Eindhoven must grow to 300,000 inhabitants in a number of decades, Mayor Van Gijzel said in his New Years’ speech at City Hall.
Eindhoven should grow to keep many facilities as theatres, sports complexes and museums in the city affordable. It is increasingly difficult, for the city, to uphold all these facilities, and that worries Van Gijzel. If the city would grow from 220,000 inhabitants to over 300,000 inhabitants, that should become easier. After all, there are more civilians who pay taxes. It would mainly concern the increase in income from the valuation of real property.
To attain the number of 300,000, the Mayor mainly thinks of more high-rise buildings in the city. Now the Eindhoven districts, in particular Woensel, are often spacious with many land-based homes. According to Van Gijzel the spacious areas burden the municipality with high management and maintenance costs.
With the growth Eindhoven would also become more attractive, the Mayor thinks. Especially young people, would find Eindhoven just as attractive as a location to settle as the big four cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague and Utrecht.
From the vision that high-rise buildings should make public facilities more affordable, a discussion on municipal reorganization in the region is not an issue, says Van Gijzel. In the region there is hardly compaction and high-rise buildings therefore reclassification would only enlarge the gap between municipalities and the city, according to the Mayor.
Municipal reorganization is relevant, if municipalities take the initiative. Even the smaller municipalities. Or if all municipalities in the region find a common interest in reclassification according to Van Gijzel.
To boost the economic strength of the Eindhoven region Van Gijzel will not only work together within the partnership metropolis Eindhoven region but he would also like to cooperate more with Den Bosch and Tilburg.
Source: Studio040
