Houtwijk
Neighbourhood of The Hague
Location in The Hague
Coordinates: 52°3′17″N 4°15′2″E / 52.05472°N 4.25056°E / 52.05472; 4.25056
Country	Netherlands
Province	South Holland
Municipality	The Hague
Area [1]
• Total	146.3 ha (361.5 acres)
• Land	139.1 ha (343.7 acres)
• Rank	7th
Population  (1 January 2019)[2]
• Total	12,905
• Density	8,800/km2 (23,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

Houtwijk (roughly translated as "Wood District") is a neighbourhood of The Hague, located in the Loosduinen district, with more than 5,000 homes. Houtwijk mainly contains a lot of new constructions that were built both in and after the 1970s and 1980s.^[3] There are also both many owner-occupied and rental properties. While officially a neighbourhood of Loosduinen, some residents consider it its own subdistrict. This is mainly because its name contains wijk which translates to "district".

History

A street in Houtwijk decorated during the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Houtwijk during winter

Houtwijk is young neighbourhood in comparison to other neighbourhoods in The Hague. The area was for a long time part of the village Loosduinen and during this period was a green area used by farmers with no residents living on it. The farmers used the area for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, which then could be sold to the villagers via the local market or to other people in the surrounding areas. To do this the farmers made use of the canal in Loosduinen, since this was the most efficient way to transport the fruits and vegetables in both a cheap and fast manner. Furthermore, to sell their vegetables and fruits to nearby areas the farmers could make use of the Oude Haagweg, which is a road that has been used since medieval times and connects Loosduinen with the cities 's-Gravenzande and The Hague ('s-Gravenhage). Later, small auctions were created at other important roads, such as the Jan le Griepweg and the G.J. Van Marrewijklaan, to better reach customers outside Loosduinen. The popularity of these roads led over the centuries to numerous people settling along these roads. Nonetheless, most of the area was used for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables until the mid-20th century.^[4]

In 1923 Loosduinen ceased to be a municipality on its own, when it became part of The Hague.^[5] This had several consequences for the village. For instance, the local council made plans for the development of areas of the former Loosduinen municipality. One of these plans was the "Expansion Plan for The Hague of Berlage" of 1927, which called for the construction of more houses in Loosduinen and to make the area on par with other areas that were part of The Hague. The plan was worked out by the City Development and Housing Department for Loosduinen with contributions of P. Bakker Schut, the director of the Urban Development and Public Housing Department. While the plan called for expansion of buildings in Loosduinen, this was still on a small scale. The expansion did not lead to a massive increase in the population of Loosduinen. Rather, some small neighbourhoods were created. For example, one of the most well-known quarters in Loosduinen was built during this period, namely the Burgemeestersbuurt. This quarter was built at the north-east side of Loosduinen and contains many streets and squares that are named after former mayors (burgemeesters in Dutch) of Loosduinen when it was still a municipality of its own. Examples include the Burgemeester Hovylaan or the Burgemeester Françoisplein. Houtwijk, however, still remained an area primarily used for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables during this period.^[4]

World War II had an impact on The Hague. The Battle for The Hague led to destruction in several areas, while the occupation by Germany also took its toll on the city. So after the war had ended there were many problems in the city that needed to be addressed. One of the biggest problems was the housing shortage in the city, there were many people who had no home and some of them were therefore out on the streets. Within the local council this led to discussions about whether areas that were mainly used for cultivation and horticulture needed be used instead to build houses on. This discussion took quite some time, but eventually led to an agreement which was supported by the majority in the local council in the 1950s. The agreement called for the construction of houses and other buildings in the Leyenburg and Oud Waldeck areas. The result of the agreement meant that the areas used for cultivation of fruits and vegetables in Loosduinen became significantly smaller for the first time in history. This trend continued in the 1960s when the remaining horticulturalists in the Leyenburg and Oud Waldeck areas left and moved to other places. It meant that the local council now could use other areas, such as Kraayenstein and Houtwijk areas, for the construction of houses and apartments. Meanwhile, in 1972, a new area was developed and called Nieuw Waldeck.^[4]

In 1973 plans were made to build houses and apartments in Houtwijk.^[5] These plans contained, among other things, that 5,370 homes were to be built, of which 55% were to be single-family homes.^[5] In these plans every quarter stood out on its own but at the same time also formed one whole. To make each quarter special the buildings were built with many varieties. For example, the buildings had different densities and heights. During the construction of Houtwijk, however, the plans were changed. Rather than spending time giving each quarter a unique look, the goal became to build as fast as possible to make sure people could be housed in the short term. Furthermore, the architects responsible for the designs of public spaces in Houtwijk were given less free space to make use of their own ideas and instead got directions of civil servants that were involved in the construction of the area. The architects did, however, manage to make their mark on public spaces in Houtwijk by making use of closed structures and creating long streets. They also made a clear and distinct separation between public and private spaces. For example, houses had a private and public side. Houtwijk also got its own small shopping centre, fields that can be used for wide range of activities and parks that are filled with hills, small lakes and plenty of green. It was also decided that the Burgemeestersbuurt was also to be part of Houtwijk neighbourhood.^[4][5]

Even though Houtwijk was a green area meant for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables for most of its history, it still has some marks left from this period. For example, the ditches of the lands are still partly visible here and there in modern Houtwijk.^[4]

Naming

Houtwijk owes its name to the ancient path called Houtweg (roughly translated: Wood Road). This was an important road used since medieval times and connected many areas, villages and cities to each other. It used to run from what is nowadays known as Lippe Biesterfeldweg to the place where the Leyenburg hospital now stands, so roughly between the village of Loosduinen to the shopping mall at Leyweg. The name indicates that the road ran through a wooded area, since a forest was called 'wood' in Holland in earlier times. Further evidence is that the road was used around 1224 for the transport of wood.^[5] The road formed the vein of modern-day Houtwijk. Nowadays the Houtweg is no longer a road, but a paved cycle path. Furthermore, it is not even called Houtweg anymore. In 1967 the name Houtweg was changed to Kapelaan Meereboerweg to avoid confusion, since there was already a Houtweg in The Hague. The road has been known as Tulapad since 2016.^[4]

Infrastructure

Demographic

A large part of the population in Houtwijk is young, with 21.8% of the residents being under the age of 25.^[3]

References