CM1010 – Ass.

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Potential cultural-urban developments in the Tanthof

Lecturer: Kapoor, words: 929, online version: www.scribd.com/doc/54676926
The district Tanthof of the city of Delft has a relatively bad image, compared to the other
districts. Several explanation are possible: the population is shrinking and greying and although
the district does not have an overrepresentation of foreigners, Surinamese are
overrepresented. Also, few iconic or important public buildings or spaces are present, in
contrast with, for example, the city centre. Theorists appoint the importance of culture and
the relation with other areas as image, identity and economy. Also, several ways of
implementation are presented, of which just providing space is preferred for neighbourhoods.
Possible implementations of culture are thus providing the space (through public available
stages) and district activities and creating iconic buildings to enhance common identity and the
district’s image.

Current situation & prognosis

As already stated in the introduction and shown in appendix A, the population is declining
since 2005 and prognosis is that the population will be ageing until 2025. These are the main
demographic factors affecting the district, but of equal importance is the geographic data. As
mentioned in the introduction and shown in appendix B, few important physical places are
present: There are only four art objects, two very small shopping areas with squares and 1
iconic building (that of the Ministry).
Combining the human- and geographic aspect by asking people about their environment
results in interesting data. Although the interviewees do not represent all inhabitants of the
district, they do in great part follow three representative studies as conducted by the city of
Delft on the topics playgrounds, public space and air and sound pollution(see appendix C).
Most interesting results are the relative satisfaction with the amount and location of
playgrounds, the dissatisfaction with the amount of activities and the related amount and
quality of public squares. Also remarkable is the fact that inhabitants indicate willingness to
participate in public space arranging, while immediate improvements do not pop up.

Theory to build upon

Inhabitants thus need some time to think of ways to improve public space. And although
technological and sociological developments go fast, giving time to inhabitants seems fair:
Researchers studying the topic can take the time as well.
Only recently, researchers acknowledged the importance of culture in city planning:
Since the 2000’s, more attention has been paid to the topic. Researchers state that culture is
important in urban development (Kunzmann, 2004; Markusen & Gadwa, 2010). When looked

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CM1010 – Ass. 4 Koen Glotzbach (345346; Group E) 4-5-2011 2

into the important relation between culture and city development, often two topics are
discussed; the interrelation with other topics (as politics, image and economy) and ways of
implementation.
The interrelation is most clearly shown by Kunzman (2004), as he points out the
interrelation of culture with image, identity, space, entertainment, education, creativity and
economy. Of all these aspects, three are most prominent in discussions: Image, as it has a
great impact on attracting professionals, investors and the media. Secondly, identity is of
importance as it can build or break local cohesion, safety and participation (Markusen &
Gadwa, 2010). Thirdly, economy is of great importance because of its dialectic of enabling and
profiting from cultural activities and therefore it is remarkable that no thorough research is
done on this economic dialectic (Markusen & Gadwa, 2010).
Implementation is divided into two groups by Markusen and Gadwa (2010): Often is
chosen for either a cultural area or for implementation scattered around the city; rare is a
combination of the two. The former (concentration) is often centred around big institutes (i.e.
in city centres), while the latter (decentralisation) is more interesting for smaller districts.
Concerning implementation, the authors denote that this is possible through promotion
or policies, but Kunzmann (2004) states that on the level of districts offering possibilities (by
providing physical space and the possibility to participate in planning) is most important.

Possibilities and potentials

Despite the fact that theorists pointed out that it is important to provide physical public space
to organise events etcetera, there are currently very few such places. As can be found in
appendix B, only two shopping areas with space for public events are present. It is certainly
recommendable to increase the amount of such places, by for example building a publicly
available stage, where music groups can perform during summer.
Providing facilities leads to activities, but it is also possible to do activities to create
facilities. A great example is knitting; this is an activity which engages inhabitants (hence
creating a common identity) and leads to flourishing of the district. It already happened in
other parts in the city (after being introduced in other parts of the world; Sidawy, 2010).
Another possibility which takes the decentralised approach, is the introduction of QR
codes in public spaces. Alike its use in the French city of Bordeax, it could well mean a new way
of entertaining and educating people (qrdresscode.com, 2011). Although the city of Bordeaux
placed the codes on posters all over the city, it could be introduced in a more definitive way,
by using white and black coloured bricks for kerbs (in front of public buildings). This is also in
line with the city marketing plan which emphasizes on the rich history and current

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CM1010 – Ass. 4 Koen Glotzbach (345346; Group E) 4-5-2011 3

technological advances of the city: QR codes are rather new inventions and can help explain
where former dikes and public buildings were. Another way to enhance the city’s image, is to
build some iconic buildings in the district. Currently, most buildings are houses that look
similar and only one iconic building is present (the Ministry’s building as presented in appendix
B). Lastly, the district may exploit its potential of green surroundings more in shaping its image.

Sources
Sidawy, E. (2010, 10 July). When knitting brightens cities. Retrieved from
www.innovcity.com/2010/10/07/when-knitting-brightens-cities
Kunzmann, K. R. (2004). Culture, creativity and spatial planning. The Town Planning Review, 75,
383-404.
Markusen, A., & Gadwa, A. (2010). Arts and culture in urban or regional planning: A review and
research agenda. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 29, 379-391.
qrdresscode.com (2011, 4 July). The city of Bordeaux tells his story in QR code. Retrieved from:
www.qrdresscode.com/article-bordeaux-histoire-qr-code-52665393.html

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Appendix A – Demographic figures

The figures below are about the districts of West Tanthof, East Tanthof and Abswoude put
together, as is also done by the city of Delft. The data comes from the report “Wijk- en
buurtgegevens” years 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 as retrieved from
www.delft.nl/Inwoners/Gemeente_en_democratie/Cijfers_en_onderzoek/Wijk_en_buurtgege
vens

Since 2005, there more people are leaving the neighbourhoods than there are externals
coming in; so far round 140 people each year leave the group of districts. Also in the division of
age a trend can be measured: Currently, the major age category is 45 to 54 years (19 %), but in
2050 the majority of the population will be in the category 55 to 64 (15 %). Additionally, the
overall size of the older population (55+ years) gets bigger (2010: 16,3 %; 2025: 32,8 %) while
the size of younger population (0 to 34 years) gets smaller (2010: 41,1 %; 2025: 39,6 %), as
does the size of the middle-aged population (35 to 54 years; 2010: 32,6 %; 2025: 27,5 %).
In 2010, most households consist of one person (38,7 % of the population), followed by
couples without children (27,7 %) and couples with children (27,4 %). The rest (6,2 %) are
single parent families. In most households there is one person (38,7 % of the population),
other households consist of 2 (31,3 %), or 3+ persons (30,1 %). The average amount of persons
in a household is 2,1, which is not highly different from the city average (1,8) but still the
highest average (compared to other districts).
Looking at the ethnicity of the population, there is no overrepresentation of foreigners.
The only group that is slightly overrepresented is the group of Surinamese: With the amount of
442, the district has the second-highest number of Surinamese (highest: 595) and has 1,5 times
the amount of Surinams average in the districts.

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 CM1010 – Ass. 4

Legend:
1) Building Ministry of Infrastructure &
Environment
2) Park
Koen Glotzbach (345346; Group E)

Appendix B – Map of public buildings and places

3) Tennis club + fields

4) Kindergarten
5) Primary school
6) Shops
7) Light industry
8) Sports fields
9) Dentist
10) Library
4-5-2011

1) Ovals indicate important entrances/roads

2) Squares indicate important public transport stations Map © Google. Retrieved from maps.google.com
5

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CM1010 – Ass. 4 Koen Glotzbach (345346; Group E) 4-5-2011 6

Playgrounds
Map retrieved from http://gis.delft.nl/emap/html/eMapGuide.aspx?PrjID=speelplek

Every pin indicates a (small) playground.

Every football (four dots) indicates a
(small) soccer field.

Art objects
Map retrieved from http://historischgis.delft.nl/emap/html/eMapGuide.aspx?PrjID=knst

Every blue hart indicates an art object.

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CM1010 – Ass. 4 Koen Glotzbach (345346; Group E) 4-5-2011 7

Appendix C – Opinions on quality and improvements

The city of Delft conducted three studies: The satisfaction with playgrounds (Samenvatting
Speelplekken, 2007), the quality of public space (Samenvatting Onderhoud Openbare ruimte,
2010) and environment (specifically air and sound pollution; Samenvatting Lucht, geluid en
duurzaamheid, 2010). All studies are retrieved from www.delft.nl/Inwoners. The interviews
are taken with 5 random people on Wednesday May 4th. Respondents in this appendix refers
to the respondents to the study by they city of Delft, where interviewees refers to my own
interviews.

Playgrounds
Both the respondents and the interviewees agree that are near enough. In the study 45 % of
the respondents is (very) content with the distance, in the interviews all agreed when asked to
their satisfaction with the distances. This seems in line with the map of playgrounds as
provided in appendix B, in contrast with the amount of playgrounds: While respondents and
most interviewees (4 out of 5) agree that the amount of playgrounds should be higher, looking
at the map as provided in appendix B indicates that the amount already is quite high.

Quality of public space

Wrongly parked cars is the third irritation of the respondents. This is an important notion,
which may be improved by rearranging of public space. Interviewees were not asked for their
irritations. When asking interviewees for suggestions for improvements, no ideas came up:
Despite some interviewees (2 out of 5) expressed a longing for more activities in public spaces,
the introduction of new geographical places (e.g. more public squares) were not suggested as
an improvement for the easier organisation of these events. Most of the respondents (54 %)
did, however, said that they would like to think about the arrangement of public spaces. This
rather high number may indicate that when given more time and specific starting points,
inhabitants may think creatively and come up with good ideas.

Environment
Both interviewees and respondents agree that the amount of green facilities (the presence of
trees, lanes, etc.) is sufficient. For the districts we look at this is no big surprise, as it is for a
great part surrounded by a green area (both on the South and West sides of the district).
When respondents were asked about pollution, most suffered little from sound (44 %) and air
(51 %) pollution. The most named suggestions (with physical implications) by the respondents
are the provision of good public transport, good cycle lanes and increasing the amount of
sound walls.

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