A full empty metropolis

Dig the Mare open again, do a park instead of a tower block, there is already so little open space. These are just a few of the reactions that invariably appear on the internet under articles about building plans. And recently, a study by Elsevier also showed that Leiden is just not the red lantern bearer in terms of peace, space and quality of life. Nevertheless, the municipality and urban planners think that the assignment to add another 10,000 homes to the urban area is difficult, but certainly possible. In fact, it also offers the opportunity to correct previous mistakes and improve the quality of life. People sometimes have the feeling that every empty space is sacrificed to the new building, but that really doesn’t have to be the case, thinks Leiden building alderman Paul Laudy (VVD). The ‘densification’ of the city can also be done, for example, by ‘topping up’, he says through a spokesperson. “Adding homes on top of existing buildings. Or by transforming vacant business premises or areas. We still have a lot of them in the city.”

This is also the opinion of Rotterdam urban planners Henk Hartzema (master planner Bio Science Park since 2004) and Rients Dijkstra (creator of master plan for the Leiden station area and project supervisor). About five percent of the existing number of homes can always be found, Hartzema thinks. “In Leiden, you can then add about 2500 homes almost unnoticed. So that’s already a quarter of your task.”

For the rest, according to the two urban planners, it is wise to designate a few specific areas. “Otherwise, you do run the risk of putting a tower in every place you find and that you are risking special places too easily,” says Dijkstra. “Such an incredibly beautiful city center as Leiden has… That is so beautiful and wonderful. You have to cherish that,” says Hartzema. “But those 10,000 extra homes, yes, you should want them,” says Dijkstra. “That number is not plucked out of thin air, or anything. That comes from somewhere. There is simply a migration to the city. Of course you can say: don’t come here, but then ten years later you will have the complaints of people who wonder why they have no work and the shops are empty. You can’t stand still and move forward at the same time.”

Hartzema knows where he would take the big densification if he were in charge in Leiden: Leiden-Zuidoost, roughly from the Kanaalweg south of the railway to the Churchilllaan.

“I think that’s a kind of forgotten corner of the city. You can make something very beautiful there, buildings to the outside world. I think that if you go up there, you really contribute to the city edge feeling. By making a hard border, you emphasize the emptiness of the Oostvlietpolder. And please keep it empty! It is one of the few places where there is distance. In the end, we are all little Ruysdaels. The primal feeling that our living area is located in the landscape and has its place safely there, that is so nice. And so different from most cities, where you drive off the highway into a business park and that behind it is your home.”

The greenery around the city and the Singelpark are also an important factor in municipal policy and for urban planners. Not every Leiden resident may walk out their front door and into a park, but there is certainly a lot of greenery in and around the city. Laudy and the urban planners do count that. “Something that, by the way, does not come up in the Elsevier study,” says alderman Laudy. “One of our goals is that everyone is in a green environment within ten minutes. Part of our urbanization task is that we connect the greenery in the city with the greenery outside the city through attractive green connections.”

Patchwork

Dijkstra and Hartzema also point out that building density is a relative concept. “I understand the sentiment of people who don’t want their situation to change, but you will be surprised how much room there is left,” says Dijkstra. “And there are many misunderstandings about densification; as if that always has to be high. Leidsche Rijn Vinex district has the same density as the center of Utrecht. By the way, those ten thousand new homes will also include houses with gardens, because if you only build apartments, you will not meet the demand.”

Hartzema: “Leiden is a great patchwork of spatial quality, the city has so many mixed forms. It is such a rich residential area, all kinds of things are intertwined. For example, we are now working in the area around Endegeest. The castle, the footpath, residential streets in the Vogelwijk in Leiden, Bremmer’s land, a tennis court… You can’t get much closer to paradise.”

According to Hartzema, people’s complaints about built-up, busy cities without greenery also have a different feeling. According to him, those people are more likely to be looking for safety and quality of life. Rest. And that can be easily created from an urban planning point of view without immediately creating large parks or squares everywhere.

“The Randstad is the emptiest metropolis in the world, but it does feel full. And people are looking for a group feeling in their own environment. Like the courtyards in Leiden. We live with our backyards to the outside world. That is now going to happen on a different scale.”

Enclaves

He is mainly thinking of mixing functions. No longer specialised districts for living, working or shopping. After all, they are extinct for a large part of the time and at times like that they are often not pleasant to stay in. “From 1930 to 2000, we created areas where it is perfect for one function, but those days are over. I think we have to look for the new courtyards. Making enclaves, small gatherings, where you can be yourself unthreatened. And that may well be with tall buildings. As long as people have the opportunity to make a piece their own, which may not even be theirs. Away from that old feeling that something is always being taken away from you. Get the cars off the street, as we do at the Bio Science Park, because they also give a ‘full’ feeling. You can then put some trees in return.”

In recent years, you have seen many impressions of buildings in which all kinds of things come together, sometimes with an entire city park on the roof, but according to Dijkstra, that is largely pie in the sky. “I think that those kinds of initiatives are a bit overhyped, that you see much more than will actually ever be made.” According to him, it is not necessary at all.

He agrees with Hartzema that even without major interventions, a lot can be gained. Dijkstra: “It is important to get the most out of the public space that is currently available. That is far from happening. Take the Stationsweg in Leiden, all that space for buses, cars and bicycles… If you solve that better, you free up space for a row of trees. And that can be done almost anywhere. What I think would be great is if every Dutch city has a greening program, replaces paving, plants trees. There is room for that.” There is also quite a bit of greenery hidden in the Leiden station area that he is in charge of, says Dijkstra. For example, on the roofs of the ‘pedestals’ on which the residential towers will be built. Residents will soon be looking out on this. And there are also green areas at street level. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that it will of course be a densely built-up area and that interests will clash. “But that’s just part of it. Also think about who you are working for. For the people who live there now, for the people who want to live there or for both? I argue for the latter. And do it carefully. Hold everything up to the light, see what is wise and what is acceptable, as much as possible with those involved. We then say: let’s start drawing. But in the awareness that something is going to change. Urban growth is constantly something you have to tinker with. That is inevitable.”