Cities 28 (2011) 536–544

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A next step for sustainable urban design in the Netherlands

Michaël Meijer ⇑, Femke Adriaens, Olga van der Linden, Wouter SchikHaver Droeze Consultants, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history:Available online 9 September 2011

Keywords:Sustainable urban designSustainable spatial developmentEco-effectiveness

0264-2751/$ - see front matter � 2011 Elsevier Ltd. Adoi:10.1016/j.cities.2011.07.001

⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Voetiuslaan 13Netherlands. Fax: +31 33 465 1898.

E-mail address: mjcmeijer@gmail.com (M. Meijer)

The Dutch Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development has recently delivered its publication Sus-tainable Urban Design, The Next Step (Meijer & Dubbeling, 2010). The book (to be referred to here as TheNext Step) includes six examples of sustainable urban design and three major essays. The Working Groupis a broad group of experts from the Dutch professional societies for urban designers and planners (BNSP)and landscape architects (NVTL). (The working group consists of urban designers, urban planers and land-scape architects from the Netherlands.) It seeks to take the thinking and practice of sustainable urbandesign a step further: from sustainable urban design to sustainable spatial development. This paperexplains this next stage which has been developed through a review of the literature, the inputs of theWorking Group and the lessons learned from the case studies described in the book. Although the casestudy projects are sometimes more than 12 years old and are rooted in a specific Dutch societal and spa-tial context, they provide interesting, even up to date, insights for the planning of sustainable and durablecities. They are also compared to some projects in other European countries.

This paper looks at why a renewed approach to sustainable urban design is both necessary and reward-ing. It then turns to the renewed approach and putting it into practice. Based upon the case studies, newpossibilities for the design of sustainable and durable cities are highlighted.

� 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Support for sustainable urban design has become more wide-spread in recent years and topics like liveability and clean energyattract considerable attention. The Dutch Government has setambitious climate goals, local authorities are working on sustain-able neighbourhoods and interest groups are fighting for cleanerair. The importance of social vitality in the city has been put backon the map by the ‘priority neighbourhoods’ policy, and the wishfor a more robust Netherlands is embodied in a plan for the Rands-tad in 2040 (VROM, 2008) and a ‘second Delta Plan’ for climate-proof water management (Deltacommissie, 2008).

Despite this momentum, though, the results in the field of sus-tainable urban design have been disappointing. Urban develop-ments in general are neither durable nor sustainable, there beingfew examples of completed sustainable urban design projects. Intheory, urban planning and design are fields where much progresscan be made (Kenworthy, 2006). However, while the requiredexpertise and technologies are available, they are put to littleuse. Between 2007 and 2010, the Working Group on SustainableUrban Development has developed a new and more appealing ap-proach to sustainable urban design and putting it into practice. In

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this approach, sustainable urban design should evolve to sustain-able spatial development. The new goal is to incorporate eco-effec-tiveness in sustainable urban design and to extend this as thenatural approach to spatial planning at all levels (see paragraph3 below for further detail). Using terminology coined by JohnElkington, the Working Group is convinced that the benefits of sus-tainable spatial development will span ‘People, Planet and Profit.’1

The Next Step contains numerous quotations that are attributedto Working Group members expressing their professional opinion.We use these quotations from the book (Meijer & Dubbeling, 2010,pp. 29–48) in the following paragraphs to explain our idea. ‘Only afew good examples of sustainable urban design can be found [inthe Netherlands MM],’ argues urban planner and working groupmember Olga van der Linden. ‘Few new projects have been com-pleted since the publication of the first good practice book in2005 (Adriaens, Dubbeling, et al., 2005). Sustainable urban designhas not yet become standard practice in spatial development.’Landscape designer and spatial planner Michaël Meijer adds: ‘InDutch planning, sustainability often amounts to no more than bolt-ing on some environmental measures or energy saving techniquesin buildings. Our planning processes could deliver much more.

1 Coined by John Elkington, discussed in his book Cannibals With Forks (1988). Atthe 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg the ‘P’ forProfit was changed into Prosperity to bring social benefits into the equation alongsideeconomic benefits. We use the accepted word ‘profit’ because of its clarity andfamiliarity.

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Urban planning and design, landscape architecture and regionalplanning can make a much bigger contribution.’

Opportunities for sustainable urban design

As the new publication states ‘The attention given to climatechange and the emergence of new concepts like ‘CO2 neutral’ marka change in attitudes to sustainability: ‘have to’ is giving way to‘want to.’ Regulations still focus too much on standard settingand too little on goal getting, while the market is getting wind ofthe added value of sustainability in development projects.’

‘Society is changing,’ says spatial planner Femke Adriaens.‘Awareness that things must change has grown since Bill Clintonand Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changeput climate change in the spotlight.2 We can see the consequencesof extreme weather on the news every week. The threat of climatechange is making people more aware of their own role, and that israpidly pushing up demand for alternatives. What is new is that sus-tainability is now not being presented as an obligation, but as some-thing positive, desirable and cost-cutting.’

This positive approach has also embraced the low-incomeneighbourhoods or ‘rough areas,’ as policy makers have chosen tobuild on their strengths. In other areas, too, politicians seem tobe thinking more about sustainability. Urban planner Jan Bredeno-ord: ‘Sea level rise is a global phenomenon, but most action is ta-ken at the national and regional scales. The real solution to theclimate problem, of course, lies in taking action across all scales:from the UN level and Europe down to local authorities, civilorganisations and citizens. Everyone will have to play their partin the transition to clean and sustainable energy generation.’

Landscape designer Steven Kamerling calls on the legislature tothink more about sustainable urban design: ‘Topics like water andecology are covered by laws and procedures, which means theyhave to be considered when planning new developments. It wouldbe good if sustainable urban design was also included in planninglegislation and procedures.’ It is worth noting that setting targets atthe beginning of a development process gives better results thansetting standards later on. Current regulations are far too rigid tobe able to respond to the dynamics of spatial development, whilenew technologies and building forms tend to fall foul of the Build-ings Decree, delaying the progress of sustainable projects, which inturn get a reputation for being difficult. Reviewing and monitoringtargets, in which government authorities create the right condi-tions for sustainable area development, leaves more room to actu-ally realise sustainable solutions than continually setting newstandards and keeping the old ones.

Market players are also showing more interest in sustainability.‘Mostly they are interested in energy savings in individual build-ings,’ says urban designer Martin Dubbeling. ‘Considerable envi-ronmental gains can still be made at the higher scale of urbanplanning, but the search for benefits for People, Planet and Profitis definitely underway. Sustainability is ‘in’ and money can bemade from it. Sustainable urban design has come to be seen asan opportunity and an added value, an extra layer of development.This positive attitude breeds commitment. There is a real desire forsustainable development to succeed, not because it has to, but be-cause it can succeed, it is economically prudent, and because wereally want it to.’ It seems there is enough support to carry sustain-ability ‘from an undercurrent to a groundswell for development,’ inurban and regional planning too (Rotmans, 2007).

2 Bill Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative, Al Gore made the film AnInconvenient Truth, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issuedits fourth report: Climate Change 2007. Gore and the IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel PeacePrize.

The Working Group sees the upsurge of concepts like ‘CO2 neu-tral,’ ‘climate proof’ and ‘cradle to cradle’ as further evidence ofcurrent support for sustainability in the Netherlands. Urban plan-ner Hein Struben: ‘Government authorities and multinationalsare picking up on these concepts. Almere and Venlo municipalcouncils, for example, have made the ‘cradle to cradle’ philosophyone of the principles underlying their spatial development policies.But these types of concepts have to be translated into concreteobjectives and spatial designs, which is often a laborious process.Skilled designers have a part to play.’

Highlighting the aim

Putting into practice sustainability is a variable exercise. Thus,at this point in time the focus is on the pursuit of efficient mea-sures, that is to say on interventions causing less waste or consum-ing less energy. Gradually this approach will, however, have tomake way for the pursuit of effectiveness: working at a truly sus-tainable final result, without any obstructions along the way. So,not focusing on the emission of less CO2, but on the developmentof an energy-neutral city. This is something that can only beachieved in an integrated manner.

Sustainability revolves around realism, principles and values, allaimed at placing man in an appropriate role within the earth’s cy-cles as well as at a fair distribution of prosperity. In striving formore sustainability, we have often taken advantage of people’sguilty conscience by emphasizing pollution and the squanderingof resources. Still, neither feelings of guilt nor austere living holdvery much appeal for the masses today and indeed even lead todisinvolvement. In spite of this, the value of sustainability is widelyendorsed, as people are becoming aware that this way one mayalso cut costs or make money. This awareness is still growing,based on the proof of successful projects. It is the key for integrat-ing sustainability in the mainstream planning and design processand the starting point for the discovery of the joy of developing‘something good’ by the masses. This new fundamental attitudeclears the way for a novel approach to sustainable urban design.It is a positively charged approach that is indeed feasible, besidesbeing beneficial for people planet and profit.

True benefits as regards people, planet and profit come withinreach when efforts shift from efficiency to (eco-)effectiveness.3

Spatial planner Peter Smit: ‘Making a house more energy-efficientis an efficient intervention, but a low-energy home still uses electric-ity and gas and so contributes to climate change. A neighbourhoodthat produces energy is an effective development, because no fossilfuels are needed and there are no CO2 emissions.’

Also in urban development there are examples of effective solu-tions. Landscape architect Jeroen de Vries: ‘When redeveloping ur-ban districts, we can see to it that food and energy are producedthere, that neighbourhoods are ‘life-cycle-proof’ and that they pur-ify water and air. And do not forget the use of renewable raw mate-rials and the promotion of clean transport systems. These areeffective solutions to the current problems of food and energy pro-duction and to the quality of life and health problems. By linkingtogether industrial and other activities in materials and energy cy-cles, we can make use of residual waste streams. It is a question ofclosing recycling loops, of a smart lifecycle management - both onthe site and in relation to the wider environment’ (see Fig. 1). To-gether this will amount to a liveable and durable low carbon cityor, in time, even to a energy neutral city.

The connections between, for instance, energy and climateproblems, and the large scale on which they occur, require an

3 Braungart and McDonough (2002) work with the terms ‘eco-efficient’ and ‘eco-effective’. Architect Walter R. Stahel (1982) introduced this way of thinking in Europewith his idea for a circular economy.

Fig. 1. Schematics of the metabolism of a city and its impact on the surrounding lands. By reorganising the flows into and out of the city it is possible to restrict them to aminimum and prevent emissions and pollution to the environment. Source: Sustainable Urban Design, The Next Step. After: Rogers et al., 1997, Cities For a Small Planet, Faberand Faber.

Fig. 2. Sustainable urban design is mainly directed at the project area (inner circle).The effects of a development are, over time, probably not too positive for the regionor the world (outer circle). When a development process is started which improvesspatial systems effectively, the regional and global effects would be positive. Asurplus of sustainable energy for instance would sustain the region and have apositive effect on the climate problem (Fig. 3).

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integrated approach in order to arrive at solutions. van der Linden:‘Urban designers can make the connections between scales and be-tween the various stages of a development process. But only it theright decisions are made in the initial stages of the process can weharness the brainpower and creativity of designers in a focusedway. It will then be possible to find smart solutions that workacross different scales and steer local and regional developmentsto make them ‘future-proof,’ ecological and attractive – and thusmeet the needs of society.’

The next step: sustainable spatial development

A sustainable urban design’s effectiveness requires that itevolves into a ‘sustainable spatial development,’ i.e. into an overallapproach directed towards a continuous effective improvement ofthe space around us. The leading role here is for the spatial systemsand the social and spatial contexts within which a developmenttakes place: they provide the conditions for carrying out sustain-able projects which will bring in more for the overall environmentthan they cost. And in doing so, the urban development taskchanges.

Does one really need to see urban development on a larger scalelevel and in a broader perspective, and how would that relate to‘spatial systems’ then? van der Linden: ‘Any kind of land use takesplace within one or more spatial systems, whether natural oranthropogenic. Examples of such systems are the relation betweena town and its surrounding villages, river and stream systems, eco-systems and the city as a system in itself. The layout, design anduse of space determines the environmental quality of spatial sys-tems and how future-proof they are. With the right layout, wecan influence the use of our living and working environment, andso too its social and environmental quality. Urban planning and de-sign should improve local systems and quality of life – now and inthe future’ (see Figs. 2 and 3).

To this, landscape architect Antony Marcelis adds: ‘However bigor small a development is, it is always part of a wider system. Phys-ical and social relations are components of a variety of spatial sys-tems, which often transcend the city scale. If the size of the housingstock in a municipality changes significantly, this has conse-quences for the housing market in the surrounding municipalities.’

‘The rise of integrated area development projects shows that itis becoming normal to start out from the complexity of spatial sys-tems,’ Adriaens says. ‘As the distinctions between town and coun-try have become increasingly blurred, the countryside is now more

of a recreational playground for urban dwellers and its manage-ment has consequently become an urban task. Moreover, the coun-tryside now also has to accommodate local and regional energyproduction and climate adaptation schemes. A practical approachto resolving the potential conflict between the various spatialclaims, such as water retention, transport, quality of life, recrea-tion, rural development and restructuring, starts with the develop-ment of spatial systems. Which systems have a relation with thesite and how is the site able to contribute to the improvement ofthese systems?’

In the opinion of landscape architect Wouter Schik it boils downto not always seeing spatial development as separate projects, butas a continuous process. ‘Every intervention must add its value tothe spatial system. Town and country are not static, they are inconstantly evolving. Steering this development requires a ‘‘visionof the future’’: who do we want to be as a community, city or vil-lage? And what steps can we take to bring this closer to reality?’The low or zero carbon city is a very appropriate vision for the nearfuture at the moment.’

Fig. 3. Sustainable urban design (Fig. 2) is mainly directed at the project area (innercircle). The effects of a development are, over time, probably not too positive for theregion or the world (outer circle). When a development process is started whichimproves spatial systems effectively, the regional and global effects would bepositive. A surplus of sustainable energy for instance would sustain the region andhave a positive effect on the climate problem.

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Does a continuous process of effectively improving spatial sys-tems mean a complete reversal in urban development? Adriaens:‘Things that were never questioned, such as large urban extension,greenfield developments, owning a car in the city and filling, rais-ing and levelling sites for housing construction, are being replacedby new concepts, such as the transformation of city centres, indi-vidual architect designed homes, the development of high-qualitypublic transport and the use of depressions in the landscape forwater retention and creating special living environments. The com-plex interconnection between users, areas and material chains hasbecome part of mainstream urban planning and design, influencedby the systems analyses in the ‘‘layer approach’’, the ‘‘two-networkstrategy’’ and the ‘‘ecopolis strategy’’.’

4 For more information visit http://www.klimaatonderzoeknederland.nl/.5 See Maslow’s study. Notably the later pyramid with its eight levels.

‘Improve spatial systems effectively’

Sustainable spatial development starts out by making a deliber-ate choice as to how a site should develop. In doing so, one shouldlook beyond the immediate boundaries of the planning area so asto effectively improve the (wider) spatial systems overall. Seen inthis way, a development within a city is only sustainable if it con-tributes social, physical and economic systems in the city and thuscontributes to quality of life.

Schik offers an example of an efficient intervention: ‘Take a‘‘sustainable’’ office complex outside the city that does not havea good public-transport connection. The office may be energy-neu-tral and less of a burden to the ecological and water systems on thesite, but it does not contribute anything to improving the existingcity. What’s more, it causes more car journeys and harms the sur-rounding countryside.’

Meijer explains that an effective development would in facttake place within the existing city. ‘The ‘‘city system’’ would im-prove if such offices were developed near homes, shops, publictransport, services and amenities. This would contribute to theeconomic health of these facilities, and thus to the city’s vitalityand liveability. It stimulates cycling and walking, which arehealthy activities. Moreover, it would save the green space outsidethe city which city-dwellers use for leisure activities.’ In approach-ing cities as combined systems, greenery on roofs and façades, instreets, parks and squares can have multiple benefits. Greeneryadorns the city, improves the quality of the air, reduces the urban

heat island effect4 and ensures better water retention. In combina-tion with saving energy and the generation of energy within the city,the vision of healthy energy-neutral city comes closer.

Smit clarifies this: ‘On a smaller scale, this type of interventionhas been realized in several of the schemes presented [. . .]. TheGWL development (Fig. 5) has shown that mixed uses and car-freeneighbourhoods can deliver highly successful living environments.The Lanxmeer development (Fig. 4) in a protected groundwater re-charge area shows that a housing development dos not have to bedetrimental to the water system, but can even have a positive ef-fect on it. Although such a development only covers a small areaof a whole water system, it is still an effective developmentstrategy.’

Joos van den Dool, architect and urban advisor points out thatthere is a great need for these kinds of effective, sustainable pro-jects: ‘The example projects [. . .] got off the ground due to the greatpersonal commitment of the [future MM] residents. Many years la-ter, these projects are still very popular in both the rental and own-er-occupied markets. User satisfaction in sustainable residentialand employment areas like Lanxmeer, The GWL site and the HighTech Campus Eindhoven (Fig. 10), is high and there is widespreadpublic is interest in such developments, which in turn arouses theinterest of the authorities and the market.’

When the planning for the GWL-site and Lanxmeer took placein the 1990s, in Germany and Sweden similar, but bigger, devel-opments were being planned. In Freiburg, the former French mil-itary site Vauban was redeveloped (Fig. 6). Between 1998 and2006, about 2000 new homes were built on a 38 hectare siteand some existing buildings were renovated. Among the compa-rable sustainable measures taken were low-energy buildings,the collection and reuse of rainwater, and the realisation of car-free public space. In Malmö, from 1997 on, the redevelopmentof the old port area with 3000 homes gave the city a completenew and attractive seafront. In Västra Hamnen (Fig. 7) specialattention was given to the energy supply with district heatingusing seawater and aquifer storage and the production of biogasusing household waste. This is a high-density development witha highly varied range of uses and attractively designed ecologicalcorridors through the district. In Vauban the involvement of (fu-ture) residents was also an important stimulus for the actual real-isation of these projects. In Västra Hamnen more attention wasgiven to the energy measures which resulted in an almost energyneutral development.

Schik underlines the human-focused attitude that has givenshape to such projects. ‘A city is never finished, but evolves withsociety and allows its residents to develop.5 A city has to meetthe needs of its users and provide good housing and employmentareas for all, young and old, rich and poor. Flexible, lifetime homes,for example, help to proof the city against ageing population anddemographic decline.’

In Bredenoord’s opinion, the improvement of spatial systemscan also be used for the transformation of rough areas: ‘Sustainableurban development can contribute towards the improvement ofsuch areas, but if they are dominated by problems of certain under-privileged groups within the population sustainable physical mea-sures will not be enough. There is then a risk that the problems willsimply be shifted to other districts, making the approach ineffec-tive. Besides Strengthening the socioeconomic structure, it is alsoimportant to improve social cohesion and security in suchneighbourhoods.’

de Vries states that the design of public space and its carefulmanagement may contribute a great deal to this: ‘A good urban

Fig. 4. Lanxmeer in Culemborg. Among many other sustainable aspects, solar energy, water retention and helophyte filters [water plants which filter ‘grey’ waste water] areused here. (Photographs: Michaël Meijer).

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structure provides orientation and connections, for instance togreen areas. The roads and parks provide room for people to dosports, play, sit and relax, hold barbecues and meet. People feel safeand respected, and take care of their surroundings because they aredesigned on a human scale. District wardens and district coachescan caution people about unacceptable behaviour and try to in-volve them in specific community projects, while good manage-ment keeps public spaces clean and tidy.’

6 For more information see: www.circleofblame.nl and www.rics.org.

From theory to the practice of ‘sustainable spatial development’

The transition from ‘sustainable urban design’ to ‘sustainablespatial development’ can be traced in the projects described inThe Next Step.’ The common thread running through all theseexamples is the support provided by inspired and enthusiastic pro-fessionals and citizens. But in addition to enthusiasm and profes-sional skills, political choices are also needed with the intentionthat sustainable spatial development can take root in spatial plan-ning processes in the Netherlands. There must be an increased fo-cus on the long term in spatial developments with the goal of an(eco-)effective improvement in spatial systems. The developmentof places must contribute to these systems of, for instance, energyproduction, socio-economics and traffic. These are not all essen-tially spatial systems but, in the end, they determine factors likeliveability and the emission of CO2. As long as developments arestill dominated by the drive for efficiency, flexibility in spatial de-

sign will remain very important as it allows for modifications to bemade at any time.

Inspiring and courageous pioneers provide the drive andmomentum to secure a sustainable approach to development. Theyinclude not only ordinary citizens or managers but also planningprofessionals who have a critical, but positive attitude, to their pro-jects. Different players have different opportunities to influencethe transition to sustainable spatial development. In this transitionthey can all be successful in their own role or projects. Any profes-sional working for government also has the responsibility of askinghis client critical questions like: ‘Think for just a moment, if youand your successors continue in this way, within X number ofyears, the Green Heart of the Netherlands will be completelybuilt-up. Is that what you want?’ (Needham, 2007). An urban plan-ner can introduce attractive plans and examples to demonstrate allthe options that are available for sustainable spatial developments.The professional can also offer a fresh view of financing models andregulations in spatial planning.

The conventional division of development costs between theend user, the authorities, the developer and the investor often lim-its sustainable projects to those which can be recouped within acommercially interesting period of time. Each party points the fin-ger at the other when questions are asked about why a develop-ment failed to live up to its sustainability credentials. This isoften called the circle of blame.6 Although changes in this field are

Fig. 6. Vauban in Freiburg (Photograph: Marjo van Lierop).

Fig. 5. The GWL-site in Amsterdam. A 100 dwellings per hectare mixed use and car-free area. Urban agriculture, historical buildings, water retention and green roofs arefound here. (Photographs: Rob Rhemrev).

Fig. 7. Västra Hamnen in Malmö (Photograph: Michaël Meijer).

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still slow, more and more examples can be seen. There is an increasingtrend to grant land intended for housing on long lease, with the result-ing regular income then used to maintain the vitality of the neighbour-hood. Here, the Oosterdok Island (Figs. 8 and 9) in Amsterdam is aninteresting example. In this project, the investors, developers and res-idents are the joint owners of the energy system so that the supply ofheat and cold and maintenance is guaranteed for a long time and allthose involved can profit from the returns or from a low energy price.The CO2 emission reduction of this system is about 64%.

Sustainable spatial development presupposes that the long-term aspects are taken into consideration. Designers can play a

key role by creating and visualising attractive solutions. Plannerscan guide this part of the planning process. Politicians are askedto opt for a longer planning horizon – not just thinking about thenext four years but taking a longer term view.

Adriaens: ‘The professionals who work for sustainable develop-ment demand clear political decisions for sustainable plans andprojects. The professionals who make development and spatialplans or manage the planning process must arrange for coopera-tion with other disciplines. Designers and planners can alert deci-sion-makers to the non-sustainable consequences of short-termpolicy, and preferably suggest even more promising design

Fig. 8. Oosterdok Island in Amsterdam – A visualization. Located next to the central station and the city centre, the plan combines many functions. Source: CIIID

Fig. 9. Oosterdok Island in Amsterdam. This figure shows the public library (left) which makes use of the shared energy system and uses photo voltaic cells on its roof and inits glazed façade. Source: MAB

542 M. Meijer et al. / Cities 28 (2011) 536–544

options. No one will then be able to claim that they are not awareof the importance of sustainability.’ Landscape architect HannekeVreman adds: ‘Educational institutes can contribute by attractingand training young, motivated and enthusiastic people who canthen give shape to complex area development processes.’

A sustainable spatial development process includes scope forboth bottom-up and top-down developments to take place at thesame time. Van den Dool: ‘Always consider the social component.Show that a new housing development or redevelopment will notonly benefit the current residents but also the neighbouring areasand future generations as well. Try, for example, to reach a broadgroup of interested people and involve them by creating spacefor individual build within a well-defined spatial structure. TheGWL-site and Lanxmeer and other eco-neighbourhoods show thatallowing residents and businesses to shape the areas within thesespatial structures ensures a more dynamic process, with greaterdiversity and complexity than can be generated by drawing upan urban design or landscape plan, as shown by.’

Finally it is the task of the professionals to learn from develop-ments and share this experience so that the best use is made of theflexibility which is incorporated in sustainable spatial develop-ments. By bringing this experience to the attention of those inthe political and executive domain, professionals can play a partin embedding sustainable spatial development in legal statutesand regulations.

Make the results visible

Before sustainable spatial development can find general accep-tance in the Netherlands, its ethical, aesthetic, ecological and eco-nomic effects, and benefits for the environment must becomemeasurable and visible. If the benefits for people, planet and profitcan be quantified, initiators can be convinced to take a wider viewof returns than the commonly accepted purely financial one.

The projects in The Next Step show how spatial systems can beeffectively improved. They illustrate the financial results as wellas the benefits to society. Parties who act more from social or pub-lic motives – like inspired citizens, housing corporations and themunicipal development agency – are among those involved inthe projects, as are parties whose approach is inspired by a morestrongly commercial logic, such as investors and developers. It isself-evident that the risks involved and the land development inthis kind of project are very different from those in the more con-ventional housing schemes in the Netherlands. Yet the fact thatthese projects have been realised proves that they were not onlyinteresting from a social and public angle, but also commercially.

Other projects in The Next Step address the reuse of existing ur-ban areas and they also resulted in the improvement of spatial sys-tems such as the landscape, the water and the urban area. Theresult was a qualitatively high-grade, robust and future-proofspace or landscape framework within the larger spatial and social

Fig. 10. The High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, previously the site of the former Philips physics laboratory. Special attention is directed at landscaping, water retention andecology. Urban furniture is combined with ‘data pits.’ Mixed use facilities in one central building. Source: Juurlink [+] Geluk

Fig. 11. Chiswick Business Park in London (Photograph: Channelship Web Agency).

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context. This has an influence on property values, on the health ofpeople living or working there and on the cost of energy and watertreatment. For instance, very few houses on the GWL-site havebeen put on the market since the termination of the anti-specula-tion clause despite the high rise in house prices. Residents evenmove within the neighbourhood itself because the estate fulfilstheir ongoing housing requirements.

The savings on management and maintenance are also con-siderable. Lanxmeer is managed in common ownership. The res-idents organise their own management and feel responsible for,and are involved in, their own housing environment. Municipalmanagers no longer need to come to the neighbourhood. Thegreen, park-like character makes the High Tech Campus a pleas-ant working environment and the interchange between the busi-nesses there stimulates business results. Sustainable spatialdevelopment can contribute to the development of a new sus-tainable economic dynamism. Sustainable spatial developmentwill be more widely accepted if clients can be convinced thatprofit can be made from the results of what is still is seen asan uncertain process.

In England and Germany comparable projects can be found forOosterdok Island and the High Tech Campus. Chiswick BusinessPark (Fig. 11) in London stems from the 1990s and occupies the siteof an old bus depot. The office buildings are situated around a cen-tral lake and inner garden. Motor vehicles are directed behind thebuildings thus making the garden a pleasant place for the localcommunity and, of course, the people that work at the site. Mea-sured in hectares, HafenCity (Fig. 12) in Hamburg is a much bigger

development than Oosterdok Island (157 ha, as opposed to 5 ha);however, there are many similarities HafenCity also brings newhomes, offices, amenities and culture to an abandoned port site.Sustainability measures address energy use, building materialsand creating healthy environments. In all four developments,brown fields are reused. In Eindhoven the water system is com-pletely revitalised, in the other developments it plays an importantrole in defining the new urban living spaces and adapting to cli-mate change.

Fig. 12. HafenCity in Hamburg (Photograph Elma van Beek).

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Conclusion

Sustainable spatial development, the next step or new approachtowards sustainable urban design may give the very much neededfocus in the complex planning processes which lie ahead for thecoming decades of restructuring and designing climate proof citiesin the Netherlands. The case study projects from the Netherlandsand elsewhere in Europe are among the first realised examples ofthe new approach. Sustainable spatial development focuses on asmart combination of durable and flexible urban planning and de-sign which uses natural resources and social capital in a responsi-ble way. The right choices are made in the right phase, the rightscale and the right order to make sure that spatial systems areeffectively improved within their spatial and societal context. Aflexible design, which leaves future adjustments possible, willguarantee durability in this age of rapidly changing design tasksand technical possibilities.

Communication and harmonisation with neighbouring interestgroups and future (commercial) owners and users ensures theproper, energy efficient, use of the new or redeveloped environ-ments. Through striving for added value in every plan phase moreand more opportunities arise for people, planet and profit. Follow-ing The Next Step, t every urban or spatial development should fo-cus on these aspects. The pursuit of low, or even zero, carbondevelopments is necessary but always as one among other impor-tant goals. If an urban development is not used, for instance, it is awaste of the efforts put into it, a waste of the energy used whileconstructing it and a waste of building materials. The examplesin The Next Step show how the city can be made more attractiveand valued when spatial systems are improved effectively. Thereduction of CO2 emissions from the cities’ systems or throughneighbourhoods that produce energy will bring the vision of a live-able, healthy, climate proof and energy neutral city closer.

References

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