De Gave Stad
Zoetermeer is sometimes called the largest open-air museum of urban development and architecture in the Netherlands. In the project De Gave Stad the special development history of Zoetermeer has been brought to the attention of a wide audience.
History of Zoetermeer
From a small village with about 7000 inhabitants in the mid-sixties, Zoetermeer grew in a few decades to a full-fledged city with more than 100,000 inhabitants. This explosive growth also shows an interesting and cool sample of urban development and architecture.
In a series of Cultural-historical Explorations, the history of urban development and architecture in Zoetermeer has been made clear per district. The Village, Palenstein, Driemanspolder, Meerzicht, Buytenwegh De Leyens, Seghwaert, City Center, Rokkeveen, Noordhove and the industrial estates are described in chronological order. In the photo book ' De Gave Stad . Zoetermeer 40 years of courage and ambition in architecture' are the Cultural Historical Explorations summarized. In this book, the last district of Zoetermeer, Oosterheem, has also been given a place.