Title page -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- What makes a city? -- The high-speed train -- The dilemma of international business location -- Objective of the research -- Approach and methodology -- Structure of the thesis -- The setting -- The competitiveness of places -- Introduction -- Central places and cities-in-a-network -- Local clusters in the service economy -- The creative class -- Quality of place according to Florida -- Conclusion -- Connecting places: global and local geographies -- Introduction -- Global and local geographies -- The railway station as a node and a place -- The high-speed train station as a place -- Conclusion -- Arenas of decision-making -- Introduction -- Actors, actions, institutions -- Arenas of decision-making in station area development -- A farewell to comprehensive public planning -- Public and private actors' institutions: short-term objectives versus long-term perspectives -- Conclusion -- Keys to the analysis of quality of place -- Introduction -- Diversity -- Diversity in the station area -- Integration -- Public space -- Conclusion -- The cases -- Euralille -- Introduction -- The context of development -- Euralille -- The development process -- Conclusion -- Amsterdam and Rotterdam: the context of development -- Introduction -- Network position -- Economic structure -- Quality of place -- Conclusion -- The Amsterdam Zuidas and Rotterdam Centraal projects -- Introduction -- Zuidas -- Rotterdam Centraal -- Conclusion -- Quality of place in the projects -- Introduction -- Actors' perceptions of quality of place -- Distribution of actors' responsibilities -- Architecture and applied building materials -- Urban design -- Integration into the city -- Real estate programme -- Location of functions -- Quality of functions -- Functional integration -- Public space -- Third spaces -- The high-speed train.

Conclusion -- *** -- Conclusions -- The subtleties of quality of place -- Applicability and usefulness of the concept of quality of place -- Quality of place in the case study projects -- Public-private cooperation and the long-term perspective -- Planning for quality of place -- Summary -- Samenvatting -- References -- Interviewees and discussion partners -- Questionnaire -- Curriculum vitae.

Urban quality is generally considered increasingly important for urban competitiveness. Nevertheless, large urban redevelopment schemes often fail to provide sufficient quality from a user's perspective. This study therefore investigates the role of urban quality in large-scale urban redevelopment, which is here elaborated in terms of Richard Florida's concept of quality of place. In a number of extensive case studies, it focuses on prestigious redevelopment projects around the high-speed rail stations in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Lille. It provides an analysis of the role of urban quality in the development of these projects, as well as some insights in the applicability of quality of place in a wider Dutch context. In addition, the study advocates a more open and flexible planning process, based on a distinctly long-term perspective on urban quality.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.