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Duurzame Ontwikkeling door Collectief Bewonersinitiatief: Leidraad voor professionals om bewonersgroepen aan de duurzaamheidsopgave te verbinden
Get PDF‘The joint residents’ initiative aimed at renewable energy optimization has been increasing in The Netherlands. This is evident from the survey carried out for this study during 2012 of ‘renewable energy residents initiative’ in The Netherlands, as well as the changing government policy. The engineering sector is contributing to this development by introducing new types of energy systems for housing complexes with multiple households.
The underlying reasons for this change are the societal change towards less government involvement and the increase of civilian initiative in society. The underlying reason is the disappointing outcome of the current energy program, referring to the monitoring of the ‘Central Planning Bureau’ (CPB, 2009), and the ‘Energy Research Centre of The Netherlands’ ( ECN, 2010). The agreements with third parties, housing associations and developers did not result in the required and desired results (Ministry VROM & NEPROM, 2008) (Ministry VROM & Aedes, 2009). The task of the governmental program ‘Clean and Efficient ‘ for the ‘ urban environment’ is daunting (Ministry VROM, 2007a). Before 2020, CO2 emissions must (with 1990 as reference) be reduced by 30 %. Renewable energy share will have to contribute 20% to this decrease (in the less stringent ‘Energy Agreement’ (Ministry EZ, 2013) this contribution of renewable energy has remained unchanged unless the new 14% target for 2020). This is in accordance with the restated agreements with the rental sector and project development entrepreneurs (Ministry BZK & Hire Partners, 2012) (Ministry BZK & Partners, 2012).
This is further supported by recent government policies. In 2011, the government developed, the ‘Plan for energy saving within urban environment‘ (Ministry BiZa, 2011b), including the ‘Block for Block’ program (Ministry BiZa, 2011a) which was aimed at reducing the energy consumption on the basis of clusters of homes. In addition, the program ‘Promoting Renewable Energy’ ( SDE ) emerged during this period and the subsequent ‘National Energy Agreement for Sustainable Growth’ (hereinafter called the ‘Energy Agreement’) (Ministry EZ, 2013 ) which are focusing on the achievement of the national goals for renewable energy emphasizing on citizen participation and initiative.
However, in practice there is no breakthrough in this field: the inventory of ‘joint residents initiative’ for ‘renewable energy’ conducted in 2012 showed that only 0.2 % of Dutch households are involved. This result is consistent with the conceptual model of the ‘Transition Theory‘ ( Rotmans, 2003) (Rogers 2003). According to this model- based approach for the introduction of renewable energy innovations only 2 to 3% of the population of the ‘innovation type’ would like to participate in new developments. This could increase to 15% if the group described as ‘early adopters ‘ would participate as well. As such it will be necessary to further research the possibilities of stimulating sustainable development through ‘joint residents initiatives’.
Sustainable development according to the approach of the UN Brundtland Commission (1987), includes both a physical as well a social and sustainable developments places in a durable context: ‘the developments that meet the needs of the present without compromising those of future generations.’ This would require a perfect and sustainable balance of ecological, economic and social interests. Within an urban environment, the restructuring activities (technical quality, the quality of living and quality of life in neighbourhoods and districts), social problem solving (how people interact in social cohesion) and sustainability challenges (environmental, energy -related) as well as the sustainability challenge (now and in the future) are to be the most timely and urgent.
The relationships, described by Brundtland between physical, social and sustainable, laid the groundwork to involve the knowledge and experience of ‘residents initiatives’ in the Dutch neighbourhood restructuring challenges, for investigating ‘the potential’ of residents initiating renewable energy in the home environment. As was reflected in the central research question: ‘Under which conditions do social cohesion and sustainable corporate residents initiative influence each other successfully, for the sake of renewable energy in the built environment for living?’
In order to be able to answer the central research question, two lines of research were followed; in addition to research on conditions for social cohesion (a social collective of residents), conditions for residents collectives to invest in renewable energy were investigated. The research methodology included a combination of literature review, case studies at various levels (group discussions, interviews) and research among professionals (group discussions). This included (besides the literature search) all qualitative research to get the motivations and reasons behind ‘residents decisions’ more clear.
The above mentioned case studies included both neighbourhoods that are known for the present social cohesion and sustainability realized as a result of ‘residents initiative’. This included the districts IJburg Amsterdam and Hoograven Utrecht, some ecological neighbourhoods in The Netherlands, as well as the GWL site in Amsterdam and ‘City of the Sun’ in Heerhugowaard. The geographic scale on which ‘residents initiatives’ appear, has therewith a part of the research and a component in analyses.
Finally, group discussions with professionals regarding the role of resident initiatives, both in urban development (real estate professionals) and energy transition (renewable energy) in the environment (energy professionals) were conducted. This was included to establish the attitude and roles of professionals towards ‘residents initiative’.
The conclusion is that three ‘Blocking dilemmas’ further prevent the development of ‘joint residents initiative’ for renewable energy. These ‘Blocking themes’ are: the limited motivation of residents to act sustainably, that social and sustainable ‘residents initiatives’ are not mutual acting together giving start conditions, and the fact that the professionals involved primarily act with a long term view and not short term as residents that generally do. The survey results also provide insight into new perspective for a more significant transition to renewable energy from joint initiative of resident groups. Three ‘Chance Full development opportunities’ may also contribute. These are: mainly the ‘Pull’ conditions motivate residents, residents are willing to follow ‘leaders’ (residents and/or professionals), and social cohesion provides durability on ‘joint residents initiatives’.
Involvement and integration of renewable energy through ‘joint residents initiative’ cannot therefore be considered separately from the entire spectrum of sustainable development of energy sources. This because residents (individually and in groups) derive their motivation to improve the quality of life in their home environment rather, both socially and physically, as that on the basis of the renewable energy aspects alone. For a far-reaching transition of ‘residents involvement’, beyond that of the ‘early adopters’, it is not only necessary that professionals and residents are aware of this, leaders (initiating residents or professionals) are needed to start such initiatives. Only when this condition is fulfilled, projects on neighbourhood scale will be successful. The underlying reason is that residents and professionals due to their underlying interests rather act on the scale of the individual property (including the immediate environment) and the scale of the neighbourhood, the city and the region, respectively. Both local and national government can make a substantial contributions by informing citizens on a less fragmented basis, and more so as a part of the viability statement. Furthermore, taken the above aspects in the contract and covenant formation with professional companies will also improve the situation. Above all, professionals will need to listen (and to act in accordance with) to what motivates people in any situation. To obtain a full impression of the ‘Pull’ factors of residents is the first step to a successful transition towards a more significant integration of renewable energy sources in the urban environment in The Netherlands
Evaluation of Plan Implementation: Peri-urban Development and the Shanghai Master Plan 1999-2020
Get PDFSince the 1980s China has experienced unprecedented urbanisation as a result of a series of reforms promoting rapid economic development. Shanghai, like the other big cities along China’s coastline, has witnessed extraordinary growth in its economy and population with industrial development and rural-to-urban migration generating extensive urban expansion. Shanghai’s GDP growth rate has been over 10 per cent for more than 15 years. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 23.47 million, which is double its size in 1979. The urban area enlarged by four times from 644 to 2,860 km2 between 1977 and 2010.
Such demanding growth and dramatic changes present big challenges for urban planning practice in Shanghai. Plans have not kept up with development and the mismatch between the proposals in plans and the actual spatial development has gradually increased, reaching a critical level since 2000. The mismatch in the periurban areas is more notable than that in the existing urban area, but there has not been a systematic review of the relationship between plan and implementation. Indeed, there are few studies on the evaluation of plan implementation in China generally. Although many plans at numerous spatial levels are successively prepared and revised, only few of them have been evaluated in terms of their effectiveness and implementation.
This particularly demanding context for planning where spatial development becomes increasingly unpredictable and more difficult to influence presents an opportunity to investigate the role of plans under conditions of rapid urbanisation. The research project asks to what extent have spatial plans influenced the actual spatial development in the peri-urban areas of Shanghai? The research pays particular attention to the role of the Shanghai Master Plan 1999-2020 (Plan 1999). By answering the main research question this study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of present planning practice in Shanghai from a plan implementation perspective, and to establish an analytical framework for the study of the role of plans that fits the Chinese context. The findings may also help planners, policy makers and private developers to adjust urban planning within the implementation process in order to meet planning objectives at different levels.
The evaluation of plan implementation can be divided into peformance-based and performance-based approaches Conformance approaches focus on the direct linkage (i.e. level of conformity) between the plans and spatial outputs (Laurian et al., 2004; Tian & Shen, 2011). Performance approaches are concerned more with outcomes and the role of the plan in the urban development process (Barrett & Fudge, 1981; Faludi, 2000). Both of these approaches are employed in this research to evaluate the implementation of the Plan 1999. I firstly examine the level of conformity between the Plan 1999 and the overall peri-urban structure at the metropolitan level. I then use examples of specific areas (North Jinqiao Export Processing Zone and Xinmin Development Area) to evaluate performance of the Plan 1999.
The study also takes a diachronic approach, which looks at how relationships between variables change over time in the implementation of the Plan 1999. That is because the performance of plans is influenced by deeper-seated reasons such as the changing institutional context, particularly the levels of interaction between involved actors in the land development processes. As such, the changing planning system in Shanghai and the history of Shanghai’s peri-urban development in the second half of the 20th century are reviewed before the conformance-based and performance-based evaluation.
This research leads to three major findings. First, peri-urban areas have played an increasingly important role in Shanghai’s urbanisation process through accommodating the rapidly increasing population and demands for growth. Such extensive peri-urban development was not guided by the Plan 1999. It is not surprising that plans are left behind in the context of such unprecedented growth, but the pilot programmes and the key projects proposed in the Plan 1999 were implemented with a high level of conformance. However, the Plan 1999 performed differently in local urban projects, with varying degrees of project conformity, development process and development timing.
Second, there was variation in the delivery of the main objectives to the subsequent urban plans, the consistency between the Plan 1999 and the related sector plans, the ways of interaction between involved actors and their reactions to the plan, and the methods of land development. Overall, the Plan 1999 performed better in the case of North Jinqiao Export Processing Zone because the governments (at both national and municipal levels) intervened more in the development process, compared with the case of Xinmin Development Area. The performance of the plan is closely related to the level of conformity between the plan and the actual development. Therefore, although the conformance-based and performance-based approaches to implementation can be separated conceptually, they are very interconnected in practice.
Third, the urban planning system in Shanghai has experienced a structural reorganization in terms of the system of plans, the involved actors and the planning instruments since the late 1980s. But the emphasis on the rational technocratic process used in the 1960s in the western society is still predominant in the planning system in Shanghai. Aside from the demanding urban growth, the other reason of non-conformance between the actual peri-urban development and the Plan 1999 and bad performance of the Plan 1999 in local projects is a big gap between the seemingly rational operation of the urban planning system and the reality of external challenges.
The current planning system lacks proper coordination with the external challenges, such as insufficient investigation of the existing circumstance or history, and ineffective planning instruments. Cooperation between involved actors is also largely absent in planning practice. Overall, urban planning and management in Shanghai could benefit from more recognition and monitoring of plan implementation which would lead to some reconsideration of the planning tools and processes to more effectively guide future urban development
Gebiedsgericht Voorraadbeleid van Woningcorporaties: Een analyse van planningsbenaderingen in Vogelaarwijken
Get PDFThis issue of A+BE focuses on area-based asset management of housing associations. In this thesis you can find out how housing associations establish coherent intentions regarding the housing stock in neighbourhoods and what planning approaches they are using. Since their independence in the nineties of the last century housing associations have developed to social enterprises that are committed to a broad field of activity.
This change allows for increased complexity of decision-making on the housing stock of the housing associations. The asset management of housing associations has changed from a policy that focuses on the physical pillar (homes), on the primary target group and on its own portfolio , to an area-based asset management that is characterised by cooperation with other parties, by the broadening to social and economic activities and by a (policy) distinction between different areas.
The traditional asset management models are often not adapted to this development. These models do not take sufficient account of area characteristics, by which the proposed measures do not necessarily fit the area-specific problems. In addition, the policy is difficult to implement, because the top-down approach of the models neglects the reality in which multiple, interdependent actors are needed to have a successful housing stock policy.
That is why in this thesis it is examined which planning approaches housing associations use in the formulation of area-based asset management in restructuring districts (Vogelaarwijken).
 
Performance measurement of workplace change: in two different cultural contexts
Get PDFNowadays, organisations must cope with the pressure of cost reduction and efficiency in order to succeed in a highly competitive business environment. However, drivers to improve social interaction and employee’s performance and as such to contribute to organisational goals and objectives make it necessary to be concerned with other performance criteria as well, such as effectiveness, flexibility, employee satisfaction, productivity and creativity. There is a growing need for performance management and performance measurement that not only covers all aspects of an organisation, but which can be applied to various situations in a changing internal and external environment. Performance measurement methods which include an integrated perspective of performance have become essential. In addition, it has been realised that corporate real estate can contribute to organisational performance (Nourse and Roulac, 1993, De Vries et al., 2008, Lindholm, 2008, Den Heijer, 2011, Jensen et al., 2012). For this reason, worldwide organisations started to implement new ways of working in a more open and flexible work environment. Although there are various objectives and drivers of workplace change, the common objectives are to reduce costs and to increase efficiency. The changing organisational and external contexts, such as the increasing demand for talented knowledge workers and changing work patterns, have led to the development of new offices that can promote social networks and interaction among employees. The new workplace does not only aim at achieving cost efficiency, but it should also support employee satisfaction and productivity.
This PhD research focuses on both themes i.e. performance measurement of workplace change. The aim of this research is to provide a conceptual framework that visualises the impact of workplace change on employees’ responses to the new work environment and to present guidelines on performance measurement of workplace change in different contexts. Two organisations in Thailand and one organisation in The Netherlands were selected to serve as case studies. The impact of culture was explored as a contextual background.
Research methods
Based on literature review an overview of performance measurement systems and measures has been developed. The list of corporate real estate performance measures has been classified in six categories according to Bradley (2002) and subsequently compared with the findings from the case studies. The six categories include: 1) stakeholder perception, 2) financial health, 3) organisational development, 4) productivity, 5) environmental responsibility and 6) cost efficiency. The impact of workplace change was examined using the work environment diagnosis instrument (WODI) questionnaire which evaluates employees’ responses to the changed work environment in three areas: employee satisfaction, perceived productivity support and prioritised aspects (Maarleveld, et al., 2009). The Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI; Cameron and Quinn, 2006) was used to assess organisational culture. National culture was measured by using the Value Survey Module 94 (VSM94; Hofstede, 1997).
Research findings
The conceptual framework that came to the fore from the literature review showed to be useful for both theoretical understanding of performance measurement and practical applications. Proposed performance measures have been applied in all three case studies but in different ways. The three case studies showed that performance measurement of an organisation is multi-dimensional. It includes several performance criteria and performance measures beyond cost efficiency. All seven performance criteria mentioned by Sink and Tuttle (1989) have been applied in all three cases including effectiveness, efficiency, quality, productivity, quality of worklife, innovation and profitability. The four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard (financial, customer, internal business process, learning & growth) are applied in all three cases as well, with different points of focus regarding their business types. The corporate real estate performance measures found in the case studies and classified in the six categories can be aligned with most of the areas of the added value of CREM in the literature and can also be viewed as value dimensions. In all three cases, the performance measures related to human resource management were focused on the occupiers having been provided with an office environment that enables employees to increase their productivity.
The findings show that organisation and workplace change characteristics have an influence on the satisfaction of employees. The physical characteristics of workplace change that have influenced different degrees of employee satisfaction include location, building grade, architectural design, workplace concept and supporting facilities. The findings also show a negative impact of workplace design on perceived productivity support, due to the miscalculation of the users’ needs and preferences during the implementation process. Furthermore staff characteristics, the work process and work patterns showed to have an effect on which work environment aspects employees perceive as being most important.
Regarding the impact of culture, the findings show that the dominant organisational culture types obtained from the organisational culture survey have been influenced by the structure and staff characteristics of the case organisations. The data from the national culture surveys that were conducted in the case studies show large differences in comparison to the findings from the studies by Hofstede (1997). These differences can be explained by the organisational context.
Conclusions
The cross-case analysis led to several conclusions: - The relevance of corporate real estate performance measures depends on different stakeholders, and different real estate and managerial levels. - The study confirms that measuring employee satisfaction of the work environment can be used as a means to measure organisational performance.
- The empirical findings confirm the relevance of the variables shown in the conceptual model of workplace change appraisal and the integrated conceptual model that connects organisational characteristics and characteristics of work processes to objective and subjective performance measurement indicators.
- The findings show that information about organisational and national culture is vital for the interpretation of workplace characteristics and the appraisal of change.
- The study shows that neither organisational nor national culture has absolute dominance in the employees’ appraisals.
- The findings proved that national culture data from Hofstede cannot be generalised to organisations; on organisational level huge discrepancies were found with employees’ between scores on cultural dimensions and national culture indices.
These conceptual frameworks on performance measurement and employees’ appraisals of workplace change can be used as a reference to provide input for further improvement of performance measurement and performance management. Many variables such as staff characteristics, work process, cultures and workplace characteristics simultaneously impact the performance measurement of workplace change. The relevance to performance management is that the organisations should be aware of the possible relationships between variables in the integrated conceptual model which could have an impact on performance measurement.
The role of real estate that exceeds an operational asset focusing cost efficiency to also include a strategic resource contributing to other criteria of an organisational performance has been shown in this study. A step-by-step plan for prioritisation of corporate real estate performance measures and KPIs has been introduced as a means to find a balance between the costs of measuring and the benefits of being able to manage corporate real estate efficiently and effectively and as such to contribute to achieving organisational objectives and to supporting the core business and organisational performance.
Methodological reflections
The empirical studies include a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative data from the case studies which were analysed inductively helped to understand workplace change phenomenon, to clarify the relationships between the variables in the conceptual framework of workplace change, and to answer the research questions formulated at the beginning of the thesis. So far, the quantitative data from questionnaire surveys were used to explore the relationships between employees’ responses to workplace change and organisational and national culture in a qualitative way. The collected data can be used for further exploration of complex relationships by statistical analysis.
Triangulation of data collected from different sources (documents, surveys, interviews) helps to validate the findings through cross verification, i.e. reduce weakness or intrinsic biases from the researcher’s background knowledge. The assessment of both tangible (physical characteristics) and intangible components (perceived quality) of the office environment can help to validate the findings from the empirical research.
This research study is an exploration of performance measurement concerning workplace change in different contexts. The conclusion of this study is based on the findings from two Thai cases and one case in the Netherlands. Although there are assumed cause-effect relationships between the variables in the conceptual models, more case studies are needed in order to collect comparable data that support the findings of this kind of research
International Façades - CROFT: Climate Related Optimized Façade Technologies
Get PDFLooking at Central European building projects illustrates an awareness of sustainability and the need to save energy. This trend is based on the finiteness of natural resources, and is thus wise to follow. Developments in this region including passive house technologies, and energy plus solutions that create more energy than they use have become realisable. But it is not increasing technological knowledge alone that supported these developments; the Central European climate makes it possible to invent technological solutions that allow for maximum comfort while maintaining low energy consumption.
Other regions have experienced a building boom over the past decades that has dramatically increased city sizes. A detailed examination of such building projects illustrates that most of them strive for the international standard with a high glazing ratio in the style of the Central European examples. But how can architecture be transferred to regions with entirely different climate conditions? The answer lies in the technological possibilities we have at our disposal today. The main research question of this thesis refers to utilising the local climate. Which methods are necessary to plan a building - and a façade as the interface between the inside and the outside, in particular - while working with, not against the climate? Sailing has been used as an analogy: only with the knowledge of winds and tides can we use them to efficiently move across bodies of water. Those who have not learned or understood this will have to use a motorboat and pay the price for petrol.
Chapter 2 ‘Climate zones’ describes the different climate zones and their particularities, analysed with the help of eight different boomtowns. The mild Central European climate becomes particularly apparent when compared to tropic locations such as Singapore. Here, very high average temperatures and humidity levels require that we rethink and find new solutions.
In chapter 3 ‘Principles of climate-adapted architecture’ a journey back in time to traditional building methods and vernacular architecture lets us identify how building styles and building methods derived from an adaptation to the local climate. Have we lost some of this knowledge, and what can we learn to adapt modern architecture to the local climate? The study of traditional architecture is sobering; all or most of the solutions found in traditional architecture have, in principle, been implemented or further developed in modern technological solutions. The Roman hypocaust is the predecessor of modern underfloor heating and the fresh air stream, called “lifeline” in India, that cools down massive walls during the night can be compared to night flush ventilation used in modern office buildings. All of the traditional methods and solutions have made survival possible under sometimes extreme climatic conditions. But the comfort level expected by the modern user and regulated by building codes could have never be achieved.
The façade is the focal point of this work because, as an enclosing building component, it connects or separates the interior and the exterior. After a short introduction about the evolutionary history of the façade, chapter 4 ‘The Façade’ describes the reciprocity of the façade with reference to the indoor room climate. Since the possibilities of regulating the indoor climate and thereby the comfort level with the façade itself are limited, chapter 5 ‘Building services components’ includes a description of the building services components necessary to control the room climate.
Chapter 6 ‘FET Façade Expert Tool’ describes the process of combining the findings from the previous chapter for a tool to analyse the climate and the combination of façade and building services. The goal of the “Façade Expert Tool” (FET) software tool is to easily analyse the climate of a particular location and to then limit the possible combination of façade and building services components to a practical level. The initial aim to generate the perfect combination of components and therewith the ideal façade and building services after entering a particular location upon a click of the mouse was replaced by the idea of an expert tool that requires basic knowledge of the working principle of the individual components and their reciprocal action. The application of the FET and its recommendations as well as comparison simulations rounds off the chapter. The performance capability of the tool is illustrated by a reduction in energy consumption of up to 50% in the comparative thermal simulations.
In many cases, the approaches to solutions and examples introduced in chapter 7 ‘Climate Responsive Optimised Façade Technologies CROFT’ under the name “Climate Responsive Optimised Façade Technologies” (CROFT) use reduced glazing ratios recommended by the FET to integrate new technical solutions into non-transparent areas of the façade. To name a few: a condensate trap that enables dehumidification of the outside air in tropical climates as well as a rotating sun protection system that creates the sensation of transparency for the human eye while providing efficient sun protection.
The final chapter 8 ‘Conclusion’ takes a critical look at the research, highlights potential for further research and new markets, and summarises the overall results.
This thesis can be linked to the fields of architecture, building services and building physics. The focus of the research and the author’s background in architecture is easy to perceive. But beyond purely formative architectural aspects, the building envelope as the interface between the inside and the outside requires knowledge of building physical basics and the function and interaction with or as part of the building services system.
The thesis also aims at mediating between different planning disciplines and at supporting an interdisciplinary planning process. If it furthers international diversity in façade design that represents the respective location in addition to reduced energy consumption, the author’s intentions have been met and another step toward a sustainable future has been accomplished
Conflicten over Haagse stadsbeelden: Van Willemspark tot Spuiforum, deel 1 en deel 2
Get PDFThis study is about the continual stride between 1860 and 2010 amongst the various interest groups involved with what the city of The Hague should look like. The thesis of the study states that the fragmented image that people in the city have or experience is the result of the wide variety of urban ensembles and public buildings, whether or not they are crowded together or even completed, that were successively presented and implemented by the interest groups involved. Stakeholders such as national and local politicians, the royal family, banks, industrialists, housing corporations, developers, architects, urban planners, and organizations of critical citizens have always been in conflict about what public buildings or iconic urban compositions should look like. With the best of intentions each group wants to shape the city with public buildings and urban compositions in their own way and the urge to achieve this is always playing a role in the background. It is as if the city is being stripped of space, movement, and time and that only the image of the city is what counts, an image that is endlessly being reproduced in the media to influence the public opinion. The scramble over the Spuiforum is just the latest affair in a long series of incidents in The Hague. The hardhearted efforts of those involved to create one balanced townscape has only delivered more fragmented images, yet perhaps this is the city’s greatest quality.
It seems like just about everyone has been occupied with the Spuiforum since 2009 to the present. The battle between supporters and opponents has been going on for years. The media critics are always there looking for the next scandal, finding fault with motives that may not always be clear. However, as intense as the conflict appears now, it will soon be forgotten. Who remembers the conflict over the Willemspark or the Peace Palace? The numerous conflicts around the sea resort Scheveningen? The battles over urban renewal, the haggling around the competition for the House of Representatives or the rivalry and troubles around the The Hague City Hall? The Eurojust (The European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit)? The International Criminal Court? Such stormy conflicts arise and no sooner ebb away again, often into silent oblivion. And still, in most cases, the construction of the urban image is executed as planned, though often partially. Even more, the conflicts are of importance because they reveal how people experience the city and want to see it. Cracks in society are bluntly exposed this way. For example, the most monumental gateway in The Hague is that of the The Hague Police Precinct built in the 1950’s, which faces the rear side of The Hague’s progressive party’s flagship (1986-1989), the residential complex designed by Ricardo Bofill with parking access, garbage containers, and other utilities. A good observer can see the many contradictions of society mirrored in this situation in the city.
The object of this study is to examine the image of the city and the conflicts pertaining to it. The image of the city, also referred to here as the city image, has become particularly popular in recent years. This is due in part to the new position of cities in the global urbanization process, whereby cities have become competitors and moreover, new opportunities for cities to present themselves worldwide result from the revolution in communication technology and digitization. The research shows that the city image, despite its elusiveness and fluidity, played an imperative role in the genesis of the city far earlier. Churchill’s statement ‘we formed our cities and the cities formed us’ could be broadened to: ‘we imagined our cities and that image formed us.’
Nancy Stieber (2006) gave in the book de STAD (2006) an insightful analysis on the relationship between images and the city. The city is conceptualized as a metaphor. According to her, that is one of the transformations of the urban fabric might undergo in our minds. She distinguishes three categories: the image of the city, the imagined city, and the imaginary city. The image of the city is the idea that is composed by individuals or groups: a creation that is triggered from experience of the city in the mind or a concept based on the actual city itself. The imagined city is the virtual arena conceived by artists, architects, city planners, marketers, and others through art, film, literature, music, advertising, architecture, and urban designs. This idea is certainly related to the first category, but here the focus is on the representation of the city by specialists that are making the presentations to convince people of the value and significance of an urban composition or public building. In this sense, the producers of the images are crucial since, after all, who needs to be convinced of which statement? Using a caricature on Berlage’s Amsterdam South, Stieber demonstrated that the categories are inseparable and all three are about metaphors of the city. ‘The city between the ears’, as noted by the geographer and urban marketing specialist Gertjan Hosper (2010).
The goal of this study is to discover and describe consecutive city images of The Hague and the conflicts associated with them between 1860 and 2010, as well as to determine for whom, with what motive and background these city images were developed, where, in how far, and if these consecutive city images were realized, what the conflicts were about, and why the often unfinished images disappeared again, which resulted in the current fragmented image of the city. The human activities that take place in the buildings and surroundings, no matter how significant, were left out of the study for practical reasons. Every case study is of a dominant city image from a certain period. The central context is the relation between ‘the city between the ears’, the actual built city, and the many conflicts pertaining to that image. Each image will be analyzed in this study on the basis of iconic ensembles in the urban setting. The urban ensemble is iconic if it has been part of a public debate. It is unraveled by way of three aspects: the motives for and against of those involved, the shape of the urban space, and the architecture of the buildings.
This study inevitably comprises multi-disciplinary research. Results of research on the morphology, typology, imagery, and historical sources are associated to each other. Aspects like urban space, development, and motives of stakeholders concerning the appearance of the locations are compared and present a new light. It’s not the knowledge acquired about the cause, a condition or situation from the past that is central to the study like in the research of a historian, but the knowledge gathered about the exchange between image and reality during a certain time frame. Throughout the case studies on particular urban ensembles, cross references are made between the histories of architecture, town planning, and politics and the social reality. The case studies chosen to prove the above mentioned thesis led to the following conclusions.
The fragmented look of The Hague was directly caused by debates on the image of the city. Images of a city are a kind of visual or esthetic category that cannot be sharply defined but rather have something intangible and are fluid. Only at the project level can images be bright and clear. All of the city images were found to run a certain course in time of no longer than a 20 to 30 year time span. The image of the city is not always visually homogenous or in one particular style, but can instead be diverse. It also tends to bind places together that are distant, such as typical Dutch cauliflower neighborhoods from the 70’s, which can be found throughout the country. City images can also unite local and international aspects of the city and are more successful and domineering when there is a high development rate. In this respect, there are some large gaps in the historical context, blank areas where there was hardly any building development going on. There is always a motive behind the city image: the spontaneous city is fictitious. However, the motive is often forgotten whereby people wonder later on about the consistency between urban space, development, and the imagery that was used in the development process. As townscapes appear with new city images, they seem inadaptable. They are destructive and intolerant towards their predecessors, especially when those images rise within the existing city. It is normal to demolish an area to a build new ideal. The role of the stakeholders like architects, urban designers, and officials is highly overrated. It is the synergy between them and the context that is crucial. The city image plays a unifying and sometimes persistent role under these conditions, reminding us: the city, that’s us.
On the basis of the study on the image of the city it is possible to draw the map of a city differently, precisely because that way the differences between cities become apparent
Delft Delta Design: The Houston Galveston Bay Region, Texas, USA
Get PDFIn 2008, Hurricane Ike devastated Bolivar Peninsula, narrowly missing the more heavily industrialized and populated areas in the region. In the aftermath of the hurricane, the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center at Rice University in Houston, and Texas A&M University in Galveston (TAMUG) led initiatives to propose and design flood mitigation strategies.
In collaboration with TAMUG and the SSPEED Center, students and researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have been investigating regional strategies for flood risk reduction. In this publication they and their Texas counterparts reflect on the research, design, and insight that has sprouted from this collective endeavour.
 
Gunawan Tjahjono & Josef Prijotomo: Postcolonial Traditionality
Get PDFIn 2002, Gunawan Tjahjono opened his inaugural speech at University of Indonesia with a reference to Vincent Van Romondt, the last remaining Dutch tutor of architecture in Indonesia, who had pioneered an approach that challenged Indonesians to think about the relationship between architecture and ‘nationbuilding’. Since independence, the topic of ‘towards an Indonesian architecture,’ has received various interpretations, with numerous references to Van Romondt. Josef Prijotomo, one of the most respected Indonesian architectural theorists, for instance, wrote an article in a newspaper in 1982 entitled: ‘Van Romondt dan peran arsitekt Indonesia [Van Romondt and the role of Indonesian architects]’. Prijotomo reminded Indonesian architects of Van Romondt’s inaugural speech and his emphasis on the importance of architecture in the nation-building of postcolonial Indonesian society. He also revisited Van Romondt’s question of whether social and cultural values of Indonesia could be the foundation for the construction of architects’ identities in this time of transition.
Indonesia is a postcolonial country, and its architects engage with the spirit of decolonization by coming to terms with (instead of ignoring) their colonial past. This reflection on inaugural lectures delivered by Indonesian professors in the postcolonial era reveals a simultaneous identification with and problematization of a Dutch/European legacy of architecture.
This booklet seeks to explore the theme of architecture and postcolonialism by focusing on the inaugural lectures of Gunawan Tjahjono and Josef Prijotomo as symptomatic responses to a postcolonial condition, in an effort to construct or re-work an ‘Indonesian architecture’ — a theme that was central to Van Romondt’s inaugural lecture. It addresses this theme by considering the political context against which their lectures emerged. We start with a brief and discursive discussion of institutional shifts in architecture at the time of transition, from a more technical sphere to ‘architecture’ and how such a shift has shaped architectural thinking beyond the technical, to capture the social. The discussions provide context for understanding the theme of post colonialism in the inaugural lectures of Gunawan Tjahjono and Josef Prijotomo
Energy Policy Instruments and Technical Change in the Residential Building Sector
Get PDFEnergy performance policy in the building sector - such as is described by EU Directive known as EPBD - has the aim of reducing energy consumption in buildings. Given the importance of the development of innovations in energy technology, and a transition to a sustainable energy supply system, it is necessary that policy instruments for energy conservation in the building sector stimulate the development and diffusion of innovations. This publication contributes to knowledge about the content of energy performance policy and concludes that the effect of energy performance policy in encouraging innovation is limited. The study of the innovation system of the Dutch construction industry identifies how the project-based nature of the construction industry is an obstacle to ‘learning-rich’ collaboration between the various stakeholders. The study contributes to the discussion about the impact of government policy for energy conservation in the building sector, in the context of climate change policy
What Makes a City? Planning for ‘Quality of Place’: The Case of High-Speed Train Station Area Development
Get PDFUrban quality is generally considered increasingly important for urban competitiveness. Nevertheless, large urban redevelopment schemes often fail to provide sufficient quality from a user’s perspective. This study therefore investigates the role of urban quality in large-scale urban redevelopment, which is here elaborated in terms of Richard Florida’s concept of quality of place. In a number of extensive case studies, it focuses on prestigious redevelopment projects around the high-speed rail stations in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Lille. It provides an analysis of the role of urban quality in the development of these projects, as well as some insights in the applicability of quality of place in a wider Dutch context. In addition, the study advocates a more open and flexible planning process, based on a distinctly long-term perspective on urban quality