Pop-up link Essay:  Integratie & de Metropool – De Pluriculturaliteit van de toekomstige stad

There is no shortage of scenarios or plans on how The Netherlands in the future should or would look like. Unfortunately, within these views, the question of who will inhabit the Dutch cities is not questioned too often. This lack of a sustainable demographic prospective use of the country is also characteristic for the current debate on immigration and integration.

The integration issue within the social-public debate is often approached from an ethnic-cultural perspective, but it is questionable whether this perspective can offer solutions. The economic and demographic developments within The Netherlands indicate that the focus will be more and more on the ‘Randstad’ (the west part of The Netherlands). It is the area where (children of) migrants are mostly settling from the 70`s on wards. There is a need for a wider socio-economic perspective for issues which will contain and connect economic growth and issues such as health, education and urban planning all together. What does integration in 2040 look like and what role will the Randstad as a metropole play?

FORUM, Institute for multicultural issues has asked a number of leading thinkers, politicians and scientists with diverse backgrounds for from their field to think about these questions. Integration & the metropolis. Perspectives for 2040 is a fascinating exercise, a search for an alternative reply is that rich and future-proof. With contributions from leading thinkers, politicians and scientists.

ADHD – November 9, 2010

As in other cities The Hague suffers from considerable cutbacks, also on the spatial development of the city. Fortunately, this leads to thinking about alternative ways to keep the city in motion. This evening four experts gave their views on a number of current issues in urban development  and link it to a recommendation. This third ADHD was prompted by  the taking office of Erik Pasveer as the new head of the Department of Urban Spatial Development in The Hague on 1 October.

ADHD invited four experts, who advised DSO their own way DSO: researcher Beitske Boonstra TNO Built Environment and Geosciences / University of Utrecht) spoke about self-organization in urban development; architect / developer Cihan Bugdaci and architect / writer Iris Schutten advised on the reuse of the empty city and economist Kai van Hasselt got into the externalities of urban development  and presented a number of tools to steer them.

Led by moderator JaapJan Berg debate took place between the three advisors, Erik Pasveer and the audience. Columnist Marcel Verreck ended the evening appropriately.

Link: http://www.stroom.nl/activiteiten/lezing_symposium.php?l_id=9032678

The Mosque.
Political, architectural and social transformations.

Ergun Erkocu & Cihan Bugdaci

An interdisciplinary vision of the mosque in Dutch society | International | 2009

This book aims to deepen and refine the discussion on the mosque. Among other, politician Frits Bolkestein, architect Wilfried van Winden, artist Azra Aksamija, sociologists Willem Schinkel and Shervin Nekuee, theologian / philosopher Tariq Ramadan, anthropologist Eric Roose, and Ole Bouman (director of Dutch Architecture Institute) give their views on the architectural appearance of this for the Netherlands new type of building and they explain what social forces in society shape these architectural appearances.

Review: http://www.dwell.com/books/article/mosque