Opportunities for a permanent green zone between Duiven and Westervoort

Can the area between Duiven and Westervoort be developed to become a top-quality green zone? And how can this area acquire even more importance for the 40,000 people who live in the neighbouring villages? What is the best way to assemble the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of developments and challenges with which the area has to deal? The Fund to Stimulate Creative Industry commissioned us to conduct the research with Rutger Ooibekkink.

The area between Duiven, Westerpoort and the industrial estates is essential for the quality of the environment of the 40,000 people who live in the centres Westerpoort and Duiven, but it is under pressure. It is important for this area with a strong pressure of urbanisation to have a well organised green pressure to act as a counterweight, otherwise there is a high risk that green qualities will be lost. The project ‘From vulnerable intermediate area to permanent green zone’ is a programmatic and spatial exploration and offers a perspective for the future for the area between Duiven, Westerpoort and the Centerpoort and Graafstaete industrial estates on the A12.

We see an area under threat with a high risk of growing closed. We also see an area with a lot of potential that it is worth protecting and developing. The basis has been laid. Residents and parties involved have met one another. The area is on the map, familiarity breeds popularity, and the first step towards finding a shared perspective for the future has been taken. There is positive energy and great dedication to continue.