Stad en haven op Walcheren en Zuid-Beveland tussen 1500-2000: Een historische schets

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Flemish towns were connected to the North Sea via the ports of Oostburg, Aardenburg, Axel and Hulst in the area now known as Zeeuws­Vlaanderen (Zeeland Flanders). This access became impossible in the fourteenth century as the area became silted up. As a result, the easily accessible town of Antwerp was able to grow and water transport in the delta area shifted to the Eastern Scheldt estuary. Old towns such as Middelburg and Zierikzee profited from this, but so did newer towns such as Vlissingen (or Flushing, as it became known to the English), Veere and Brouwershaven, followed later by Goes, Reimerswaal, Sint-Maartensdijk and Tholen. When parts of the Eastern Scheldt also started to silt up in the sixteenth century, the Western Scheldt regained its importance, with Vlissingen and Middelburg benefiting from this development. Changing trade flows led to the creation, growth and decline of ports and port towns depending on what gave best access to the Flemish hinterland towns. In the layout of the Zeeland towns, this resulted in a continually changing relationship between the town and its harbour. Whereas originally the harbour tended to be located next to or behind the town, in the newer towns it became the central spatial element. This is broadly the picture given by Reinout Rutte in his article about the growth of the towns around the Scheldt Estuary in OverHolland 12/13.In de twaalfde en dertiende eeuw verliep de verbinding tussen de Vlaamse steden en de Noordzee via de havens van Oostburg, Aardenburg, Axel en Hulst in het gebied dat we nu Zeeuws-Vlaanderen noemen. In de veertiende eeuw werd dit door verzanding onmogelijk, waardoor het goed bereikbare Antwerpen kon groeien en de vaart in het deltagebied naar de Oosterschelde verschoof. Oude steden als Middelburg en Zierikzee profiteerden hiervan, maar ook nieuwe steden als Vlissingen, Veere, Brouwershaven en later Goes, Reimerswaal, Sint-Maartensdijk en Tholen. Toen in de zestiende eeuw ook delen van de Oosterschelde verzandden, nam de Westerschelde weer in belang toe en profiteerden Vlissingen en opnieuw Middelburg. Veranderende handelsstromen leidden tot de stichting, ontwikkeling of neergang van havens en havenplaatsen, afhankelijk van de manier waarop de Vlaamse steden het best konden worden bereikt. In de plattegrond van de Zeeuwse steden resulteerde dit in een steeds veranderende relatie tussen stad en haven. Van een plaats naast of achter de stad om werd de haven in nieuwere steden het centrale ruimtelijke element. Het bovenstaande is in grove lijnen het beeld dat Reinout Rutte schetste in zijn artikel over stadswording in het Scheldegebied in de OverHolland 12/13

Zoeken naar een passend gebouw. Een reconstructie van de stedelijke inpassing van het Amsterdamse stadhuis op basis van de vroedschapsresoluties, 1639-1648

The question whether urban-planning considerations played a part in the planning process around the Amsterdam town hall in the seventeenth century has not been answered satisfactorily so far. In 1919 A. Boeken made a reconstruction of the resolutions of the Amsterdam town council, also in an attempt to explain the blending in of the building with its context. This reconstruction is still the convention, but it contains a number of incongruities, notably the somewhat oblique position of the building in relation to Dam square, so that an orthogonal plot was not possible. This is peculiar because all the well-known designs for the town hall are rectangular. Boeken also founded his reconstruction on the basis of documents that are not mentioned in the resolutions. However, an accurate reading of the – frequently cryptic – resolutions offers sufficient clues for a new reconstruction that answers many of the current questions. Evidently it is likely that the Amsterdam town council already intended to erect a rectangular, classicist building in a monumental position on Dam square from the very start of the design process in 1639, but at any rate from 1642 onwards. This new reconstruction also sheds new light on a drawing from 1643, including a worked-out design for a town hall, signed by the town land surveyor Cornelis Danckerts de Rij. So far, it was hard to find a connection between this drawing and the resolutions, but in spite of the fact that the measurements of the building are different from those mentioned in the texts, the information from this drawing undoubtedly fits in with the ambitions of the town council concerning the character and position of its new town hall. The reconstruction paves the way for a reassessment of the Amsterdam town council as a commissioner with an eye for the spatial qualities of the town centre and how these could be improved through its actions.The question whether urban-planning considerations played a part in the planning process around the Amsterdam town hall in the seventeenth century has not been answered satisfactorily so far. In 1919 A. Boeken made a reconstruction of the resolutions of the Amsterdam town council, also in an attempt to explain the blending in of the building with its context. This reconstruction is still the convention, but it contains a number of incongruities, notably the somewhat oblique position of the building in relation to Dam square, so that an orthogonal plot was not possible. This is peculiar because all the well-known designs for the town hall are rectangular. Boeken also founded his reconstruction on the basis of documents that are not mentioned in the resolutions. However, an accurate reading of the – frequently cryptic – resolutions offers sufficient clues for a new reconstruction that answers many of the current questions. Evidently it is likely that the Amsterdam town council already intended to erect a rectangular, classicist building in a monumental position on Dam square from the very start of the design process in 1639, but at any rate from 1642 onwards. This new reconstruction also sheds new light on a drawing from 1643, including a worked-out design for a town hall, signed by the town land surveyor Cornelis Danckerts de Rij. So far, it was hard to find a connection between this drawing and the resolutions, but in spite of the fact that the measurements of the building are different from those mentioned in the texts, the information from this drawing undoubtedly fits in with the ambitions of the town council concerning the character and position of its new town hall. The reconstruction paves the way for a reassessment of the Amsterdam town council as a commissioner with an eye for the spatial qualities of the town centre and how these could be improved through its actions

Zoeken naar een passend gebouw. Een reconstructie van de stedelijke inpassing van het Amsterdamse stadhuis op basis van de vroedschapsresoluties, 1639-1648

The question whether urban-planning considerations played a part in the planning process around the Amsterdam town hall in the seventeenth century has not been answered satisfactorily so far. In 1919 A. Boeken made a reconstruction of the resolutions of the Amsterdam town council, also in an attempt to explain the blending in of the building with its context. This reconstruction is still the convention, but it contains a number of incongruities, notably the somewhat oblique position of the building in relation to Dam square, so that an orthogonal plot was not possible. This is peculiar because all the well-known designs for the town hall are rectangular. Boeken also founded his reconstruction on the basis of documents that are not mentioned in the resolutions. However, an accurate reading of the – frequently cryptic – resolutions offers sufficient clues for a new reconstruction that answers many of the current questions. Evidently it is likely that the Amsterdam town council already intended to erect a rectangular, classicist building in a monumental position on Dam square from the very start of the design process in 1639, but at any rate from 1642 onwards. This new reconstruction also sheds new light on a drawing from 1643, including a worked-out design for a town hall, signed by the town land surveyor Cornelis Danckerts de Rij. So far, it was hard to find a connection between this drawing and the resolutions, but in spite of the fact that the measurements of the building are different from those mentioned in the texts, the information from this drawing undoubtedly fits in with the ambitions of the town council concerning the character and position of its new town hall. The reconstruction paves the way for a reassessment of the Amsterdam town council as a commissioner with an eye for the spatial qualities of the town centre and how these could be improved through its actions

New perspectives for urbanizing deltas : a complex adaptive systems approach to planning and design : Integrated Planning and Design in the Delta (IPDD)

The delta region between Rotterdam and Antwerp is a prime example of an area where spatial developments face increasing complexity. Local initiatives for developing urban expansions, recreation areas, nature and industrial complexes must harmonize with measures such as adequate flood protection, sufficient freshwater supply, restoration of ecosystems and large-scale infrastructure over the long term. This complexity demans a new approach to spatial planning and design. This book is the result of a research project that aimed to develop such a new planning practice. The research was carried out in collaboration by a consortium of universities, centres of expertise, and engineering and design firms. The research conceived of the Southwest Delta of the Netherlands as a laboratory for the new approach, which has nonetheless also proven relevant to other regions dealing with a similar level of complexity

New perspectives for urbanizing deltas : a complex adaptive systems approach to planning and design : Integrated Planning and Design in the Delta (IPDD)

The delta region between Rotterdam and Antwerp is a prime example of an area where spatial developments face increasing complexity. Local initiatives for developing urban expansions, recreation areas, nature and industrial complexes must harmonize with measures such as adequate flood protection, sufficient freshwater supply, restoration of ecosystems and large-scale infrastructure over the long term. This complexity demans a new approach to spatial planning and design. This book is the result of a research project that aimed to develop such a new planning practice. The research was carried out in collaboration by a consortium of universities, centres of expertise, and engineering and design firms. The research conceived of the Southwest Delta of the Netherlands as a laboratory for the new approach, which has nonetheless also proven relevant to other regions dealing with a similar level of complexity