a fully-fledged masterplan for
expansion was carried out as conceived. Five
new towns were built and served by a new
form of public transport, the RER, a rapid
transit system built between 1965 and the
1990s. Ten lines fan out from the city for
some 35 kilometres in all directions, with a
total journey time of under an hour.
Two lessons can be learned from the Parisian
experience. One is that Paris remains more or
Paris Randstad
less a monocentric metropolis. Like most
French transport infrastructure, all the RER
lines run to the heart of Paris. They are all
intensively used, to such an extent that to
prevent a total gridlock in the centre ville, a
circle line (l’orbitale) has been introduced.
This is a big difference from the Netherlands
where journey patterns are much more ‘crisscross’.
The Randstad is clearly polynuclear.
The second lesson is that enormous energy
and determination are needed to stick to the
plan and carry it out as conceived. This may
seem obvious, but the experiences with the
Betuwe cargo line and the High Speed Line
(HSL) clearly show that the Dutch political
system makes it impossible to carry out such
plans as originally intended. A multitude of
stakeholders and other parties have the rand
power to influence the planning process
and endlessly force through amendments,
hampering implementation.
dutch disease
This is a general obstacle in Dutch
planning, which has two causes, it seems.
Local authorities are more powerful than
regional authorities and so local interests
always prevail over regional ones. The second
reason is a simple lack of vision and resolve.
There are many parties involved, but no-one
owns the problem. If something goes wrong,
no-one can be held accountable. Neither
does any party feel responsible for the
bigger, long-term picture. This Dutch disease
has already frustrated urban and suburban
development in the ‘South Wing’, one of the
most densely builtup areas in the Randstad
that includes The Hague and Rotterdam. An
enormous urban field is under construction
right now in the area between these two
centres. The ‘VINEX’ suburbs 1 in this area
make up the largest component of this new
development, next to business parks,
regional parks and greenhouse complexes.
Together they amount to a city of 100,000
residents, equivalent to the size of Delft – but
without the jobs and the city centre that
normally go with it. They are supposed to
have a bilateral relation with their mother
city: live in the suburb; use the mother city
for work and facilities. In reality, the VINEX
residents use their new homes as a strategic
location in the web of the Randstad’s
(motorway) network. Their daily urban
system covers a territory that extends on
average about 20 kilometres from their
house in several directions, whereas the
mother cities of the VINEX districts are only
five to ten kilometres away.
An attempt was made to think of these
housing schemes as a complete development
package, but it failed. Now every city has its
own suburb, with nothing in common except
that they look the same. The legacy of the
Master net vs. emerging network.
attempt at some form of coherent
development programme is the Randstadrail
and the N470, a regional road. These two
stepchildren are worthy in themselves, but
by no means do they form a true network.
They mainly connect the suburbs to their
mother cities.
The planning of new rail infrastructure took
a slightly different course. There was not
even an attempt to create a coherent
network; the construction of a single line is
considered difficult enough. The Randstad is
now blessed with a whole series of separate
plans for rapid transit lines. In the South

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 27
Wing alone there are at least five. However,
this accumulation of separate development
may also have its advantages, although it is a
pity that any benefits will be down to sheer
luck rather than foresight.
emerging network
In the spring of 2007 the HSL between
Amsterdam and Rotterdam will come into
operation. The new HSL line will free up
capacity on the ‘old’ line between Leiden,
The Hague, Rotterdam and Dordrecht. The
Stedenbaan project will make use of this
capacity by introducing a commuter train
service with ‘metro quality’ on this line and
on the Rotterdam-Gouda and The Hague-
Gouda lines by replacing, extending and
upgrading the current local stopping train
service. But there is more to come.
The Stedenbaan project offers the
opportunity to link together several concepts
into a single rapid transit network, greatly
increasing the number of destinations in the
10 to 30 kilometre range that can be reached
comfortably. The shrewd aspect of this
emerging network is its bottom-up strategy.
In the complicated Dutch political context, it
is easier to create a transport network in
incremental stages than by imposing a topheavy
masterplan. Stedenbaan will connect
no less than five different transit lines.
Randstadrail, the most prominent, is a RER-
like rail connection between Rotterdam and
The Hague that links their Vinex suburbs and
includes the Zoetermeer Stadslijn (city line).
There are plans in an advanced stage of
development for the RijnGouwe line
between Gouda, Alphen aan den Rijn and
Leiden, to be extended later to the coast.
Last August the extension of the Rotterdam
metro system to Nesselande was opened,
and a forward connection to the
Zuidplaspolder is a possibility. The Hoekse
line will be upgraded and run from Schiedam
to the coast. These developments will allow
people to travel more easily from one place
to another and expand the sphere of their
daily activities. For example, someone living
in a Schiedam suburb will be able to go to
the cinema on a weekday night not just in
Rotterdam, but also in The Hague or
Zoetermeer, or for a student living with his
parents in Alphen to study in Leiden, The
Hague or Gouda.
As well as offering residents in the region a
wider choice, the greater connectivity of the
new network will expand the catchments of
a whole range of facilities and amenities
(e.g. swimming pools), making it easier to
generate sufficient income for their
operation and maintenance. Stedenbaan
taps into unsatisfied demand. Of course, as
long as the total population does not grow,
total demand will not increase dramatically,
Freedom of choice
but it will rise gradually as our needs and
wishes continue to grow. On the other hand,
the average household size is decreasing,
which means more homes will have to be
built to house the same number of people.
Our recreational needs will grow, too, both
for built facilities, such as retail and sports
facilities, and for outdoor recreation – more
beaches, urban parks and water-based
recreational facilities at the lakes in the
Green Heart, like the Kager Plassen. Possibly
the most exciting opportunity is that
connecting several transit lines will generate
a larger critical mass to support programmes
now considered wholly out of reach.
upgrade
Interestingly enough, most of these lines –
the RijnGouwe line, Randstadrail, Stedenbaan
and Hoekse line – run mostly on existing tracks.
The really new element will be upgrading both
their hardware and software. Improvements in
the software will be twofold: more convenient
and attractive vehicles, and more frequent
services, which will be stepped up from once
every 30 minutes to six trains per hour in each
direction in 2014.The hardware upgrade will
involve building new stations. Of the 48
stations on the Stedenbaan, 16 are new, three
of which have already been planned: Ypenburg,
Schiedam Spaland and Sassenheim. On the
strength of the network’s improved centrality
and accessibility, new development will be Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 28
clustered around the stations and provide part
of the financing for the construction of the
network. In the meantime, Stedenbaan will be
restricted to the southern part of the Randstad,
with extended branches to Schiphol Airport
and Haarlem. In the long run opportunities
exist to connect it to the range of regional
transit systems in the north, including the
Zuidtangent, the Amsterdam metro system
and North-South line. We would then have a
rapid transit network covering the whole
Randstad.
car connection
The rapid transit network also provides an
opportunity to combine car and train. These
high-quality public transport systems always
emphasise access to stations by foot, bicycle
and local public transport. However, it is not a
strange idea to consider cars as well. Good Park
& Ride facilities will enlarge the catchment
area of the stations and allow people to drive
to their local station and get on the train in the
morning without the problem of traffic jams or
high parking charges. The stations would only
have to be well positioned in the local road
infrastructure, because the car serves as
feeder only.
Places that are very well connected to both the
regional road and rail networks can rapidly
develop into an edge city. European edge cities
have a couple of features that set them apart
them from North American ones. The European
version is served by high quality public
transport and parking is more efficiently solved
by stacking the cars in buildings or on top of
shops. The buildings do actually have an
entrance for pedestrians, making them more
attractive places to go to, even without a car.
Rotterdam Alexandrium is a good example.
Over the past two decades it has accumulated
sufficient critical mass, with the construction
of a ring of suburban areas, to support the
Oosterhof local shopping centre. Once
accessibility was improved with a metro stop,
an intercity station and a motorway exit, the
shopping centre evolved into a mega ‘home
furnishings’ mall. (True regional shopping
malls are not permitted in the Netherlands.)
Alexandrium is also an important office park
and is the home of NRC newspaper and Coca-
Cola among others. Not every Stedenbaan
station will grow into such an edge city, but
some will.
New developments around the stations,
accessible to a large number of people, will
give the network as a whole a metropolitan
dimension. Stedenbaan is a tool to diversify,
intensify, specialise and reorganise the set of
local conditions. Diversification can be
achieved by adding new functions to
monofunctional areas; intensification by the
construction of new buildings, thus avoiding
greenfield development by making more
efficient use of existing urban areas. Station
areas can become more specialised by
attracting activities within a specific field, such
as knowledge intensive companies, and
making connections between stations more
attractive. Reorganisation can be achieved
through regeneration; deprived
neighbourhoods will be revitalised by their
new centrality and accessibility. Stedenbaan
can contribute to an urban renaissance.
The ‘rapid transit network’ as a whole not only
offers an excellent alternative means of
transport to the car, but it also interconnects
Three case studies. (source: Deltanet)
all these different development programmes
and environments to form a more coherent
and richer whole.
atelier zuidvleugel
The Atelier Zuidvleugel, set up by the
Province of Zuid-Holland to explore options for
the ‘city plan’ for the South Wing, is analysing
the spatial development opportunities of all
the Stedenbaan station areas. The research
team have already drawn up an inventory of
the development potential in terms of land
area, based on the ‘spheres of influence’ of each
station defined by a radius of 1200 metres.
The 48 spheres of influence investigated by
the Atelier Zuidvleugel have an accumulated
territory of 18,000 hectares. Of this enormous
land area only 2800 hectares, a sixth of the
total, is available to be transformed in the
decade between 2010 and 2020. Almost twothirds
of this development potential involves
the regeneration of existing, predominantly
residential urban areas.
These maximum possible growth models
have been juxtaposed with the regional
development ambitions for these sites,
which are based on housing needs. The South
Wing housing needs assessment estimates

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 29
that 175,000 new homes will be required
between 2010 and 2020. Of these, 60,000 are
needed to replace existing inadequate
housing and the remaining 115,000 will be
additional stock. Around 40-55,000 of these
new homes are projected around stations,
with the Stedenbaan stations accounting for
25 – 40,000.
The ambitions and space for intensification
differ per region. The Haaglanden region
has a healthy wish to raise the density of
development. The Rotterdam region has a
greater potential for growth than its current
programmes suggest. The Midden Holland
region (Gouda and surrounding area) seems to
be overambitious, with a growth projection
three times larger than it can reasonably be
expected to accommodate in the space
available. Moreover, the redevelopment
potential is unequally divided between the
various stations, with ninety per cent of the
growth potential concentrated in about a third
of the station areas. The stations in the
Haaglanden region and the area around Leiden
central station, in particular, have plenty of
space.
Another research team, at Delft University of
Technology, has been established to determine
the same potential along the other lines in the
network (i.e. not the Stedenbaan).
They have identified four categories of stations
in the network:
1 Stops that simply enjoy being hooked up
to the network, as an entry point of the
network. They give the network sufficient
critical mass and enrich its overall value
by adding additional destinations. These
stations will be used more intensively
and activities in the surrounding area will
orientate more towards the station.
Development potential is modest.
2 Opportunity areas with plenty of space
for new development, since their once
peripheral location has now become more
central. Car accessibility is good.
Connection to the rapid transit network
has considerably raised their development
potential.
3 Transport hubs, where several lines and
modalities come together. Access by car
may be poor. Typical examples are the
Rotterdam airport: new centralities boost new developments.
A project by Witteveen+Bos and Zandbelt&VandenBerg.
major stations in the Randstad, such as
Rotterdam Central and Leiden.
4 ‘Empty’ stops, which do not generally
supply a large number of passengers but
enrich the overall network value. These
include stations in regional parks, waterbased
recreational areas and beach resorts.
japanese style
The Japanese keiretsu (business alliance)
can serve as a role model for developing the
system using a bottom-up strategy. The
keiretsu is a set of affiliated companies in
diverse fields, from a railway company to a
construction firm and retail giants. The
development would proceed as follows: private
railway companies are developed in tandem
with new stations, the station areas are
initially developed as retail hubs, and then the
wider area around the stations are prepared for
residential development. In essence, the new
territories are first made more accessible,
giving them a more central position than
before. Then consumers and employees are
lured to these places to shop and work. And
finally, the stops become centres offering
attractive and convenient residential
accommodation. The keirestu is responsible for
the initiative, real estate development,
construction and maintenance. Since it is also
the owner of department stores and other
property at the stations, it has to constantly
innovate to keep consumers coming. Instead of
‘hit and run development’, there will be a
continuous cycle of design, construction,
maintenance and improvement.
A few lessons can be learned from these
experiments:
– Acknowledge that power to control
development is limited.
– Share a clear ambition by setting up a long
term vision (what kind of city do we want
to live in?).
– Use this vision to build alliances.
– Deliver in small portions, step by step,
leaving enough freedom to other
stakeholders, private or public.
Stedenbaan itself offers an opportunity to
make a start with a coherent spatial network
for the Randstad through a public rapid transit
system. The metropolitan condition this will
create is good for people and business.
Note
1 VINEX is the Dutch house-building programme for
one million new homes between 1995 and 2015, most
of which are being built in major new urban
extensions.
References
– Kiwa Matsushita, ‘Depato’, in Harvard Design School
Guide to Shopping, 2001.
– Atelier Zuidvleugel, Project Stedenbaan, 002, 2005
– Frank van der Hoeven, ‘Zuidvleugelnet’, Rooilijn no. 3,
2005.
– Zandbelt&vandenBerg / Vereniging Deltametropool,
Deltanet, 2003/04.
– Zandbelt&vandenBerg / Stichting Vrienden van de
Deltametropool, Deltawerk, 2004.
– Zandbelt&vandenBerg / Provincie Zuid-Holland, Paris
l’histoire se répète, 2004. Z

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 30
Bus Rapid Transit
Traffic congestion in the urbanised areas of the Netherlands is reaching critical levels. Rail-based mass
transit systems have always been considered the solution, but the costs are often prohibitive. Modern Bus
Rapid Transit systems are more affordable, flexible and clean, and can be readily integrated into the urban
fabric of existing and planned developments. The Phileas in Eindhoven demonstrates their potential.
Stefan van der Spek, Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture
Jacques Splint, Eindhoven City Council, Department of Urban Development and Management
Photo’s: Stefan van der Spek
Mobility and environmental quality are key
issues in urban planning. In the Netherlands,
traffic congestion is a daily occurrence
and the problem is growing as population
numbers and car ownership rise and the
urban area expands. Per person we use more
traffic space and floor space than ever.
The most recent wave of large urban
extensions (the ‘VINEX’ districts) are a major
contributory factor because they were built
without good quality public transport links,
leaving them effectively isolated from other
areas of the city and residents completely
dependent on their cars. Although many of
these districts are now served by tram and
bus lines, and temporary train stations have
been built, the relation between urban
function, density and public transport
remains limited.
Although the motorway network is
continually being improved, congestion is
worsening, not only during the rush hour but
also during the day, in the evening and at the
weekend. A minor accident is enough to
cause long tailbacks, but increasing the
capacity of existing motorways and building
more roads is not the solution. Satellite
images reveal the shocking air quality in the
Netherlands. 1 Although vehicle emissions of
fine particulates and NOx are only partly to
blame, there is a real problem in the most
densely populated areas in the west of the
country. 2 The problems of traffic congestion
and unacceptably high levels of air pollution
are not restricted to motorways and ring
roads, but also affect the quality of life across
wider urban areas and in the city centres.

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 31
What is Bus
Rapid Transit?
Bus Rapid Transit is high-quality, customerorientated
transit that delivers fast,
comfortable and low-cost urban mobility.
BRT systems have some or all of the following
elements; many of these can also make a
valuable contribution to improving regular
bus services.
– Dedicated bus corridors with strong
physical separation from other traffi c lanes.
– Modern bus stops that are more like bus
‘stations’, with pre-board ticketing and
comfortable waiting facilities.
– Multi-door buses that ‘dock’ with the
bus station to allow rapid boarding and
alighting.
– Large, high-capacity, comfortable buses,
preferably low-emission.
– Differentiated services such as local and
express buses.
– Bus prioritisation at intersections, either
as signal priority or physical avoidance
(e.g. underpasses).
– Coordination with operators of smaller
buses and paratransit vehicles to create
new feeder services to the bus station.
– Integrated ticketing that allows free
transfers, if possible across transit
companies and modes (bus, tram, metro).
– Use of GPS or other locator technologies
clean mass transit: rail or road?
There are two main types of mass transit:
road and rail systems. Road transit is
generally thought of in terms of the bus, a
slow, low-quality, polluting and inadequate
carrier. Rail systems, such as tram, light rail,
metro or train are higher in the hierarchy of
public transport systems because of their
faster operating speeds and greater
capacities. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) may change
this. The International Energy Agency (IEA)
claims that the quality of bus systems can be
improved to a level normally associated with
rail systems3 and BRT is far less expensive and
more flexible than light rail.
The IEA further states: ‘Compared to cities
dominated by small private vehicles, those
with a central control area that manages
bus location at all times and facilitates
rapid reaction to problems.
– Real-time information displays on expected
bus arrival times.
– Good station access for taxis, pedestrians
and cyclists, and adequate storage facilities
for bikes.
– New regimes for bus licensing, regulation
and compensation of operators.
– Land-use reform to encourage higher
densities close to BRT stations.
– Park and ride lots for stations outside the
urban core.
– Well-designed handicap access, including
ability for wheelchair passengers to quickly
board buses.
– Excellence in customer services that
includes clean, comfortable and safe
facilities, good information and helpful staff.
– A sophisticated marketing strategy that
encompasses branding, positioning and
advertising.
Compared with regular bus services, BRT
offers higher speed, higher frequencies,
better information and more comfort. BRT is
a concept which covers infrastructure,
vehicles, urban design and management.
Source: Wright, L., Bus Rapid Transit:
Sustainable Transport: a Sourcebook for
Policy-makers in Developing Cities, ITDP,
New York, USA, 2002
with well designed bus systems have much
less traffic congestion, lower pollutant and
CO2 emissions, and offer better mobility for
all social and economic classes. Bus systems
... are responsible for only a small part of
traffic congestion, energy use and pollution.’
And more importantly: ‘Even “dirty” buses
emit far less pollution and CO2 emissions per
passenger kilometre than most other types
of vehicles.’ Of course, this figure depends
on the level of occupancy of buses and the
technological level of other types of vehicles,
but we may conclude that offering high
quality public transport – either BRT or Light
Rail Transit (LRT) – alleviates traffic
congestion, parking pressures and air
pollution in the city.
brt an attractive option
Rail-based public transport has always
been seen as a solution in the Netherlands,
but not every city or region can afford such
expensive transport systems. According to
the IEA, BRT infrastructure at grade costs
between $1 and $8 million/km, compared
with $10 to $30 million/km for LRT or metro
systems. The costs double for elevated
infrastructure and are twice as high again for
underground systems. The IEA and Wright4 state that the capacity of BRT is 50% higher
than LRT, although this figure may vary
according to vehicle capacity, operating
speed and the frequency of the services.
Dutch experts, on the other hand, state that
BRT can never achieve a higher maximum
capacity because of their lower operating
speed and safety regulations for non-guided
mass transit. A higher BRT network density
and better integration into the urban fabric
would compensate for a lower capacity,
but this requires a different network
configuration.
The most significant difference between rail
and road transit is the infrastructure. Railway
infrastructure is more dangerous for cyclists
and pedestrians and less flexible in the event
of accidents. The overhead lines and traction
poles are intrusive features in the urban
environment and create obstructions. It
should be noted, though, that innovative
solutions have been developed to avoid this
problem. For example, the new wireless light
rail in Bordeaux, Innorail, obtains its power
from a third, central rail, which is only
energised in sections directly beneath the
tram. But BRT can also free city centres from
overhead lines.
BRT and LRT compared
Bus Rapid Light Rail
Transit Transit
Cost (million $/km) 1 – 8 10 – 30
Flexibility + –
Spatial implementation + –
Identity – +
The first wide scale and successful
introduction of BRT was in 1974 in Curitiba
(Brazil, 2.2 million inhabitants). Today, this
Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 32
famous system consists of several backbone
corridors (over 50 kilometres of exclusive
busways) and around 340 kilometres of
feeder services. Although a number of cities
have since introduced BRT, it was not until
the late 1990s that the success of Curitiba
was first replicated in Bogota (Colombia,
7 million inhabitants) with the TransMilenio
system. The largest BRT system in the world,
with 250 kilometres of exclusive busways,
can be found in Sao Paolo. Besides these
Latin American cities there are also good
examples of BRT in more developed nations:
Brisbane (Australia), Ottowa (Canada) and
Rouen (France). 4
brt in the netherlands
BRT has been introduced at three places in
the Netherlands: Utrecht (HOV), Amsterdam-
Schiphol-Haarlem (Zuidtangent) and
Eindhoven (Phileas). The HOV (literally ‘High
Quality Transit’) is based mainly on a still
expanding network of dedicated busways.
The Zuidtangent consists of a single main
line designed as a LRT but operated as a BRT.
The Phileas in Eindhoven is so far the only
specially designed overall concept of vehicle
type, infrastructure and urban
transformation in the Netherlands.
Following the publication in the early 1990s
of various government policy documents,
such as the National Transport Structure
Plan, local authorities and regional transport
authorities in the Netherlands sought to
develop transport systems that offered an
alternative to the private car. The city of
Eindhoven drew up a set of requirements for
a high-quality public transport system and
examined a number of possible vehicle
systems that would meet these
requirements. Given the size of the city, a
metro system was financially out of the
question and even a tram was too expensive.
Buses were considered to have a poor image
and provide insufficient quality. The city,
therefore, looked for an alternative that
would combine the advantages of trams
(image, capacity) and buses (flexible, cheap).
They first examined the Guided Light Transit
system (GLT) manufactured by BN/
Bombardier, a mechanically guided bus
comparable to Innorail, until a regional
consortium led by the Noord-Brabant
Development Agency (BOM) and Nedcar
came up with a new proposal: the Phileas.
The special feature of this vehicle is that it
has an electrical guidance system rather
than a mechanical one. After a feasibility
study confirmed the viability of the system,
the regional and local authorities and the
business community lobbied the
government to support the introduction of
the system, holding discussions with officials
at the transport, planning and economic
affairs ministries. Representations were
made to the Ministry of Economic Affairs
because at the time Eindhoven was going
through an economically difficult period
(mass redundancies at DAF and Philips) and
was keen to obtain an extra stimulus for
regional industry.
A financial package for the project was
finally agreed in 1988, with a government
subsidy covering 40% of the costs. The
remainder was paid for by Eindhoven and
Veldhoven municipal councils and the
business community. European funding was
also obtained for the development of the
vehicle. The project was managed by the SRE
(Eindhoven Regional Partnership). Having
taken the original initiative, Eindhoven
subsequently focused its efforts on building
the required infrastructure.
eindhoven west corridor:
transport backbone
Phileas runs from the centre of Eindhoven
to Meerhoven, Eindhoven Airport and
Veldhoven town centre, largely within the
Eindhoven West Corridor. This corridor was a
Key Project in the Fourth National Policy
Document on Spatial Planning and is a high
profile example of good coordination
between mobility planning, urban planning
and economic development. Much new
development has been concentrated within
this corridor and more is planned, such as the
redevelopment of old Philips sites as new
urban areas. The Meerhoven urban extension
will provide in 6500 new houses and 200
hectares of employment land for business
development. Right from the start the
Phileas line has been a structuring element
in this extension, creating the opportunity
to plan the new housing around the public
transport stops, unlike many other major
urban extensions. The project started in 2003
as the backbone of an extremely modern,
efficient and customer-friendly regional
public transport network in a region well
known for high-technology industries,
innovation and creativity.
Eindhoven Airport is located at the end of the
West Corridor. This regional airport is rapidly
expanding and passenger numbers are set to

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 33
reach 2.2 million in a few years time; many
of them are expected to use the Phileas to
travel to or from the airport. The next
corridor to be developed might be a northsouth
corridor to Aalst/Valkenswaard,
passing the High Tech Campus.
An agreement has been reached with the
government on supporting policy measures
to increase the number of passengers using
Phileas. Parking prices will be allowed to rise
and paid parking will be introduced in more
areas of the city. Public transport has been on
offer in Meerhoven since the first residents
moved in, and for a time public transport for
these residents was free. A mobility shop in
Phileas
combines the
fl exibility of
transport by
bus with the
reliability
of transport
by rail or
underground
Meerhoven and the introduction of a
Pioneers ticket providing a discount on travel
by public transport in Meerhoven have raised
public support for the project. In the years to
come Phileas will demonstrate how a new
and innovative form of public transport can
be made to work in the Eindhoven region.
phileas advanced public transport
Advanced Public Transport (APT) has a
number of characteristics – it is fast, flexible,
comfortable, reliable, attractive, punctual,
safe and environmentally friendly – and
Phileas combines them all. The concept for
Phileas is entirely new and combines the
flexibility of transport by bus with the
reliability of transport by rail or
underground. This is of particular interest
for medium-sized to large cities, where
transport by bus is too small-scale and
transport by rail is not economically viable.
The concept was developed by a consortium
of companies from the region under the
leadership of APTS/Berkhof. The first
prototype was tested in 2002 and scheduled
services between Eindhoven and Veldhoven
began in late 2004. Phileas is produced by
APTS (Advanced Public Transport Systems) in
Helmond, a subsidiary of VDL.
Dedicated infrastructure
To ensure optimum performance and
benefits, Phileas runs on a dedicated route
throughout virtually its entire length,
unhindered by other traffic. The Phileas bus
lane is made of 25 cm thick non-reinforced
concrete and is 6.6 metres wide (for two
directions). Concrete was chosen as the
building material because it is rigid (nondeformable)
– under constant use asphalt is
subject to wheel track rutting – and because
the difference in colour (grey instead of
black) and structure makes it more readily
identifiable. Moreover, concrete has a longer
life than asphalt and is thus cheaper. At five
places the Phileas line crosses other roads at
grade-separated junctions and so loses no
time. At the other crossings the Phileas has
right of way or the sequence of traffic lights
gives it priority, reducing journey times and
ensuring a reliable service.
The busway is well integrated into the
surrounding area and particular attention
has been paid to the green landscaping on
either side. Local support and agreement for
the required changes to the road infrastructure
in existing residential areas was obtained
through active local participation in the
planning and design work.
Comfort
Two versions of the Phileas are in service:
a double articulated, 18 metre long version
with a maximum capacity of 120 passengers
and a triple articulated version, 24 metres
long, with a maximum capacity of 180
passengers. Its special wheel suspension,
entirely flat low floor, wide doors and well-
spaced seating make the Phileas extremely
comfortable and easily accessible. The
platforms have been constructed on a higher
grade, 30 cm above ground level and the
same height as the floor of the Phileas
vehicles, ensuring easy boarding and
alighting without having to step up or down.
The gap between the side of the vehicle and
the edge of the platform is just 5 cm,
presenting no insurmountable barrier for
wheelchair access, prams and pushchairs. All
the stops, which have a modern design, are
fitted with a bus shelter and wooden bench,
a line map and departure times, and a pillar
with a dynamic passenger information
display indicating the waiting times for the
various services. The electronic passenger
information system enables information to
be obtained on timetables, departure times
and any delays via the internet at home,
in shops and theatres. In Phileas itself,
information is given on the route, the
following stop and the arrival time at the
terminus.
Electronic guidance
Phileas is equipped with an electronic
guidance system and follows a
predetermined route via magnetic markers
embedded in the road surface every four
metres. This infrastructure is therefore much
cheaper than rail and easy to maintain. The
dedicated routes and guidance system
greatly reduces strain on the drivers and
ensures a high level of safety, particularly in
busy city centres, while allowing the drivers
to respond to any unforeseen situation as it
occurs.
Y

NovaTerra Connected Cities / december 2005 / 34
Fast and reliable
The use of dedicated lanes, grade-separated
junctions and priority at grade junctions
allows Phileas to travel at higher speeds,
reducing journey times. The electronic
guidance system enables Phileas to pull up
and stop accurately at the platforms. Along
with the large sliding doors and electronic
payment system, this keeps stopping times
down to the minimum. Journey times are
therefore considerably shorter than with
regular bus transport. The journey time from
the centre of Eindhoven to Eindhoven Airport
and the Veldhoven town centre is less than
20 minutes.
In addition to speed and comfort, reliability
is another important characteristic of good
public transport. The electronic guidance
system allows the control room to accurately
follow the progress of each vehicle and
adjust their speed to fit the timetable
accurately. This means that Phileas services
are punctual and very frequent: Phileas
operates in both directions every five
minutes on both lines.
low-emission hybrid drive
Phileas has a hybrid drive in which all
the wheels, apart from the front wheels,
are driven by electric motors. The electrical
energy is generated by an economical and
environmentally friendly LPG motor that
powers a generator with continuous
rotational speed. A set of batteries provides
a secondary power supply. The engine
produces more power than necessary, and
the excess energy and the energy released
during braking is fed into to the batteries.
Phileas is able to run purely on electric power
supplied by these batteries, and thus
emissions free, for three kilometres, making
it ideal for use in the city centre. Because of
the hybrid drive and its lightweight
construction, Phileas consumes less energy
than conventional vehicles and 25 per cent
less energy than a conventional LPG motor. In
addition, the materials used in Phileas are
recyclable and environmentally friendly.
a future for brt
Tackling the problem of traffic
congestions and air pollution is not only a
matter of designing a transport system or
introducing environmentally-friendly
technology; it is also a matter of spatial
planning and urban design. At the grass
roots level, people should be encouraged to
use other modes of transport, such as
walking, cycling and public mass transit.
Building at higher densities around public
transport nodes and locating schools,
supermarkets and other public facilities and
amenities within walking distance should
make the use of sustainable transport modes
a more obvious choice. All three approaches
must be used together to create sustainable
and liveable cities.
The choice between LRT and BRT is not just a
matter of money and capacity. It also
depends on the existing and future urban
situation, existing transport modes and
networks, and political preferences. In most
German examples, BRT is not an issue: LRT
connects with heavy rail and shares the same
infrastructure.
Nevertheless, as a concept BRT seems to have
a future. Curitiba, Bogota, Sao Paolo and
many other South American cities illustrate
that BRT is a cost-effective, efficient and
more environmentally beneficial alternative
to LRT. The introduction of Phileas in
Eindhoven is the first step towards
integrated transport and development in the
Netherlands. Further steps are necessary to
expand the network into a fully operational
backbone and feeder structure.
Although BRT will contribute to upgrading
bus services, in Europe it will probably never
overtake LRT in the transport hierarchy. BRT
is a good principle for upgrading feeder
services for light and heavy rail, but its
flexibility also makes it less permanent: if
you take away the vehicles, all that remains
is a simple piece of infrastructure.
Notes
1 See the tropospheric NO2 measurements on the
KNMI website: http://www.knmi.nl/omi.
2 Hout, D. van den, Problems with Air Quality, TNO,
Kennisdag Duurzaam Mobiel, TU Delft, 29 November
2005.
3 IEA, Bus Systems for the Future: Achieving
Sustainable Transport Worldwide, International
Energy Agency, Paris, France, 2002.
4 Wright, L., Bus Rapid Transit: Sustainable Transport: a
Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Cities,
ITDP, New York, USA, 2002.
Websites
– http://www.itdp.org/
– http://Humanhub.nl/
– http://mobiel.bk.tudelft.nl Z

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Germany
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of Patras (ADEP)
Development Agency of Magnesia S.A. (ANEM)
Municipality of Philippi
Region of Thessaly
University of Thessaly
Italy
Municipality of Ancona
Municipality of Ferrara
Netherlands
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)
Eindhoven Regional Government Administrative
structure (SRE)
Netherlands Centre for Underground Construction(COB)
TNO Environment and Geosciences
Portugal
City Hall of Covilhã
Institute Pedro Nunes (IPN)
Spain
Federation of municipalities and provinces of
Castilla-La Mancha (FEMPCLM)
Municipality of Toledo
United Kingdom
Bristol City Council
South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)
Transport for London (TfL)