The Flexible City

In Europe, the period of great economic and demographic growth is largely over. The physical growth of our urban agglomerations has come to an end. Unlike in Latin America, Asia or Africa, the boundaries of European cities are no longer moving away, but have come to a halt. The spatial assignment of the future European city will be fundamentally different. Building new space outside the city boundaries is no longer necessary. Instead, what exists should be made sustainable. The new spatial assignment involves maintaining, restructuring, densifying or diluting the existing city.

This publication analyses this development and describes a toolbox that is able to turn the new assignment into a success. European cities are compared, similarities and trends are identifi ed and concrete examples are described in detail. This creates an inspiring handbook for anyone working on the future of the European city: from administrators and policymakers to developers, designers, builders and users.

At temp.architecture. urbanism Tom Bergevoet and Maarten van Tuijl work on architecture, urban planning and research with a focus on urban transformations.