Muted canals and a large two-lane road right through the old city center. Alkmaar has escaped the dance when it comes to very drastic building plans that were devised after the Second World War. That the city still has a historic city center with canals, squares and old buildings: “The Alkmaarders have themselves to thank for that.”
This is the view of city historian Martin Deinum in his book ‘Downtown in movement 1945-2020’, in which he describes and shows the plans to modernize the city. “The urban renewal then took place throughout the Netherlands.”
“After the war it was impoverished here and houses were dilapidated, but there were also congestion of cars in the small streets. The municipality wanted to do something about this and they asked well-known architect and urban planner Wigger Brown to make plans.”
Because of his plans – they would all have been carried out – Alkmaar would have looked very different now.
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“To give the car space, he came up with the idea that there should be a large traffic road from north to south through the old city center,” says Martin Deinum, who was born and raised in Alkmaar. “The Hekelstraat and the surrounding area, with all the historic buildings, would no longer have existed.”
Mute canals
But canals also had to believe it. “That almost happened in the 1950s and 1960s. By filling in the canals and covering them with asphalt, you could drive and park well.” It is a blessing that this did not happen, Deinum admits. “Because now you have a nice catering square here on the Platte Stenenbrug, otherwise it would have been a large two-lane road here.”
According to Deinum, the fact that these plans were not implemented can be attributed to the inner city residents. “In the 1970s there was a revolt against the regent culture, with emancipation and people wanted more democratization and participation. Before then they had little say.”
Involving residents in planning
“In this way, the Alkmaarders succeeded in getting the municipal plans off the table.” This participation role is also one of the most important lessons to be learned from the past, Deinum writes in his book. Something that the Alkmaar mayor Anja Schouten also endorses. She received the first copy of the book, which took five years to complete.
“Involve your residents well. I think that’s a very good lesson. When residents get a good place in the participation, it turns out that the city simply benefits,” says Schouten. “The fact that this is now supported by such a thorough investigation underlines what we as a municipality always want to do: together with the residents, see what is best.”
Nevertheless, some of Wieger Bruin’s ideas can still be found in Alkmaar. “The current ABN Amro bank used to be the post office. It was built in 1966 and would become part of the office district that Bruin envisioned here.” The inner city residents also successfully revolted against those office towers next to the Grote Kerk.