The Hague/ Febuary 1st 2007

[Ronald]

More pics of The Hague I took thursday. The density amazes me, what I wonder is wheter The Hague is the closest thing to Japanese cities in Europe. The Netherlands is Europe's densest populated country, and The Hague in turn is the country's densest populated city. A lot of the city consists of midrises and highrises, even though most residents probably still live in rowhousing. The architecture I've tried to show you in this thread is mostly modern (again I haven't taken a single picture of something old). In addition to that, there's tramway lines (lightrail) all over (and under) the city.

What are your thoughts? Could The Hague be a European version of Tokyo (based on what you see in this thread)??

Close to the Central Station.

Government offices

Residences in close proximity to government office towers.

Typically The Hague: public art, narrow streets, tramways passing through buildings.

These next pictures were all taken around The Hague University. This used to be an impoverished industrial area until it underwent major urban renewal around 10 years ago.

The University itself.

Appartments near the University. This isn't student housing though!!

More public art.

Remember the tower in the background? They've made progress on that one since I last showed you it in October.

The same building, last October:

let's continue.

Offices

An inner-city home improvement store.

Housing across the channel from the home improvement store.

Social housing

Roads underneath railway tracks.

[Ronald]

Across the tracks, a whole different neighbourhood presents itself. This is a low-income immigrant neighbourhood. It used to be the worst area in The Hague (it was a very infamous area). It's been restructured nicely around 10 years ago. It feels much safer nowadays.

Back to the city centre. This is the shopping area.

Chaotic or not? Construction simply takes place on busy streets.

Much work has been devoted to placing the tramway lines in the central city underground the last 15 years.

Here's a couple of shots of an underground tramway station.

Shots from a brandnew tramway station. The tracks are built above a busy road.

Looks dramatic, doesn't it? This building houses the ministry of Finance.

More highrises coming soon.

I once stood on the top floor of this building.

And, the last one...

So do you think it's the closest thing to a Japanese city in Europe?

[dgreco]

looks like a remodeled communist block to me

[Charlotteman]

Wow what a treat for the armchair traveler!

Thank you!.

[suburban george3]

looks like a remodeled communist block to me

[Cotuit]

While the Japanese are a very ordered and homogenous society, much like the Dutch, their city's give an impression of barely organized chaos about to spin out of control. Dutch cities always appear to be very well planned and exude Dutch efficiency. Even the older less planned parts of Dutch cities appear to be planned well. The Japanese it would seem appear to be able to function orderly amongst chaos, whilst the Dutch prefer to bring order to chaos. Having lived in New York (the closest thing we have here to a Japanese city), I think I prefer the Dutch model.

[Nashvillain]

Having lived in New York (the closest thing we have here to a Japanese city), I think I prefer the Dutch model.

[atlrvr]

I love Den Haag....Ronald I believe stated that he was only showing modern structures...the city really does have a good mix. It's Tramway system is amazing and most comprehensive for any city that I've been to (never been to Japan), though I haven't been since any underground lines were in service.

The shots did look devoid of people. I'm not sure if it was because of weather, Ronald trying to avoid people in his shots, or if those areas of town have less streetlife, but the city has always seemed lively to me, and I've been several times in mid-January.

Anyway, keep the Den Haag photos coming...it makes me want to go back.

[Cotuit]

Remember, before NYC was New York City it was New Amsterdam. Maybe it's more Dutch than you think. It conforms pretty rigidly to a grid, after all, and I've heard from first time visitors that despite its size, they felt it was easy to navigate.