Wout van der Toorn Vrijthoff Vincent Nadin University of Technology Delft Faculty of Architecture Emeritus associate professor Real Estate Management Background in: Civil engineering City Planning Housing Urban Planning

1. 1
The Common Historic Urban Core
A Reflection of Collective Memory, Window to the Past
Wout van der Toorn Vrijthoff
Vincent Nadin
University of Technology Delft
Faculty of Architecture
Emeritus associate professor
Real Estate Management
Background in:
Civil engineering
City Planning
Housing
Urban Planning

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The Common Historic Urban Core
A Reflection of Collective Memory, Window to the Past
What is the historic urban core?
What are the common characteristics of the core?
Threats and opportunities
Safeguarding, a new balance between common and
private interest

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The Historic Urban Core
The historic urban
core is the original
settlement which was
shaped by a non
industrial economy
Related Concepts
 Inner city
 City centre
 Downtown
 Centre ville
 Urban centre
 Central city
 Central Business District
 Innenstadt

4. The Historic Urban Core
The Romans did establish a long range of strongholds sowing the seed for the
development of cities in Europe
Ages later the Vikings did the same. Especially much cities in Ireland and the UK
started their life cycle thanks to the vikings.
Most of the cities in Europe were initiated on places
which had significance as:
• Military strategic places
• Natural Coastal harbor
• Natural inland waterways
• Religious centers
• Cross roads
• Centers of natural resources (iron, wood, etc)
Defense, Trade, Craft and Religion
It took a millennium or more
to shape the historic urban core

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Specific
Spatial
Characteristics:
• Small scale
• Maximum of multi functionality
• Territorial fixed area
• Relatively shrinking area
• Life cycle of tenth of generations
• Organic grown urban structure (versus born on a computer screen)
• Visual complexity and varied urban form
• Urban cultural heritage
• Small share of public space intensively used
• One of a kind
The Historic Urban Core

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Zwolle 1560
Zwolle 1867
The Historic Urban Core of Zwolle 2012

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About 95% of the
urban territory
(surface m2)was
realized in a period
that covers the last
5% of its life
cycle.(years of
existence)

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The Historic Urban Core

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A city is like a tree
The
core is
the
oldest
and the
very
best
part of
the
tree
Common source characteristics
Value and Meaning

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Our Urban Sapwood

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And how we handle it
Elke volgende generatie is geneigd de daden van haar
onmiddelijke voorgangers lager in te schatten en ondertussen
de reputatie van een verder verleden in ere te herstellen’
Lowenthal, D., 1985, The past as a foreign country, London, Cambridge University Press

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Common source characteristics
Value and Meaning

13. 13
Common source characteristics
Citations
People generally prefer historical places to modern
architecture
(Nasar, 1998).
Historical sites create a sense of continuity with the
past, embody the group traditions and facilitate place
attachment
(Devine-Wright & Clayton, 2010; Hay, 1998; Hayden, 2001; Altman&Low,
1992)
People prefer the visual complexity and varied urban
form of traditional settlements to homogenous
modern built forms.
(Hubbard, 1993)

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Common source characteristics
According to Richard
Florida the high educated
creative class values
historic inner cities
because it satisfies their
longing for authenticity
(Florida, 2002)
Citations
Cultural and culinary facilities in the setting of an
historic urban core are much more appreciated and are
therefore more valuable than the same facilities in a
new build cultural center (Santana, 2002)

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Common source characteristics
An old man marked and carved by life and a new born at the beginning
of his path through life
The old man with many stories to tell, the new born not yet able to speak
History embedded identity ?

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Common source characteristics
Representation of Collective
memory and Identity
A history book you can walk
through
Authentic scenery
Meeting place
Major built
cultural asset
A marketing
tool

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Changes
• Shift in roles to play
public/private, more private
less public
• Privatisation and deregulation
• Shrinking public budgets
• Shrinking value of real estate
• Public sector staffing reduced
• Funding schemes suspended
• Selling heritage for profit to
private sector
2008
& Threats
• Poor maintanance of heritage
• Vaporization of Heritage
expertise
• Concessions to authenticity,
value for money

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Opportunities
• Historic low interest rates,
money has never been so
cheap for so long and years to
come
• Public opinion in favour of
heritage conservation
• Growth small scale footlose
companies in favour of cultural
heritage environments
• Growing tourism
• Central historic urban living
• Willingness to pay for quality
• A ‘hungry’ private real estate
development sector
2008

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Revision of the approach:
• a smaller public budget
• with a complete different team of players,
• a shift in legal rights and responsibilities to lay down in
yet to develop regulations and arrangements.
Safeguarding, looking for a new balance
between common and private interest

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The vision and objectives stipulating the
future function and characteristics of the core
continue to have many similarities in the three
countries. Without defining the time perspective
and taking a general perspective the following
main aspects are the most important:
• a fully occupied or used area, with a strong
residential function;
• full use the economic potential of the area,
and the specific cultural assets it offers;
• a local policy in which the function of the
core is related to that of the other urban
areas in the city;
• a management approach in which there is
optimally balanced efforts of public, private
and civil society stakeholders.
Vision and objectives for Safeguarding,

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A fully occupied or used area, with
a strong residential function
As long as places like this
can be found in the
historic urban core,
it illustrates a situation
very difficult to turn
around
(Help to Buy scheme, ‘Living
Cities’ fiscal initiative)

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Full use the economic potential of the area,
and the specific cultural assets it offers
If you do not use it,
you loose it

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A local policy in which the function of the core is related
to that of the other urban areas in the city
Keep Small Scale dominant
in the core
Move out the Functions in
need of a lot of floor space

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A management approach in which there is optimally
balanced efforts of public, private and civil society
stakeholders
Public space quality improvement:
An attractive accommodation for
outdoor activities