How can the various parties in the city centre collaborate with each other to improve the attractiveness of the city centre?

Until the beginning of the 1990s, the municipality determined the planning for Haarlem’s city centre. There was no dialogue between entrepreneurs and the authorities that gave both parties equal standing. This changed when the municipality issued the retail trade memorandum in 1991, which has since produced the necessary successes.

The municipality of Haarlem proposed the establishment a Centre Management Group with a centre manager. The collaboration between municipality and business community has consequently become much closer. The centre manager entered into discussion with the shopkeepers association and subsequently, several parties joined in, including the association of property owners, the catering association and the small and the SMEs. This collaboration led to better coordination and a better product. In 1996, Haarlem was voted the best shopping city in the Netherlands. The policy proposals in the retail trade memorandum of 1991 have therefore produced the necessary successes.

After being voted best shopping city in the Netherlands, the attraction to day-trippers and tourists has increased. The parties concerned took the initiative to draw up a covenant in 2001. The background to this is the wish to retain the position and attractiveness of the Haarlem city centre as a residential area and the best shopping city in the Netherlands and, where possible, to strengthen it.

By signing the covenant, the parties concerned committed themselves to providing a joint contribution to a series of activities aimed at retaining and strengthening Haarlem’s position.

In the covenant, agreements have been reached on issues, including:

Centre Management Group
Mr M. de Vries

23/11/2004

case

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Urban economy

Competitiveness