In this theoretical exploration an attempt to find a solution for the Dutch mobility problem is presented. Instead of trying to reduce mobility, it should be improved, because of its economic importance. For this purpose, the cohesion between traffic and town planning is dealt with. Any traffic mode appears to have its own city type. `Walking' causes the `classical city'. Rail systems, especially metro, enable an `imploded town' like New York, while the car causes the `exploded town' like Los Angles. In Dutch zoning policy, however, an attempt is made to retain the `classical town' concept, and to ignore the spatial behaviour that is made possible by the new transportation modes. It is proposed to combine the various possibilities into an `optimal town' where economical activity is concentrated for a large part in a few very dense city centres. The outskirts can be used for quiet and comfortable dwelling. The city centres can be reached with high capacity railway lines. In the outskirts there is no problem in using the car. There is no risk for congestion here because of the low density. (A)
Abstract