DELTA METROPOLIS – THE CITY AS A NETWORK -1-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 3

2 CONTEXT 5
-From Europe to the Delta Metropolis 5
-From cities to the Delta Metropolis 7

3 MORPHOLOGY 8
-The history of dispersed form 8
-Unity through diversity? 12
-An interconnected network? 15

5 CONCLUSION 17
-The value of place in a global network 17

6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 19

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INTRODUCTION

Figure 1: showing the Delta Metropolis and Detroit on the same scale.

This paper will research the urban form of the Delta Metropolis, an urban
agglomeration with almost 7.1 million inhabitants. Even though this
amount is lower than the largest European metropolises, like London or
Paris, both with around 12 million inhabitants, this region plays a very
important role in the European economy. The region contains several
main ports, such as the seaport of Rotterdam and the airport of
Amsterdam, Schiphol. Both cities have important central business districts
that are part of the European financial network. In an increasing
globalizing economy, Dutch multinational companies spread their wings
across the world.

In the Netherlands, almost half of the population lives within the

boundaries of the Metropolis. The region is the focus of the country, the
place where most people live and most decisions (and money) is made.
However, the country is not extremely centralized, and international
regions are forming across borders of the country, as the European Union
replaces the nation state as a political entity.

The notion of a Delta Metropolis is only fairly recent, as this name was
favored by planners over the old Randstad. Literally translated, this means
Edge City, describing its circular and hollow form. The Delta Metropolis is

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not a singular entity. It is a network of smaller cities, each with their own
main functions and characteristics, interconnected by an extensive
infrastructure. Being the ‘economic powerhouse’ of the country, the
region has long been a focus of public policy. Already at the end of the
1950s, the agglomeration was recognized as a single entity and treated
as such in a national spatial plan. This First Spatial Memorandum actually
proposed to divert development away from the region, in order not to let
it overheat.

This is exemplary for the decentralized society that has created the form
of the Delta Metropolis, from the historic cities that have created the
scattered metropolis centuries back, to the centralized policy that has
strengthened this structure during the last decades. The historic
background of the region will be discussed in the first section: CONTEXT.

Despite its scattered form, the Delta Metropolis largely functions as a

single region. The cities are parts of a larger whole, each serving as a self-
supporting micro-cosmos, serving in a larger macro-cosmos. While the
region can compete with single entity metropolises throughout the world,
it contains smaller parts that have a separate meaning and character.
The interconnectivity has large consequences for the form of the region.
This system will be discussed in the second section: MORPHOLOGY.

As the region progresses into the 21st century, it faces new challenges.
With its incorporation into the European Union, a whole new scale opens
up for the Metropolis. Vanishing borders give the region a new position,
new opportunities, and new threats. Speed and connectivity on a
European scale are translated into a high speed rail network, built
throughout the Union. At the same time, the consolidation of the Delta
Metropolis as more than a collection of cities comes in a project to
construct a high speed circle line that will make a full loop in less than 1
hour. As these new high speed networks enter the region, new key
projects have been chosen by the Department of Spatial Planning, to
transform current station areas into new ports to (and for) the city. The
importance of these new scales to the Delta Metropolis will be discussed
in the third section: FUTURE.

All these new developments to transform the Delta Metropolis from a

collection of cities to one coherent region have influences on the
meaning and the identity of places. Is the Delta Metropolis a reality, or just
a dream? Is the urge to comply to global metropolises an asset for the
region, or a step towards a generic city? These questions will be
addressed in the final CONCLUSION.

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CONTEXT
FROM EUROPE TO THE DELTA METROPOLIS

The Delta Metropolis is a central point in Europe, located between the

economic regions of London, Paris and the Ruhr area. Most of the
movement of people, goods and money occurs between a small
amount of economic regions in Europe. Globalization has meant the
concentration of economic activity in urban regions as nation-state
borders become increasingly irrelevant. However, most of the main
economic regions in Europe are still grouped around national capitals.
The exceptions are increasing. In states with a strongly centralized
government such as France, most activity still happens in the government
capital. In states that have recently had a geo-political change, such as
Germany, the main economic regions are far away from the national
capital. Influences can also be seen as dependent on culture: the main
economic hub of Italy is in the North around Milano, not in the center
around Rome.
European air connectivity – Peter Hall
Looking further
into movement
patterns the main
part of the
economic
transfers occur
between urban
regions in the big
western European
countries:
England, France
and Germany.
The Delta
Metropolis is also
between these
main regions,
often referred to as the ‘Pentagon’ because of its shape between
them.(Peter Hall) It serves as a means of transportation between these
centers, as it has one of the worlds’ biggest seaports (Rotterdam) and one
of the worlds’ leading airports (Amsterdam). So even while the population
of the national hinterland is fairly modest, the Delta Metropolis has a
European significance. Since the European mega cities are relatively
close to each other, and become increasingly connected with faster

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infrastructure, the combination can be seen as one mega-city region.
The region has been analyzed and even has a spatial plan through the
InterReg III program, courtesy of the EU. This vision translates the need for
transnational spatial planning, as cities acknowledge their
interdependence. It is questionable if this initiative will bridge the gap of
competition and receive full cooperation of the participating members,
as countries try to attract international corporations into their main
economic regions. Large regions like London or Paris see European
decentralization as a threat, since they will suffer from the spread of
corporations. A region like the Delta Metropolis will benefit from this
approach, since they are well connected, but have no critical mass of
people to be global by itself. Ironically, the north west of Europe can be
seen as a large Delta Metropolis, where separate entities transform into a
larger whole, while maintaining the strengths and characteristics of the
smaller parts.

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FROM CITIES TO THE DELTA METROPOLIS
Beside the spatial context of the Delta Metropolis, the historical context is
also of importance to understand the region. The cultural background of
the Netherlands has led to an equalized and decentralized urban pattern.
Historically, the Netherlands is a country of cities. From the medieval times
onwards, the country has been ruled by, and from, a number of cities.
These contained the market, the taxes and the power. Foreign powers
have invaded, and ruled the country, but in the end power was
decentralized and put back into urban hands. The decentralization of
power meant wariness of centralized government.

In early Medieval times, the Hanze bond existed between many European
cities. The lack of a strong centralized government created the need for
cities to take right into their own hands, and form city networks. On the
one hand to maintain peace and justice in the cities, on the other hand
to counter the growing powers of other forms of governance. The most
important aspect however, was to allow open and transparent trade
networks to grow between the member cities. Globalization, the switch of
the center of power from the nation state to the urban region, is it really
reinventing the wheel?
The Dutch Republic of provinces
In the18th century, the
Netherlands became a
Republic, uniting several
provinces into a country, led
by an aristocracy of Regents.
These regents were citizens,
and cities had a great deal
of autonomy and power.
Most of them had their own
governments and laws. As
much as the regents and the
cities enjoyed their
prosperity, they also forgot
the greater nation state.
Technological and military progress diminished over other countries and
internal division became apparent. After an 18th century French
occupation, the Netherlands and Belgium were merged into one country.
The birth of the nation state withstood the secession of Belgium after 15
years, and created a national identity for the provinces of the
Netherlands. In the 19th century, the country created their first national
constitution, consolidating it into one state.

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MORPHOLOGY
HISTORY OF DISPERSED FORM

As explained in the last chapter, the Delta Metropolis has historically

grown as a set of separate cities. The notion of a single functioning
metropolis is only fairly recent, and started out little more than 50 years
ago. The creation of a dispersed metropolis can best be explained by
describing the growth of its parts. This description will be followed by a
description of the history of their interrelation.

As the western cities moved from a mercantile society, in which they

already dominated, they turned into important industrial centers. Again,
most industries in the country moved into the larger cities, and attracted
an explosive amount of workers to the cities. Smaller medieval towns burst
out of their protective walls rapidly grew into centers of industry. The rollout
of the railway system in the country was perhaps the first step towards an
urban network, rather than a collection of cities.

Before the construction of the railway system, most of the transportation

was dependent on water. The west of the Netherlands, that already had
plenty of water, used water as infrastructure. Rivers, lakes and newly
constructed canals were used as transportation lines for goods and
people. The multi-hour travel time between the cities because of horse-
drawn boats, and the lack of any other serious mode of transportation
made cities into self-supporting entities. The railway system greatly
reduced travel time, and increased comfort and capacity. Because of
the increased speed and travel ease the separate centers encouraged
inter-city relations to grow. Also, cities gained importance, as mass
immigration and industrialization concentrated population and economic
activity.

During the last century, the national government acknowledged the

existence of a cluster of cities in the west of the country, in which most of
the economic activity occurred. With the creation of the first national
spatial planning strategy, the Randstad (Edge City) was born. The
publication for the first time saw the rise of an urban network functioning
as a whole, instead of its parts.

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 Sequence of growth maps – Yan Wang
The recognition of an urban network by
a government organization of course
did little to the mental map of the
Randstad by residents, that recognized
the separate cities as a system decades
before. The most important part of this
first planning strategy was not the
recognition, but rather the reaction to
the Randstad. The government was
wary of an overheated region, and
implemented regulation in the region,
together with decentralization
incentives. The government tried to
equalize the economic activity in the
country, and develop areas that were
further away from economic activity.

In the 1950s, the Randstad cities were

certainly not conglomerating, as they
were too small to reach each other’s
borders. Although the cities were linked
by a railway system, the national
highway system that was to connect
the country was only gathering steam.
The construction of the highway system
was surprisingly equalized, as the
national government tried to connect
the whole country to the system rather
than just the main economic region.
The result is an urban network, with a
poorly functioning physical network. The
conclusion will elaborate on this further.

With deindustrialization, the Randstad

shifted to a service-based economy.
The rise of the automobile encouraged
decentralization, as urban population
moved out to suburbs. Since cities were
still small, the process of suburbanization
did not affect the Randstad as a whole.
The distribution of people within the
conglomeration change. The original
pattern of linked and concentrated
cores slowly began to blur into a more

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equalized system of low density
housing. The green core between the
circular shaped concentration pattern
was threatened by urban
development, as it became an
attractive living environment for the
car based society.

The national government intervened

into this process through a revised
spatial planning strategy. The strategy
can be seen as fairly conservative: the
old pattern of single concentrations
around an open core was preserved
through different regulations.
However, the process of
suburbanization was also
acknowledged, as the government
recognized the attractiveness of the
countryside. They created a policy of
‘concentrated de-concentration’. The
policy consisted of the creation of
new ‘de-concentration cores’: small
towns in the countryside, at a certain
distance from the city, were turned
into large suburban concentrations
roughly following the Garden City
model, with enough concentration for
public transit, but enough recreation and nature to please the suburban
family.

The concentrated de-concentrations acted as new points in the

Randstad, connected by new railway lines, and by the existing de-
concentrated highway system.

The main weakness of the new de-concentrated concentrations can

perhaps best be described by a quote from the ‘Collage City’: “The social
continuum cannot easily be changed”. The new towns were too single
sided, and often turned into dormitory communities, serving a donor city
that faced a decline in population, just because of the de-
concentrations. Furthermore, even though the areas were connected
with transit lines, the increasing travel between home and work created
many traffic problems on road systems. While people lived in new
communities, they still worked in the old cities, and had to travel every

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day. Most of all, these new communities lacked the pluriformity and the
general spirit of an actual city. The mix of uses were fairly low, and critical
mass for urban vitality was rarely reached. While the cities were
conceived as having the best of nature and city, they often turned out to
have the worst of both. The lack of culture and amenities, combined with
high density housing.

In the late 80s, cities slowly began to repopulate. The increase of interest
in urban living and the rising economy in cities paved the way for an
urban renaissance. Society was perhaps disillusioned by the initial image
offered by new suburban communities. They longed back for a
community with a strong identity. Also, a growing number of immigrants
came to the cities of the Randstad. The result was a denser, more vibrant
but also more dualistic city. Middle class urban remigrants lived in their
own parts of the city, lower class urban immigrants lived in others.
Globalization encouraged the dualistic nature of urban society during the
following decades (Saskia Sassen).

The newest and final addition to urban form in the Randstad was a return
to a more conservative approach to urban growth. Vinex locations
(ironically named after a national spatial planning strategy) were planned
not at a physical distance from the city, but directly attached to them.
The densities in these new locations were kept fairly low, but enough to
support a connection to the urban transit system. Basically, instead of
proposing new points to the urban network of the Randstad, they
reinforced the larger existing points of the system, acknowledging their
own strengths.

A conclusion can be made that since the 1950s, the urban growth pattern
in the Delta Metropolis is strongly decided by national government policy.
Most of the important decisions about
concentration and growth have been
made at a national level, not regional
or local. Most of the policy has been
conservative in its approach to urban
growth, in its attempt to preserve the
open land and urban identities of the
region. The resulting pattern is highly
concentrated, and follows a fairly
strong circular pattern of urbanization.
The hollow core of this pattern is under
constant threat of development, and
subject to national preservation
regulation.
National spatial plan - VROM

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UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY?
Through a history of strong cities, and resulting strong policies, the urban
pattern of the Delta Metropolis has a strong sense of diversity. This diversity
is caused by the large amount of strong identities in cities, and the
physical separation by the open preserved landscape between them.
Even though these cities are clearly distinguishable, they are increasingly
functioning as a whole. This chapter will describe the relation between the
diversity of the cities, and the unity of the region.

As mentioned before, the cities that form the Delta Metropolis each have
a strong discerning identity. The question is how this is achieved, and how
these identities are linked to the regional network that is the Delta
Metropolis. It bases our final question, whether or not the Delta Metropolis
is real or not.

Each of the separate cities in the Metropolis have a fairly small population.
They reach from barely 500,000 to hardly over 1,000,000. Every city has its
own history of growth, and its own specialty. As urban growth has
threatened the cities to conglomerate, they maintained their own
identity. This is largely due to policy decisions over the last century. On the
one hand policy has always favored concentrated growth, in either
current or new urban cores. The density of urbanization has always been
high, and has encouraged interaction between citizens. Because of the
relatively small scale of the city, citizens can identify themselves with the
larger whole, and participate in city-wide events.

The urban pattern in the average Delta Metropolis city is fairly traditional.
A strong historic core contains most of the urban retail and cultural
amenities. Due to the relatively small size of cities, the proximity of this
urban core to all citizens turns it into an important meeting point. And due
to the mix of amenities and history, the average Delta Metropolis citizen is
greatly exposed to the urban identity.
On the other hand, the distance between the city and the (preserved)
open countryside is also relatively small. Because of its scattered shape,
the exchange between city and landscape is fairly large. Citizens have
access to nature, even when they commute between different cities.
Even though this nature is fiercely preserved through urban growth
boundaries, the Dutch have a love-hate relationship with nature. They feel
crowded into their dense cities, just to keep open land. On the other
hand, they appreciate the access to nature, and vote to preserve.

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The distance between the citizen, the central urban amenities and the
countryside is fairly small. This is a very strong selling point for the cities of
the Delta Metropolis. But how do these cities interrelate?

Several models explain the Rondje Randstad – Mecanoo architects

interrelation of the Delta Metropolis.

One of them is the ‘Rondje
Randstad’ model (‘Circle Tour of
Edge City’). This model takes the
highway system of the Metropolis,
and turns it into a circle diagram. This
diagram shows the highway as a
circle, with the cities as stops. Each
of these stops have their own
characteristics, and are pieces of
the puzzle that make the circle work
as a whole. Amsterdam has a strong
function, The Hague is the
government seat, Rotterdam is the
seaport and logistics center and
Utrecht the conference center.

This model has been popularized with the Rotterdam Architecture

Biennale of 2003 that focused on mobility. Overall, this model is a fairly
crude simplification of the network of the Delta Metropolis. It bases itself
on the highway system only, which is questionable in a time of growing
traffic jams, and with a railway alternative. Interestingly enough, this
model coincides with the actual ‘Rondje Randstad’: a proposal for a
magnetic levitation train that circles the Delta Metropolis. The following
chapters will come back on that issue.

Even though the Delta Metropolis can best be described as a collection

of cities that each have their own function, the assumption of a circular
form is too simple. Like any other network, the movement patterns in the
region are too complex for a circular form. More research on the
movement patterns have been done in Peter Halls Polynet initiative,
where several European cities are compared. As it turns out, the
movement between work and living occurs in two wings of the Delta
Metropolis, the North and the South wing. The two regions are fairly
separated in this pattern. When this pattern is compared to the business to
business movement pattern, the relations between all of the cities
become more apparent. But again: a circular pattern cannot simply be
derived from this.

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 It is important to
acknowledge the
importance of the
network between the
cities. This importance
is twofold. First of all:
the notion of a
polycentric city, with
different nodes
performing different
functions, must result in
the acknowledgement
of a much higher
traffic volume. Larger
Intercity traffic – Peter Hall’s Polynet initiative distances must be
traveled between the separate nodes. More trips have to be made, if the
assumption is made that the nodes are not self-supporting. This means for
some functions a trip to another node must be made. All these combined
trips burden the network between the nodes considerably.

With current globalization, the Delta Metropolis needs to present itself to

the world as a coherent whole, with one image. Under the surface, this
image consists of a collage of smaller images from the different nodes in
the polycentric metropolis. The stronger the connections that are made
between these images and functions, the stronger the region can
function as a larger whole. A coherent image, and the reach of a certain
critical mass is important for the role of a metropolis in the current age of
globalization (Sassen).

In the polycentric city, the nodes are more segregated than traditional
areas in a metropolis. In a positive way this can allow for the separate
nodes to maintain their identities, but this is not the only effect. Social and
cultural segregation also must be taken into account. The social
differences between the nodes in the Delta Metropolis are apparent,
when the functional differences are taken into account. Rotterdam,
traditionally a port city, has a far larger blue-collar labor pool than a
traditional merchant city like Amsterdam. The city currently has more
unemployment, a lower average income, more cultural segregation than
the richer city of Amsterdam. Since both cities are governed separately,
and are 50 miles apart, social differences are not equalized. The social
and physical mobility of migrant groups cannot bridge the gap between
the two cores in the same metropolis. The conclusion will elaborate on this
subject.

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AN INTERCONNECTED NETWORK?

In the last paragraph, the need for a strong network between the nodes
of the Delta Metropolis became apparent. At the TU Delft, research is
performed, trying to explain the strengths and weaknesses of a network
environment, and especially trying to form predictions and strategies for
the future.

A quote from the research of Remon Rooij abbreviates the problems that
networks in the Delta Metropolis now face:

“The vitality of today’s city is endangered most (reasoned from the

perspective of mobility) by:

• the (direct, but especially indirect) space consumption of

infrastructures and vehicles;
• the decrease of accessibility of urban areas;
• the absence of coherence between the hierarchical levels in the
urban network”

Remon Rooij – the mobile city – 2005

Being a researcher at a technical university, the solution to these problems

comes from a technical perspective: Seamless Multimodal Mobility, the
use of different transit modalities on different scales, in order to create an
easier and more efficient way to travel within the Delta Metropolis.

The network within the Delta Metropolis is already multi-modal. Besides the
car infrastructure, an extensive rail network connects the different nodes
in the Delta Metropolis. All cities have their own public transit system,
connected with the main railway stations. Depending on the size of the
city, a bus service is offered, together with streetcar and subway systems.
Amsterdam and Rotterdam have three modalities: streetcar, bus and
subway.

The network In the Netherlands does not only have to transport people, it
also has to transport an increasing amount of goods. These goods are not
only meant for national distribution, most of the goods transported in the
Netherlands have an international destination. The two main ports,
Schiphol Airport and the Rotterdam Seaport create a large stream of
goods to be transported into the European hinterland. A large part of
these goods are transported over the already congested roads through
the country. Another large part is transported by boat, over one of the

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many rivers in the country. Attempts are made at multi-modal cargo
transportation, making more use of rail systems. A new railway line is under
construction, built for the sole purpose of transporting goods into
Germany.

A large problem in the Dutch network city is that the different networks
are becoming increasingly congested. The Dutch highway system has not
received any major additions for decades, and is chronically congested.
Not only personal cars but also trucks and buses share the same limited
amount of road space.
Not only the roads but also the national railway system is overburdened
with traffic. The large amount of passenger and cargo trains causes
congestion at certain track segments, and make rail service increasingly
unreliable.

All these congestion problems can be brought down to the problem of

space. As different functions compete for space in the country, some
prevail over others. Public opposition to large transportation projects since
the 1970s has stalled highway construction. The location of railway tracks
in urban cores has made expansion troublesome and expensive. Track
doubling (to four tracks width) often requires expensive tunneling projects
in cities, or the destruction of buildings along the tracks.

The congestion problems of the intra-urban networks are not only related
to physical issues. As small expansions of the network take increasing
amounts of money, public and political opposition to infrastructure is
growing. A history of big budget escalations on large infrastructural
projects have created wariness of new initiatives with the Dutch public.
Recently, a large infrastructural project has been canceled due to the
‘lack of positive spin-off’ that
the project would generate.
(NRC Handelsblad)
The current public opinion
does not support large
infrastructural projects, as
they cannot prove their
direct return for the invested
tax money.
The public fear of large scale
infrastructural projects, and
transportation budget cuts
make higher quality intercity
connections improbable for
the near future.
Proposal for a circular MagLev route

DELTA METROPOLIS – THE CITY AS A NETWORK - 16 -

CONCLUSION
THE VALUE OF PLACE IN A GLOBAL NETWORK

The first question that needs to be answered in this conclusion is: is there a
Delta Metropolis?

My answer would be no.

Even though the Delta Metropolis bears all the signs of a poly-nuclear
metropolis, there are two important things missing to make it one coherent
whole. The first thing that is missing is a single form of governance. A
metropolis needs a governing body, and the Delta Metropolis does not
have one. Actually, the whole name ‘Delta Metropolis’ was part of an
effort to create support for a new agency to govern the group of cities of
the Randstad. Different layers of government have their say in parts of the
metropolis, but besides the national government, power is mainly
decentralized in urban regions. This follows the history of decentralized
government in the Netherlands, but it certainly does not help to form
coherence between cities, as they have separate planning processes
that at times even compete with each other.

The second problem is more technical: in order for a polycentric

metropolis to form a strong whole, its parts need to be strongly
connected. The quality of the inter-urban network in the Delta Metropolis
leaves a lot to be desired. Basically the infrastructure cannot cope with
the amount of traffic that a fully integrated metropolis would create. As
studies of travel patterns prove, the Delta Metropolis is therefore divided
into smaller urban regions that have good internal connections. These
regions are interconnected with regular national networks of inferior
quality.

The conclusion of these two parts is important: perhaps the notion of a

Delta Metropolis is fairly randomly chosen. Indeed the grouping of several
cities in the west of the Netherlands has been a result of a national policy
paper, not necessarily the result of a social or physical bonding of cities.
The border of the Metropolis is fairly arbitrary, and the internal connections
between its parts are of such a quality that true metropolitan traffic can
not and does not occur.

Concluding that the notion of a coherent Delta Metropolis is not

necessarily valid, the resulting question should be whether or not the
notion has any value. It is wise to research the reasons behind the Delta
Metropolis, as they are twofold. First of all, there is a clear need for a

DELTA METROPOLIS – THE CITY AS A NETWORK - 17 -

strong planning on the scale of the entire Metropolis. This was indeed the
very reason of its creation, as the national government wanted to get a
stronger grip on the planning and development of this group of cities. In
this sense the notion of a Delta Metropolis, and a coherent planning
department for it is justified. A complete ‘metropolitan’ plan
encompassing all urban development in the region will strengthen the
overall structure of the Delta Metropolis.

Another reason behind the creation of the Delta Metropolis is the wish to
create a strong external image, promoting the region as a coherent
whole in the global economical network. This effort is questionable, as the
need for one coherent image is not proven. Two theories can be applied
to research this question: Sassen’s theories of global city networks.
Obviously the creation of a strong external image would make the Delta
Metropolis fit within a network of global cities, since it could reach a
critical mass to play an important role.
Another theory is based on quality of life for a labor pool, Creative Cities
by Richard Florida. If the parts of the Delta Metropolis are able to create a
high quality environment for its inhabitants, the theory argues that a highly
skilled workforce will attract large businesses. And the important question
is whether or not this quality of life will benefit from the notion of a larger
Delta Metropolis. The smaller cities that form the Delta Metropolis have
their unique identities, and because of their size, a strong connection
between the city and its surrounding landscape. That alone is an
important selling point for settling in the region. Inhabitants of the Delta
Metropolis fear that the notion of one metropolis will equalize identities,
and eventually pave the way for a total development of the region. From
the standpoint of the metropolis as a coherent whole this would indeed
be a feasible move. The unique selling point of the Delta Metropolis
however, is just its diversity, that would be lost with the creation of a larger
metropolis. In a sense the Delta Metropolis is a self-destructive vision.

The value of place, with a strong

identity, should prevail over the
reach of a critical mass and the
connection of cities into a coherent
presentable whole, only to comply
to global standards. While the notion
of a Delta Metropolis can help its
parts, the equalizing aspect of it
must be approached with caution.
The destruction of the diversity in
identities will only harm the overall
metropolis in the long run.

DELTA METROPOLIS – THE CITY AS A NETWORK - 18 -

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Peter Hall – Randstad Holland – Polynet initiative – 2005

Peter Hall – Polynet European comparison - 2005

Peter Hall – World Cities – 1966

Colin Rowe – the collage city – 1978

Saskia Sassen – the global city – 1991

Remon Rooij – the mobile city - 2005

Lewis Mumford – the city in history – 1961

Mecanoo architects – Holland Avenue – 2003

Department of VROM – nota ruimte - 2005

Publications of the Delta Metropolis Society

Publications of the Consortium TransRapid Nederland – 1999-2000

NRC Handelsblad – various news articles about Zuiderzeelijn

DELTA METROPOLIS – THE CITY AS A NETWORK - 19 -