The first regional plan: IJsselmonde
Commissioned by private Rotterdam investors, architectural firm Grandpré Molière, Verhagen & Kok develops an expansion plan for Rotterdam’s south bank in 1921. The Netherlands’ first ‘regional plan’ includes the entire IJsselmonde island. Space is needed for intensive industrialisation and working-class districts, as well as for heavy infrastructure, greenery, and recreational areas. Inter-city connections remain focused on the centres, although the plan already includes the Maastunnel (completed in 1942) and Van Brienenoord Bridge (built in 1965). The plan targets a gradually more widely dispersed built-up area to the outside and a smooth transition to open, green-fringed recreational areas, with no apparent consideration of agricultural function. Although Rotterdam has no right to make decisions about the rest of the island, the plan is decisive for spatial planning of the entire area. This leads to building up virtually all of IJsselmonde, with suburban sprawl, disjointed villages, and a great deal of intersecting infrastructure. The beautifully designed plan features outlined reservations for future development and, as a result, remains relevant for a long time.
Grandpré Molière, Verhagen & Kok, Left bank expansion plan, Survey plan of IJsselmonde, (Rotterdam 1921). Coll. S/T V.1064, 70 x 119 cm.
