Eindhoven city expansion
- An expansion model based on a regional concept -Until well into the twentieth century, city expansion was no more than a random series of small expansions with no underlying vision for the entire city or the surrounding areas, called ‘stratenplannen’ (planned network). The borders of the built-up area were slowly pushed back one street after another on the outskirts of villages and cities. In the first half of the twentieth century, small villages on the periphery of Eindhoven such as Woensel, Stratum and Gestel were gradually swallowed up by the city.
The regional plan for Eindhoven was devised to help focus the ad hoc practices of urban development. Designed in 1930 by the ambitious city planner J.M. de Casseres, the expansion plan was not based on research but was meant to serve as a growth model for the city. The map is a schematic drawing of Eindhoven and its satellites. The city expansion plan comprises three such maps and an explanatory note, giving an outline of the desired form of future developments of the city and surrounding villages. A crucial element is the road structure, with connecting roads and ring roads limiting concentric expansion and ribbon development. The deliberately schematic quality of the design permits a more flexible implementation.
Although this plan was never officially adopted, it did have a preventive effect on the city’s approach to industrial expansion, population growth and the development of the infrastructure for several years. In the years following De Casseres’ presentation of his plan, he adapted his design to make a regional plan for Noord-Brabant.
Request number CASS 227
Literature
-K. Bosma, J.M. de Casseres. De eerste planoloog (J.M. de Casseres: The First Town and Country Planner), Rotterdam 2003
-H. van der Cammen, L. de Klerk, Ruimtelijke Ordening. Van grachtengordel tot vinex-wijk (Spatial Planning: From canal ring to vinex housing estate), Utrecht 2003