Urban Geography Field Research Spring 2012

Presenting to you: Our results!

2012-05-09T04:08:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

The last couple of months have been fun! And we are proud to announce our results! Hope you enjoy watching them!

Thanks to everyone who helped out make this project be a succes!

Urban Geography - Revitalization on Prezi

2012-04-24T06:40:00.001-07:00

Dear all,

In our two projects, we have seen a lot of different aspects and approaches to tackling such a huge project. In the end there was a fundamental difference between Antwerp and Rotterdam. This difference for a large part also defined the relations between neighborhood actors, governmental actors and private/commercial actors. This difference is the conduct of governance; is it decentralized (such as in Antwerp) or centralized (such as in Rotterdam)?

Below you can read our discussion and conclusion on this:

Discussing the cases of Rotterdam and Antwerp, one can see that there are two forms of governance implemented for city center revitalization. In Antwerp there was a very decentralized governance with several loosely connected projects scattered across the central station area. In Rotterdam on the other hand there was a very centralized form of governance. Both forms had aspects to them that were unique, but the researchers will begin with their similarities. Firstly both projects enjoyed high rates of civic participation. Through community meetings, information sessions and input in the decision making processes the plans could be adjusted in both cities. However, the researchers are convinced that in Antwerp there was in principle more space for civic participation as the projects were on a very local level, much more local than in Rotterdam. Secondly there was a distinct increase in both economical and human wealth in Antwerp, and the researchers expect this to happen as well in Rotterdam. This because of the increased livability and infrastructure in both cities. Also there was the encouragement from the government for new establishments and catering businesses in both cities. Third and lastly, both plans experienced conflicts. These conflicts were mostly situated between the local communities and the government or PPP. However, the conflicts were resolved in different ways; in Antwerp, the Kievitsnest sought to pressurize governance through the media and public opinion. This because of an exclusion of the locals in one of the projects. In Rotterdam, the wealthy inhabitants of the Provenierswijk sought to pressurize the plans through legal action and the judicial system.

Now on to the differences. Because of the smaller scale in Rotterdam, there was more control, a better overview and in the end a greater efficiency. Also the communication between actors was better than in Antwerp, and therefore protest organizations such as the Kievitsnest were not needed to be formed. However, this smaller scale also meant that the area was confined, and possible spillover effects such as the dangers of gentrification might not be absorbed in the decision making process. A second and last important difference was that the Rotterdam municipality was able to set its restrictions for the public benefitin the PPP, while Antwerp had more problems with this since it dealt with more PPP’s or projects at once. For example, the building of the Kievitswijk garage and office buildings can be considered a failure from the government to impose the correct restrictions. This lack of restrictions sparked the protests. Also the coercion of Alcatel-Lucen-Bell on a certain project can be considered as a failure of the government strength.

In the end, the researchers do believe that there is no definite best way of governance. This because of two primary reasons. Firstly, other parties and variables also have an influence on the success or failure of a place. These are for example the initial conditions in e neighborhood and its social fabric, the willingness of people to experience change, the strength of the government and the division of responsibilities and decisive power in the PPP. Also, the context, the objectives and the design and planning process do matter in the decision of which governance to take. If the objective is to reach out to as many people as possible, a decentralized governance might more beneficial. On the other hand, a centralized governance might be preferred if the PPP wants to have a specific focus on just one area.

Preview of the Final Research Paper

2012-04-22T09:26:00.002-07:00

Wondering what we've been up to now for the last weeks? Here is a preview of the draft conclusion from our research in Rotterdam! It's still a work in progress but it shows some of our ideas!

"When concluding the case of Rotterdam, one can see that there are special characteristics of the three main actors and of their interrelationships that made this project successful until now. Firstly, the government actor and the private investor actor have balanced out their desires and demands, resulting in both the development of real estate on an excellent location and an improvement in the surroundings and infrastructure. This can be seen as a profit for both the private sector and the public sector. Secondly, the PPP has been defined very clearly and its goals have been set very concretely, enhancing efficiency and communication. Thirdly, the civic participation of the neighborhoods was active and very enabled by the PPP. The locals were allowed to be active in the planning and decision making. This also ensured that the noses of all actors are pointed in the same direction and friction is marginalized. The most troublesome relation the researches think will be the development of how the neighborhood actors correlate with itself. How the identity of the neighborhoods will change, if the social fabric will still be in place and especially how the locals will adapt to their new environment once the project is completely finished. The authors advise that this is closely monitored by both the municipality and sub-local institutions such as community centers and the women support groups the researchers visited."

Virtual Antwerp Central Station

2012-04-22T03:42:00.001-07:00

If you want to experience what we experienced when we were doing research in Antwerp check the link below. Its the virtual Central Station!!

http://www.stationsroman.be

The 10 Most Amazing Station of the World!

2012-03-26T13:18:00.001-07:00

Ever thought of the power a trainstation can have in a city?

Here are some of the most beautiful trainstations in the world.

10. Middelburg Station, Middelburg, the Netherlands

9. Atocha Station, Madrid

8. Hua Hin Railway Station, Thailand

7. Centrail Railway Station, Maputo, Mozambique

6. Lahore Railway Station, Pakistan

5. Gare des Bénédictins, Limoges

4. Central Station, Antwerp

3. Chhatrapati Shivaji, Mumbai

2. Grand Central Terminal, New York

1. St. Pancras, London

2012-03-21T16:13:00.001-07:00

Just something quick to share with everybody,

But even Luxembourg Central Station seems to be under construction: It is great to see the variety and architectural differences between renewals of Central Station Areas

"That's one small step for a Antwerp, one giant leap for the Central Station"

2012-03-08T06:11:00.000-08:00

Antwerp

On the 7^th of March we started our research by visiting Antwerp. Arriving in Antwerp we had one mission which was divided up into three locations. Our mission was to investigate how the area around the Central Station has changed ever since the renewal of the Central Station.

The three locations around the central station which we looked at were the Klevitwijk, the Keyserlei and the Athenemeumbuurt.

We started our investigation at the central station. It was clearly noticeable that the Central station was supposed to emit a relaxing atmosphere. There were coffee shops and lunchrooms available inside the station. Further away from the central hall there was the Diamond Gallery filled with tiny jewelry shops. Our first impression was that the central station (at around 11:00) was very quiet.

Our second location was the Klevitwijk. Our impression of this area was that the Klevitwijk seemed to have no connection with the central station. The buildings had a different expression compared massive train station. While walking through the area we stumbled upon the Kievetsnest. The Kievetsnest occupied the Provincial church in order to stop it from being demolished. When we looked further into the activities of the Kievetsnest, we saw that they have slowed down the process of renovation. On our way back, we did see that one block office buildings rose from the ground.

The third location was the Athenemeumbuurt. Before arriving in this area, we passed through a street of Casinos and an Asian street. It quickly became clear to us that this was Antwerp’s multicultural district. Arriving at the Coninckplein, the first building which stood out from the other buildings was a public library called Permeke. It was only until after we left the library that we saw how useful a library actually was. Inside the library a man, Klaas van Gorp, was able to help us extremely well with all the questions we had about the library and the area around it. In short it was possible to conclude that the library had a very positive effect on the neighborhood.

The Keyserlei was the fourth and last location we visited. There was nothing much to see yet, since it was still under construction. We were however informed that the Keyserlei would turn into a car-free zone, making it friendlier for all the people coming out of the Central station. The Keyserlei will eventually connect with the Operaplein, where it will also turn into pedestrian-zone.

In conclusion, our day was very successful. We received information from locals who we able to give us a better view of the past, and we were able to speak with Klaas van Gorp who researched the library and the area, and Tom Vinck, who was part of the city designing team of the municipality.

We were also tipped by the library that the book Centraal Station Spoorwegkathedraal by Stan Wagemans would be a really helpful book which could give us a lot of information.

http://zeelandboeken.pzc.wegenerwordpress.nl/geschiedenis/centraal-station-spoorwegkathedraal/

So how does city centre revitalization look like?

2012-03-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

So what is a good example of a urban center revitalization project? Well we have found on: The Waterfront of Barrie, Ontario, Canada:

Below are pictures that first off give the general impression of the zone planning of the to be renewed district, second gives the location on an aerial map, and the third gives sketches from the ground view to give the atmosphere which is 'connected' to the project

These pictures and way more information can be found in the following link, A nice project that shows you a basic bu still very informative city center renewal project!: Barrie (Ontario) City Centre Waterfront Revitalization.

Mumbai Station

2012-03-04T07:33:00.001-08:00

Its always nice to see the importance of a railway station in other countries.

Antwerp and Rotterdam Field Study – Urban City Center Revitalization – The Case of Central Station Renewal

2012-02-28T04:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

Antwerp Central Station

We are more than glad to announce our research proposal to you, so without taking any more of your time, we hear by present you our research proposal!

Btw, stay tuned, soon we'll be investigating Antwerp, and we'll give you an update on that as well!

Luuk, Fieke, Geert and Wouter

Our goal for this field study is to look at how the Central Station has an effect on the city. Often a central station when it is renewed can handle more capacity, however there much be a lot more to it if a city decides to invest millions or euros into a train station.

Rotterdam Central Station

We will (if possible) meet up with someone of the Antwerp municipality to ask him several questions about the renewal and how it is has changed the city, with an economic, social and environmental perspective. Our goal for Rotterdam is to meet up someone from the train station who has designed the train station, and this person is also willing to tour us through the new building, so that we can hear his story about the design. (This arrangement is still in process)

Antwerp/Rotterdam Field Study – Urban City Centre Revitalization – The Case of Central Station/area Renewal.

Central research question: To what extent have the objectives and purposes been achieved of the renewal of the Central Station redevelopment of Antwerp and Rotterdam?

Subquestions:

· What were the original objectives, ideals, purposes behind the zone planning of the Central Stations Area (CSA)?

o Were there alternative plans as well? (such as in the South Axis)

· What was the Cost and Benefit Analysis for both the CSA’s?

· Has Antwerp achieved its goals, money-wise, social-wise, time-wise

o What kind of effects did the CSA of Antwerp experience?

§ What kind of change has Antwerp seen in district with the east side

o What kind of problems did the CSA of Antwerp experience?

§ How have these problems been encountered and dealt with?

· Has Rotterdam achieved its goals or mid-period goals?

o What kind of problems/effects did Rotterdam already experience?

o Can Antwerp be used to predict problems that occur or might occur?

o How will the city on the south side change? (Urban, commercial or reputation wise)

· The end?

Important topics/themes for the analysis, both theoretical and practical:

Cost-Benefit-Analysis, Social Interaction, Pedestrian flows, Multifunctional/synergist buildings, zone planning, TOD: Transit Orientated Development, Main-city-hub, Main-city-district, multifunctional district planning

Future of Utrecht Central Station

Trains stations which are currently under construction and which we have looked at to look for similarities:

Utrecht:
http://www.cu2030.nl/index.php?uid=1170

Breda:
http://www.breda.nl/gemeente/nieuws/breda-berichten/informatiedag-bouw-nieuwe-station-breda-0

Future of Breda Central Station

Rotterdam:
http://www.rotterdam.nl/rotterdamcentraal

Did the Roosevelt Academy influence possible changes in the retail sector around the market square?

2012-02-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

Dear readers,

This is our field research project about Middelburg. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Any suggestions and comments are always welcome!

Much Love,
Geert, Fieke, Luuk and Wouter

Did the Roosevelt Academy influence possible changes in the retail sector around the market square?

Introduction and Theoretical Framework

The Roosevelt Academy was established at the beginning of 2004. At this moment, eight years after the first students arrived, an average of 600 students are now inhabitants of Middelburg. These students account approximately for 1.5% of the total city population. As probably known, students have a reputation for having strange habits. For some residences it could create irritations; however others see opportunity in this.

What our field study will focus on is how the Roosevelt Academy and the students of the Roosevelt Academy have changed the retail structure in the past eight years. We will be focusing purely on shops which are within walking distance of the Roosevelt Academy buildings.

Middelburg is an interesting city to analyze. When looking at the structure of Middelburg, the city center is filled with shops, often commonly known chain stores, and the other parts are filled with restaurants and cafés. Office buildings have been placed more on the “outskirts” of the city for transportation purposes.

Looking at it from a social perspective, the yearly seasons and the weather have a great influence on the amount of people and the type of people in the city. During the months of June, July and August the city is often a popular touristic destination for Dutch and German tourists. On the other hand, many of the students leave Middelburg during these months and return to their hometowns. Also during the weekend there is a swap of students. Many students studying in different locations in the Netherlands return to Middelburg, and the Roosevelt Academy students leave Middelburg and return Sunday evening.

Before we began our research, we looked at certain sources to see if a possible prediction could be made. Many sources focused on the student-life in the UK cities. From these sources we were able to see that in the UK a student city often dominates a city when the student population accounts for 10 to 15 percent. However, studies have shown that even though a large student city creates a lot of perspective, many students only make use of the city for entertainment purposes. However, these entertainment suppliers like pubs and cafes, try to satisfy the locals as well. Several city centers increase prices during the weekends in order to give the locals the opportunity to enjoy a drink without the company of students.

With the knowledge we have received from our theoretical work, which investigated different student cities, we predict that the retail structure of the city will not have changed ever since the Roosevelt Academy was established. The main argument for our predictions is that we believe that the Roosevelt Academy does not have enough students, and students seem to spend their extra money for entertainment purposes rather than new clothing. We do however believe that De Drvkkery (the bookstore located on the market square) will have benefited, since students are required to buy books twice a year.

Methods

In order to answer the main research question ‘Did Roosevelt Academy change the retailstructure?’ it is necessary to know the retail structure before Roosevelt Academy was established and the structure now, seven years later. Therefore we consulted the websites of the land register (Kadaster) and chamber of commerce (KvK). Moreover, a trip to the municipality of Middelburg was planned to get a glimpse or a copy of the zoning plan of this moment and of eight years or longer ago.

However, the zoning plan only shows if the number of places available in the city for commercial enterprises has expended/decreased and if so, where in the city. The map does not reveal which types of shops have expended or become smaller, which shops are located where and for which reason and what kind of customer base a shop has and if that has changed. These questions are important for answering the main question. Thus two additional research methods are added in order to get an answer on the main question.

For the interviews, a semi structured interview was used in order to obtain the data we required. Semi-structured was chosen because we had a set of research topics and questions in mind, but we wanted to keep in dynamic if we wanted to improvise. The four questions listed below were used as a basis for the interviews.

1) When is your shop established? (Where they here already when RA started?)
2) Why is your shop here? (entrepreneurship -> why interested in Middelburg? Because of RA?)
3) Has your shop expanded/become smaller since 7 years ago? (Has RA had influence on the shop?)

4) What is your customer base? Do few/some/many students come here?

The interview is short because many interviews have to be conducted to get an overall impression of the influence of Roosevelt Academy on the retail structure and little time is available. The interviews will be conducted on shops in close proximity of the market square. Smaller shops are preferred because often the owner works there him/herself and is able to give the information needed.

History of the Market Square.

On the 17th of May 1940, the market square of Middelburg and the surrounding buildings, including the town hall, were destroyed by a fire that was the result of a German bombardment. The reconstruction of the city and the restoring of the buildings started shortly after the bombardment. Even though the decision was taken to rebuild the city in the same style, the street pattern of Middelburg’s inner city was slightly changed: The market square became smaller and some allies were not rebuilt. As the tramway disappeared from the market square, another mean of transportation was introduced: the car. For a couple of years the market square served as a parking facility and only recently was transformed to a car-free zone.

Zone planning and the Municipality.

The zone planning (or City planning) of any municipality divides up the property into different functions: Some buildings are meant for residential purposes, others for commercial enterprises, while thirds can be industrial or public sphere properties. As can be read in Kabir (2007), City planning is an important and strategic tool in order to facilitate the needs and wants of the inhabitants of a city. The zone plan of Middelburg stems from 1992. It is supposed to be remodeled and rethought every 10 years, but due to unknown circumstances it has been postponed to 2012.

During the interview with two city hall employees, both of them in the college for zone planning, it became clear that the plan of 1992 did not changed at all because of the coming of Roosevelt Academy. They did not foresee a big change in the dynamics of the city and calculated that the impact of the Roosevelt Academy would be moderate. Not even the buildings of Roosevelt Academy needed a change of purpose; the buildings were categorized in the public sphere, of which a subpart is educational institutions.

Further questions revealed that there was an increase in entrepreneurship overall in the recent years, but no causality could be found in the arrival of Roosevelt Academy. Also, they explicitly stated that the zone planning might not have changed, but their vision did: They aim to facilitate student life and student initiative, but this vision is not yet translated into practical changes for the commercial district or the planning department.

Analysis of the Data:

The Data from seven shops around the market square was collected and can be found in the appendix. The basic information from the four questions can be found there, together with additional information that occurred from further questioning or extensions given by the shop owners themselves.

All the shops were founded before the arrival of Roosevelt Academy, and all of them had the same reason for being on the market square: or the building was already in possession of the family business or the building was on a prominent location with lots of tourists and shoppers passing by.

There is a general trend that can be stopped with the answers from the third question. All interviewed said that they slowly expanded they business the last decade. But there were also darker tidings; the economic crisis of 2009 can be felt in every branch of the retail service. Also the shop owners stated that students did not represent a significant portion of their revenue.

The shop owners also stated that students were coming in to their shops once in a while, but for none the students represented a significant portion of their clientele. The only significant impact students might have had on revenue, was the amount of students that make use of the ‘Brasserie” the eating café part of De Drvkkery. This was noticed by the interviewed person there after a while. What was interesting to see, and was derived from further questioning, is that Roosevelt Academy students might not have a big impact on local retail, but that the Roosevelt Academy itself does have a big impact. As the flower shop owner stated, as well as the ‘babbelaars’ store and De Drvkkery. They sometimes receive an immense order for open days conferences or other important events

Discussion and conclusions

The conclusions that can be drawn from all the collected data, both municipal and local, support the thesis that Roosevelt Academy students did not have a significant impact on the businesses around the market square. This is easily explainable as the students only number 600 amongst a population of 48,000. Secondly, the tourism industry is very big in Middelburg, thus even further decreasing the portion of revenue made by Roosevelt Academy.

A second point that arose from our questioning was the impact of Roosevelt Academy as an institute instead of its members. This point also invites for further researching and discussion. As the municipal body describes, Roosevelt Academy did not only pull 600 students to Middelburg, but also created 150 to 200 high quality jobs in Middelburg. Also Roosevelt Academy spends a lot in the local area, further increasing the revenue of some shops.

As a general conclusion, the arrival of Roosevelt Academy and its students did not have an impact on entrepreneurship and businesses in Middelburg in the retail section. This because students do not have enough money to represent a significant portion of the revenues made. Even with Roosevelt Academy included this extra revenue is not enough to stimulate new entrepreneurs for retail business.

An extension to the project would be to look for possible influences of the Roosevelt Academy student population on other sections of commercial business. An intuitive suggestion would be to look at Roosevelt Academy expenditure for bars and dance-café’s in Middelburg. For example, last week a new dance-café opened called “Bumpers”. To see if the student population motivated this entrepreneur to begin would be an interesting extension.

Sources

Chatterton, P. (1999) University students and city centres - the formation of exclusive geographies - The case of Bristol, UK. Geoforum 30(2)

Kabir, S., M., H. (2007) Strategic Planning in Municipal Government: the Case of City of Ottawa. Canadian social science

Munro, M., Turok, I. & Livignston, M. (2009) Students in cities: a preliminary analysis of their patterns and effects. Environment and Planning 41(8)

Proudfoot, M., J. (1937) City Retail Structure. Economic Geography, 13(4)

Appendix

Data

Outcome interviews

Stand: Flower stand on the edge of the market square (Markt)

Interviewed: Woman approximately 40 years old and an employee of the stand.

1. 20 years the stand exist.

2. On the market because a lot of people walk by

3. The shop hasn’t expended but that is because of their license for that exact place on the market.

4. A lot of different people go to the stand but especially mothers. Sometimes students buy flowers and when RA hosts a party or an open day they order flowers at the stand.

Shop: (expensive) clothing for men. Peter Christ (Lange Delft 3)

Interviewed: a man approximately 30 years old and an employee of the store.

1. The man does not know exactly but the shop exists longer than ten years.

2. The shop exists in more places in the Netherlands and is located here because a lot of people come to the market square.

3. The shop has expended in the way that it has got more stores through the Netherlands.

4. Sometimes students buy clothes but not often. When a gala is coming, more students go to the shop.

Shop: De Drvkkery (Markt 51)

Interviewed: a woman approximately 60 years old at the information desk of the shop.

1. The woman does not know exactly but the shop exists longer than ten years at this place.

2. –

3. The shop has expended but since a year not anymore because of the economic crisis.

4. Many students but they contribute only for a small bit to the profit made. Students buy especially study books. The little restaurant within the shop also attracts students and students are important there to create a ‘young’ atmosphere.

Shop: Visgilde Middelburg (Markt 39)

1. The shop was established approximately 30 years ago. The current owner bought the store in April 2011 and continued the existing activities.

2. The location was picked by the current owner because there was already a similar business based in the building.

3. As the current owner does not run his business longer than one year, he could not give a clear overview of expansion. Yet, he mentioned that there was a noticeable influence of the current economic crisis.

4. The clientele of the Visgilde consists mostly of elderly people. Roosevelt Academy students are not frequent visitors of the business although on Fridays some students buy a portion of kibbeling.

Shop: FA J.B. Diesch babbelaars (Markt 23)

1. This family business was established in 1892 on Lange Burg, with its entrance just around the corner of its current entrance on market square.

2. The location was changed as a result of the bombardment of Middelburg in 1940 and the shop reopened shortly after the bombardment on this new location.

3. During the last 7 years, the shop did not change

4. Once in a while a student visits the shop but there is no strong influence of students on the sales. The establishment of RA as a whole does however influence sales as Roosevelt Academy orders small gifts for guest lecturers and speakers.

Shop: Linolux (Lange Viele 11-13)

1. The shop opened approximately 10 years ago on this location.

2. The same business also has a location on Gravenstraat.

3. –

4. There are not much students visiting this shop. Only sometimes in the summer a few students buy products for their rooms when they just moved in.

C.F.Diesch, Tabacoshop: (Markt 35)

This shop was founded in 1891 and has been part of the family business for three generations. The establishment at the Market Square is a privately owned house, on an attractive location. The shop was always specialized in tobacco, and its surrounding products. The owner chose to diversify its products during the last decade, but this summer he has specialized again in tobacco products. The main argument was that the profit margin on tobacco was very low, therefore he chose to diversify. Later on, diversification turned out to be even less profitable, so specialization in tobacco was once again pursued.
While this trend was in the same period as the arrival of RA and it’s faculty and students, there was to causal relation between the two. The owner explicitly stated that students did not visit his shop that often, almost none at all. The explanation for this was that cigarette products were not sold, only and strictly tobacco, while students usually small cigarettes. Also RA as an organization was not involved in any business with the store.

Hello!

2012-02-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers!

It is a pleasure having you here. This page was made to keep you updated on our field research

Much love from,
Luuk, Geert, Fieke and Wouter