A prehistory of the polycentric urban region: excavating Dutch applied geography, 1930–60

Michiel van Meeteren

doi:10.1080/00343404.2020.1800629

A prehistory of the polycentric urban region: excavating Dutch applied geography, 1930–60

Michiel van Meeteren

Loughborough University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Peter Hall’s analysis of the Dutch Randstad, in his The World Cities (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966), generated the archetype of the polycentric urban region (PUR). Although influential, Hall primarily amplified 1950s’ Dutch planning discourse. This paper analyses the PUR’s genesis, discussing the economic modernization of the 1950s and the preceding decades of crisis and war. By temporalizing Gieryn’s truth-spot theory, the paper constructs a prehistory of the PUR through the biographical trajectories of Dutch geography and planning pioneers Louis van Vuuren, Willem Steigenga, Christiaan van Paassen and Gerrit Jan van den Berg. Planning the PUR is recast as a gentle modernization strategy, signalling new interpretations of polycentricity’s contemporary utility.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	7-20
Number of pages	14
Journal	Regional Studies
Volume	56
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2020.1800629
Publication status	Published - 2 Jan 2022
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author is deeply indebted to Ben de Pater, Jorine Steigenga, Madeleine Steigenga and Leo van den Berg for sharing memories and sources. Marco van Egmond (Utrecht University Library) assisted with map reproduction. This paper was first presented as a keynote at the RSA Network on Polycentric Urban Regions workshop entitled ?Conceptualising, Identifying and Analysing Polycentric Urban Regions? at Delft University, 28?29 January 2019. A subsequent iteration was presented at Utrecht University, 29 January 2020. Thanks to Evert Meijers, Ben Derudder and Peter Pelzer for the respective invitations that resulted in valuable feedback. Four anonymous reviewers provided further clarity. This paper is dedicated to Martine van Meeteren-Stijl (1947?2019), as this research brought us closer at a crucial moment.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Regional Studies Association.

Keywords

Randstad
history of geography
polycentric urban region
polycentricity
regional planning history
truth spot

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10.1080/00343404.2020.1800629

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abstract = "Peter Hall{\textquoteright}s analysis of the Dutch Randstad, in his The World Cities (London: Weidenfeld \& Nicolson, 1966), generated the archetype of the polycentric urban region (PUR). Although influential, Hall primarily amplified 1950s{\textquoteright} Dutch planning discourse. This paper analyses the PUR{\textquoteright}s genesis, discussing the economic modernization of the 1950s and the preceding decades of crisis and war. By temporalizing Gieryn{\textquoteright}s truth-spot theory, the paper constructs a prehistory of the PUR through the biographical trajectories of Dutch geography and planning pioneers Louis van Vuuren, Willem Steigenga, Christiaan van Paassen and Gerrit Jan van den Berg. Planning the PUR is recast as a gentle modernization strategy, signalling new interpretations of polycentricity{\textquoteright}s contemporary utility.",

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A prehistory of the polycentric urban region: excavating Dutch applied geography, 1930–60

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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