For English speakers

optimum use of the city centre

• More space for pedestrians and cyclists
• Making the city centre more accessible
• New bus routes
• Redesigning many of the streets and squares
• Space for new office and shopping formulas
• More housing variation in the city centre
• Space for extra benching, outdoor cafés and greenery
• More and better bicycle parking
• In short, an attractive city centre with a great ambience

The Groningen city centre is the major hub of urban life in the northern Netherlands. To its residents and local visitors, along with the rest of the Netherlands and much further afield, it is a popular choice for living, working, studying, shopping, relaxing and going out. This calls for a dynamic beating heart that moves with the times. This will assure the city’s future reputation as a safe, attractive and accessible destination for everyone. This is sorely needed for a city seeing strong growth and rising demand within the region.

The overall project runs from 2015. In the years after several projects have already been realized: a new busstop Westerhaven, redesign of the streets Astraat, Brugstraat, Munnekeholm, Sint Jansstraat, Hoge der A, square Akerkhof and Kattenbrug. Several other projects are under construction: Grote Markt and Dudok aan het Diep for instance. In between, in the inner city the yellow bricks in most of the streets are replaced by new ones. In this website we have organized about 50 projects. You can study them, but the text is in the Dutch language! If you have questions or when you don’t understand the context , please let us know.

Next step – The plan for the city centre is the next step in growing to meet the needs and demands of modern times. Previous efforts included the Verkeerscirculatieplan (Traffic Management Plan, 1977) and Binnenstad Beter (A Better City Centre, 1993). Where these focused on minimising car traffic in the city centre and making the public spaces more attractive, Destination: City Centre aims to improve the use and experience of these spaces.

City continues to grow – The city will see rapid growth in the coming years, towards a population of around 250,000 inhabitants in 2025. Moreover, the regional population (i.e., outside the city) is shrinking. This will increase the region’s dependency on the city to provide for work, study, care and entertainment opportunities. With that in mind, the city centre’s importance to the Province can only grow in the years to come.

The role of the city centre is changing – Despite the unstoppable rise of online shopping, people still enjoy the real-life experiences, meeting friends, reading the paper in a café, buying a seafood snack at the Vismarkt or going to a concert. Experiences are becoming more and more important. At the same time, we are seeing the rise of new approaches to shopping. Finally, there is an increasing demand for accommodation and business start-ups, both in and around the city centre.