Third and final episode on ways to think about what is special about living in Eindhoven/brainport. The first episode reflected on what it means to be a Dutch city, the second on what that implies for the feeling of place of those, especially expats/internationals, living there, and for those trying to figure out how toContinue reading “brainport’s real highlights”
Category Archives: Eindhoven region
what is my backyard?
This is a follow-up to a previous post on viewing The Netherlands as one very green polycentric metropolis. To avoid repeating myself too much, reading the below assumes that you are familiar with this predecessor….Here I focus on what this implies for anyone, but especially the more recent foreign arrivals (expats, internationals, whatever your preferredContinue reading “what is my backyard?”
Eindhoven on video
For those with too much time on their hands and a particular hobbyhorse, in my case familiarizing myself with my current living environment, the www offers nice visual finds that inform, wipe the doors of perception a bit cleaner, just increase one’s appreciation for the already known, or provide a motivational jolt.
ways to run or walk a city – ‘street art’
It may be a quirk of my twisted personality but having a purpose for going out makes it easier to ignore my inner couch potato. There are many ways to think about purpose, and one is to explore a particular theme when run-walking your living environment. This post is going to suggest different forms ofContinue reading “ways to run or walk a city – ‘street art’”
looking at green Eindhoven differently – railway tracks
To complete this mini series of posts on features that can be used as corridors for urban exploration, I focus on one last bit of substantial infrastructure that traverses the city: the railway tracks.
looking at green and urban Eindhoven differently – mix’em and more
The advantage of taking one particular feature as your guide through the city is that it leaves you with minimal room for choice. The feature determines what you are going to come across (and hopefully be surprised by). The downside is that it leaves you with minimal room for choice. To make the most ofContinue reading “looking at green and urban Eindhoven differently – mix’em and more”
looking at green Eindhoven differently – the rivers and streams
When canals can be a feature to be one’s guide for exploring the city in a new way, why not look at all (former) waterways? I covered the largest and most important of them, the well known Dommel already. But anyone familiar with Eindhoven knows that more is available.
looking at urban Eindhoven differently – the radials
It is a no-brainer that if ring roads are an urban feature to guide city exploration, radials might be too. Eindhoven has traditionally had a spider-like lay-out with radials connecting the market centre to surrounding villages and important cities further away. So lets have a look at their potential.
looking at urban Eindhoven differently – the ring roads
The third episode in of a mini series on features of the Eindhoven urban landscape that can be used as corridors to explore the city. After the high voltage power line through Woensel and the city’s various canals, let’s talk about the ring roads.
looking at green Eindhoven differently – the canals
High voltage power lines may be a somewhat oddball feature to guide city exploration, canals are certainly less so. They are natural corridors and used as such by city planners.
looking at green Eindhoven differently – the high voltage power line
Another mini-series on ways to go about exploring Eindhoven. This time not by taking the whole of the city area as our play ground, but by taking specific features traversing the landscape as corridors to follow. Let me kick off with the least obvious candidate: high voltage power lines.
ways to run or walk a city – all neighbourhoods
What I like most about the various ways of exploring our city described in this mini-series is their non-judgmental approach. Be it in the extreme of covering all streets, the normal people’s version of covering all areas using the VisitBrabant network of walking routes, or using the city as a canvas for gps art. TheyContinue reading “ways to run or walk a city – all neighbourhoods”
Eindhoven region geology
A regular character in the tired debate between science and religion (or more broadly ‘spirituality’) is the strawman that science disenchants. Despite the countless efforts of extraordinarily gifted science popularizers like Richard Feynman, Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson and plenty others to burn that strawman, it has eternal life (click on the links for shortContinue reading “Eindhoven region geology”
exploring the Dommel valley
The more one knows about a landscape, the more interesting it becomes to explore. Obviously only the subject matter specialist can really read the palimpsestic canvas that a landscape is , but it only takes some basic bits of knowledge to realize there is something to be seen in the first place.
Eindhoven and urban trails
Fuzzy concepts offer an endless source of fascination. Take the relatively new concept of running trails. Let’s not start in prehistory, but just go back half a century. when running – as a sport – could reasonably be classified into three kinds, by way of the ‘surfaces’ it is done on: track, road and cross-country.
Eindhoven as a Dutch city
This post is a lay person’s effort to understand what being a Dutch city means. And to understand how Eindhoven fits into that picture.
Eindhoven and unimpeded forward movement
Connecting interesting bits of townscape to each other into one uninterrupted walking and cycling area has a huge impact on usage. Take Shanghai’s Huangpu river quays. During my four years in this metropolis the city added dozens of kilometers to its landscaped, fully pedestrianized riverfronts and connected them by one unimpeded bicycle path.
run and walk the eindhoven region 