Onderwijs Cultuur Wetenschappen Organisatie OCenW ... Websites OCenW Toespraak Startpagina Wegwijzer Hulp Reageer ... Uitgebreid zoeken Soort document: toespraak Directie: voorlichting Publicatiedatum: Status: informatie Speech by Dr Rick van der Ploeg, State Secretary of Education, Culture and Science, on the occasion of opening the international conference 'Policies for Urban and Environmental Quality Planning in Europe', 2 October 1998 at Rotterdam, Nedelands Architectuur Instituut Policies for Urban and Environmental Quality Planning in Europe Last year a meeting of experts took place here in the Netherlands Architecture Institute, organised in the framework of the Dutch Presidency of the European Union. The theme was architectural policy. Among other things, virtually all countries represented had urban and environmental quality care systems. Most were constantly struggling to find a proper balance between maximum individual freedom and the need for regulation, sometimes referred to as 'freedom in restrain'. I am therefore quite pleased with the initiative for this conference on urban and environmental quality in Europe. I see it as a logical consequence of last year's meeting. In the Netherlands, the question of aesthetic building and planning supervision has been up for discussion in recent years. In the first instance, this does not so much involve the interests of aesthetic building and planning control as it does the ability to verify building assessment, objectively and democratically. From the view of the government's lessening role, one is looking for methods to precondition the development of architectural and planning quality, instead of imposing sanctions after the fact. Past efforts to adjust poor plans have not worked (well) in practice. They have seldom led to improvements and, usually, there was no way back. In recent years, however, many municipalities have experimented with architectural and urban design guidelines, in which clients and architects understand in advance the main lines to be followed. Prevention being better than cure, I prefer a system that affects quality in advance. | |
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