Book launch ‘BLIND SPOT’
The quality of the landscape and environment is a blind spot in many strategies on the business climate. A successful knowledge economy is defined by more than just economic and physical growth. Many metropolises have successfully attracted talent and capital over the last decades, while at the same time becoming unaffordable for middle and lower income groups. As the Mayor of London is introducing the congestion charge, the Green Grid and cycling superhighway to make London more attractive for new talent and new capital, the question remains – What can we do in the Netherlands?
This observation is the starting point of a research by Deltametropolis Association, West 8, Wageningen University, in collaboration with the Dutch National Office of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Staatsbosbeheer (Forestry Commission). The first exploratory phase of this research concludes with the publication [Blind Spot – metropolitan landscape in the global battle for talent] (ISBN 9789076630182). The book (published in English with introduction in Dutch) was launched on April 19, 2016.
This research takes the widest possible definition of the metropolitan landscape. This definition is not limited to green rural areas, but includes a composite of urban areas, places of heritage, water, (slow) infrastructure and brown fields. The so-called ‘soft’ factors, like landscape, heritage and quality of life, are gaining importance on the policy agenda. They are no longer considered ‘nice to have’, but necessary preconditions for the further growth of the knowledge economy within metropolitan regions.
Directed at politicians, policy makers and planners, this research gathers evidence and is organized into three distinct chapters:
- Part 1 – The Big Leap
- Part 2 – Knowledge Habitats
- Part 3 – Lessons from International Cases
This release of Blind Spot also marks the start of the next phase of this research: the application of knowledge from theory and best practices in the Dutch regions.
On May 27, 2016 the book Blind Spot was presented by Adriaan Geuze at the conference room of Fenixloods II, as a sub-program of the International Architectural Biennale Rotterdam: the IABR-2016-The Next Economy.
Interested parties can order this book by send an email to landschap@deltametropool.nl or read it online here.
