The spatial and visual change of the city, village and rural landscape that began during the industrial revolution continues. With the rapid growth of cities, villages and industrial sites of recent decades, it seems that the whole of the Netherlands looks more or less the same everywhere. Therefore, the great historically grown variation and individuality has come under pressure in many places. Cultural history has thus become an important point of attention in spatial planning.
Since 2012, municipalities in the Netherlands have had to take cultural-historical values into account in their planning. To know what those values are, cultural-historical research is often needed. Cultural history is a part of history in a broader sense. In the Netherlands cultural history is defined as the combination of a number of spatial sciences, such as archeology, historical geography, historical architecture, historical ecology, toponymy and pattern study.
It is always wise to view an intended spatial development in a historical perspective. Sometimes it is necessary to have a cultural-historical analysis of the (urban) landscape prepared for a planning procedure. P15 (urban) landscapes has extensive experience with such cultural-historical analyzes and pattern studies and is happy to be of service.
An often-overlooked aspect of cultural history is Green Heritage. Green heritage is the collective name for various forms of historical landscaping such as gardens, parks, housing estates, defenses, cemeteries and country estates. Often there is a clear ensemble value. The various green elements form an attractive and recognizable ensemble with each other or with built structures. The cultural landscapes that are so typical of the Netherlands with managed greenery such as avenues, pollards, coppice, (hunting) forests and hedgerows also fall under the heading of Green Heritage.
You can call on us for making an inventory of or advising on Green Heritage. We are more than happy to take you through the options.