University of Groningen!Faculty of Spacial Sciences!!

Spatial Problems and Spatial Policy: The Dutch Experience!

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Groningen: The Mini-Metropolis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Student: Gabriel Nobre de Souza!Student Number: S2808889!Professor: Paul van Steen

Introduction!!! Urban planning is essential for a comfortable, beautiful and safe environment that provides people a place to be happy (Sitte, C. 1889). The challenge is to understand it taking in account all the countless variables involved. Transportation, residences, commerce, government and politics, economics, urban design, industry, to just name a few of the topics.!!! Thus, studying spatial planning requires a broad knowledge as well as life experiences. Through the theory we can learn what is already know through the experience gathered along the ages - but previous statements are not necessarily correct. With the matching of wisdom from different sources and the perception of our daily life its possible to refine thoughts and discover what makes more sense, and then another person can learn this point of view and go further in the analyses.!!! To learn about spatial planning we should first look upon previous information regarding this subject, and a country that is know for its evolved planning skills is The Netherlands. With its limited amount of space, planning was compulsory, thats the reason for the development of spacial planning skills along with the water management to take the most of the land available for a safe and happy life for its citizens.!!! As important as the cities themselves is the relation between them and what it creates. Each city can help the one next to it providing something that the other has lack of. This creates places that gather more people due to what it has to offer.!!! With this small reflection starts the seeking for understanding of the relation of Groningen, a city in The Netherlands, with the others in its surrounding and the argumentation to find out if this place can be called a mini-metropolis. In order to answer that question, a good definition of what a metropolis is and how Groningen fits on this concept is required, along with facts that can confirm this theory.!!Metropolis Definition!!! The word metropolis has its origins in the greek language, with metro" meaning mother and polis, city (Collins Dictionary). This was used to designate the city that gave birth to another one, or in other words, the mother of the colony. Thus, giving an hierarchy to the cities. Also, we can use the metaphor of the mother" to explain that the metropolis would be a city that would provide resources, at least until the colony achieved a state where it would not be needed anymore. This was true for the greek society where cities were built to prevent the older cities to surpass the amount of people considered efficient for the proper working of the system, but, for example, in the time of the Great Navigations, the metropolis would be the receiver and colonies were created to provide resources, so the relation was the opposite.!!! This is the perfect example to show how hard is to define a metropolis, even though its origins are straightforward, the concept changed with the evolution of society, and is gradually becoming more and more complex (Derek, K. 2011). We can see how this idea of metropolis

changed completely through the time looking of what was showed to us in the movie Metropolis from 1927 as being large scale futuristic city with tall buildings and impressive structures (fig.1).!

! But even with all this distinct definitions we can se some similarities. A metropolis was always defined as being a city more relevant in its region, showing itself as being in the top of an hierarchy. Thus, in most cases being a city more evolved, and thats the origin of the movie concept, but it was showed in an exaggerated way, a mega metropolis. Also, theres always a certain exchange of resources between the metropolis and its satellite cities, and the resources can be in the form of workers. And metropolis cities, like its concept, changes through the time, changing its size, shape, form, functions, etc. (Roy, A. 2009).!!! Nowadays, geography studies understand that a metropolis consists in a city with jobs that draw workers (Demographia) and the metropolitan area includes these satellite cities. A summary would be that the metropolis is like a magnet for people, and can not only attract from its surroundings, but can also welcome strangers (Keene, D. 2011). Functions that can attract people to a certain city include services, industry, health, education, transportation, tourism, leisure, etc., and all of these are sources of jobs.!!! So, to justify that Groningen can be called a certain kind of metropolis, a mini-metropolis, analyse the core functions of the city and how they attract people is essential. And now that we already know about the general definition of metropolis, we should understand the mini-metropolis concept.

Fig. 1 - Futuristic definition of metropolis as seen on the movie Metropolis" (Transpress NZ)

The Mini-Metropolis Concept!!! Probably one of the first notable appearances of this concept was in the statements of Dr. Peter Kurz, mayor of Mannheim, a city in Germany which he claims to be a mini-metropolis. He mentions that the reasons for calling Mannheim in this way is that it offers all the courtesies of a large city, like shopping facilities, a lot of activities, good transport, multiple cultures present, jobs, well developed science research, among other things. But, its size is small enough to be properly managed, a characteristic not usual of large cities.!!! A mini-metropolis could be then defined as an city with all the general characteristics of an metropolis, but in a smaller scale, enough to be well managed. Now we have all the concepts required to start the analyses of Groningen to verify if this city fits on these definitions.!!Groningen as a Mini-Metropolis!!About the City! !!! Groningen is the main city in the Northern Netherlands with a population of around 196.000 people (Gemeente Groningen). Is also the heart of the Province of Groningen, with constitutes of 23 municipalities and has around 579.000 inhabitants, and was so important on the old times that was usually referred as just city, because it was by far the most important city on the north area of The Netherlands. The official year of establishment is 1040 and the oldest name was Cruoninga (Steen, P., 2014). Its mostly know for being a student city and due to that having one of the youngest population in The Netherlands.!!Education!!! The most powerful tool to attract people into Groningen is the education. With two large universities, the Hanzehogeschool and the University of Groningen together have more than 54.000 students, and for a population of less than 200.000 people that means that 1/4 of the population are university students, that doesnt include students of younger ages, so, this shows how important the education is for this city. With all the researches that take place in this kind of environment, its easy to affirm that science is a subject of importance in this municipality and this contributes for the argumentation favour the label of mini-metropolis towards Groningen.!!Transportation!!! Groningen is the Worlds Cycling City. Half of the trips are made by bike. This was thanks to three factors, the compactness of the city, the flat terrain of The Netherlands and the urban planning interventions to provide the most bikeable city in the world.!!! Compactness is a common rule in urban planning in The Netherlands, but in Groningen this was accentuated by the fact that the city was near the borders of the country, and the walls that were built to serve as fortification in the medieval times made the city centre a very compact area (fig.2), and after the walls were destroyed, the planners managed to maintain it's compactness, and thanks to this, nowadays all the city is inside a bikeable distance.!!!!!!!

! The flat terrain of The Netherlands and its intimacy with water management are no news and its reflected on the country name as well with some know quotes like God created the World, but the Dutch created The Netherlands. Groningen was settled in its location for being close to the ocean and also to the borders, as well as the rivers that connect to the ocean for the transportation of individuals and all kinds of goods (fig. 3).!

! The bicycle infrastructure was strongly introduced on Groningen in 1972 to deal with the car traffic and turn the city centre a more liveable place. The centre was divided in 4 sectors and cars couldnt not go from one to another without going around the outer ring, thus, preventing the through traffic in this area, this was a huge motivator for using the bike, since trips around the city

Fig. 3 - One of the routes from Groningen (Haven) towards the ocean (Delfzijl) (Photo taken by Gabriel Nobre de Souza)

Fig. 2 - Groningen map in the medieval times (City of Groningen lecture from Paul van Steen)

centre were more fast by bicycle (fig.4). Initially the traders were reluctant about the changes but after it showed to be a success the city started focussing in the bike subject and today is know for being the best city to bike.!

! The buses provide a easy way to go around the city, specially in rainy days when riding the bike doesnt seem so attractive. Theres also buses to go to other cities as well as international bus companies to travel, for example, to Germany, since the city is close to the borders.!!! The trains are another mode present in Groningen and are a easy way to travel large distances. The Central Station is know for its large bike sheds that are very often full on weekends due to people that go for a travel and leave their bikes at the station for a more easy departure and arrival.!!! This well developed transport infrastructure not only makes Groningen a more pleasurable place to live, but also opens the possibility to more people coming from outside the city, specially commuters.!!Cultural & Leisure Activities!!! The Museum of Groningen and the comic books museum called Stripmuseum (often misunderstood due to its name) are two of the most notable cultural places to visit. Also, the historical buildings in the city centre and the churches like Martini Tower are powerful attractors. The whole city can be used for leisure activities since riding the bicycle is a pleasure, but theres also many parks like Stadspark and Noorderplantsoen.!!Commerce!!! The city centre is rich of services and stores. The lively Grote Markt and Vismarkt squares where you can find clothing, food, books, etc. The diverse range of restaurants. And, of course, the bars that always have students and keep the city alive through the day and the night.!!

Fig. 4 - Example of the time spent in a trip made by bike and car (Groningen: Worlds Cycling City Vimeos Video)

Health!!! The University Medical Centrum of Groningen is a hospital complex that through its urban design simulates a small neighbourhood and provides for its patients a way to keep them in touch with society, instead of isolating them. Theres cafes, restaurants and even an supermarket. This huge hospital not only provides health care for the citizens of Groningen, but also for the cities around, turning Groningen in an important health services provider in its region.!

Commuting!!! All the previous characteristics of the city of Groningen are related with one of the factors that is the main reason to call Groningen a mini-metropolis and that is, commuting. The compactness of the city along with the transportation and all the services and activities provided by the municipality turn the city into a feeder" for the cities around it, the satellite cities, like Harem. Even though a large part of the population are students and by that you can conclude that not all of them work, the number of jobs per habitant in Groningen is one of the largest in The Netherlands, thanks to commuting (fig. 6).!!!

Fig. 5 - Groningen Hospital Complex (City of Groningen lecture from Paul van Steen)

Conclusion!!! After analysing the aspects mentioned as being relevant for a city to be considered a metropolis and matching it with the mini-metropolis concept its clear that Groningen fits perfectly in this label. The city is the heart of the Northern Netherlands and provides jobs, healthcare, education, culture, in an wide range to another cities. Its the most important city on the region and its size makes it possible to be properly managed, fitting very well on the definition of a mini-metropolis achieved after a research on the subject.!!Sources!!!Coll ins Dict ionary - Definit ion of the word Metropol is - Source Link: http:/ /www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/metropolis!!Demographia - Definition of Urban Terms - Source Link: http://demographia.com/db-define.pdf!!Gemeente Groningen - Welcome to Groningen - Source: http://gemeente.groningen.nl/english/welcome-to-groningen-2!!International Movie Database (IMDb) - Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/!!Keene, D. (2011) - Ideas of Metropolis - Institute of Historical Research, University of London, vol. 84, no. 225, August 2011!!Kurz, P. - Mannheims Oberbrgermeister - Cluster and Initiatives - Mannheim - http://www.ob-peter-kurz.de/public/data/minimetropolis.pdf!!Provincie Groningen - About the Province - Source: http://www.provinciegroningen.nl/servicelinks-provincie-groningen/english/!

Number of jobs per 1,000 residents!!1. Haarlemmermeer! ! ! ! 880!2. Utrecht! ! ! ! ! 730!3. Groningen! ! ! ! ! 730!4. Zwolle! ! ! ! ! 725!!9. Amsterdam! ! ! ! ! 675!14. Rotterdam! ! ! ! ! 545!!Netherlands (average)! ! ! ! 490

Fig. 6 - Number of Jobs per 1.000 residents in Groningen is justifiable due to commuting (City of Groningen lecture from Paul van Steen)

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/metropolishttp://demographia.com/db-define.pdfhttp://gemeente.groningen.nl/english/welcome-to-groningen-2http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/http://www.ob-peter-kurz.de/public/data/minimetropolis.pdf

!Roy, A. - The 21st-Century Metropolis: New Geographies of Theory - Regional Studies - vol. 43.6, pp. 819-830, July 2009.!!Sitte, C. (1889) - City Planning According to Artistic Principles!!Steen, P. - Lectures at the University of Groningen!!Steen, P. - Class Excursions!!Transpess NZ - World Transport History - Metropolis movie picture - Source Link: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q_WGHXnqn-Q/TP885WuqNsI/AAAAAAAABIM/LNsxFRs8CeI/s1600/Metropolis+1926.jpg!!Vimeo - Groningen - The Worlds Cycling City - Link: http://vimeo.com/76207227

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q_WGHXnqn-Q/TP885WuqNsI/AAAAAAAABIM/LNsxFRs8CeI/s1600/Metropolis+1926.jpghttp://vimeo.com/76207227