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Ecologically Emergent Leisure Landscapes [EELLs]

By Jacques Abelman and Bureau Venhuizen

 

One of the remarkable characteristics of The Netherlands, especially from the foreigner’s point of view, is the amount of carefully protected open green space surrounding densely populated urban centers. The Dutch are extremely keen on verdant fields with placidly grazing cows and sheep always being within a bike ride away from the city, and this is true in most cases. However, as space becomes an ever more precious commodity, the preserved status of these green zones is being called into question.

In many cases these peri-urban areas are carefully managed by several partners in order to preserve their rural appearance, yet they no longer function as viable agricultural spaces for a variety reasons. In some areas soil has been too contaminated by dioxins, pcb’s, and other pollutants to allow food production. In other areas it is no longer economically viable. An enormous amount of energy and coordination is necessary for the maintenance of these spaces which appear to be agricultural but are in fact a kind of park landscape reminding inhabitants of their farming origins. As urban populations increase and diversify what future role will these once vital farmlands play?

Commissioned by Bureau Venhuizen in Rotterdam

 

Jacques Abelman researches designing with ecological systems and works in landscape architecture. He attended Amherst College and is currently at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Bureau Venhuizen is an office for cultural planning in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Led by Hans Venhuizen, the bureau’s methodology is based on the re-use of existing landscape and cultural qualities in spatial planning.

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