Netherlands
participants
To show both ESNcardholders and students at the faculty of spatial sciences the randstad and the green heart of the Netherlands
This event is organised by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences.
The excursion starts at 8:30 and we will be back in Groningen at 23:00. You will be expected at 8:15 in front of the train station. Optionally you can leave the excursion in Rotterdam at around 18:15.
"Randstad Holland" is a unique 'polynuclear city', including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, and many more cities. The name 'Randstad' is directly related to the 'Green Heart' situated in the middle – an “oasis of green, peace and rest”. Should the 'Green Heart' be (partly) sacrificed in order to allow for continued urban growth and acceptable levels of the liveability of the Randstad?
The tour will introduce you to various aspects of the (limits to) growth of the Randstad. Site visits to Amsterdam (1960s Bijlmer neighborhood), The Hague (government quarter) and Rotterdam (seaport, inner city) are included, as well as an attempt to find the "Green Heart".
Why and how did the 1960s Bijlmer expansion of Amsterdam turn into a social and planning disaster? Is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol located in the wrong place? What exactly is the "Green Heart"? Does it really exist? Should it exist?
Where are the political decisions in the Netherlands made? What makes the city of Rotterdam work? Is Rotterdam City still a port city? Where do you put your bookshelf in a cube house?
These and many other questions are the narrative of an excursion, offered to you by ESN Groningen & Paul van Steen and Chris Diederiks (tour guides, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen). The excursion focuses on the separation of functions in the Western Netherlands, and discusses the ongoing debate about the development options of the Randstad cities and the so-called "Green Heart".
