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What are some examples of these regretted 1950s brutalist city centers?


Not 1950s, but 1970s; Lelystad. They did not mention this at all in the article, which is quite a miss. Lelystad was the earlier experiment, a bit more up north in Flevoland. It is not growing anymore because some parts have failed and not many people move there anymore. Housing is still quite cheap, even now. Some neighbourhoods are quite good neighbourhoods, some are just awful with many residents living on wellfare, many people into drugs, etcetera. They didn't plan for mixing different cultures and classes in society, they planned for somewhat segregated neighbourhoods, which was a wrong choice. If there is a city in the Netherlands where you can guess income and status from the postal code, Lelystad is the place.

We still have to see what will happen to Almere, Almere Haven is just 30 years old. Not all parts there are good :) It is often 30 or 40 years, that a neighbourhood can go from good to bad, at least that is usual in the Netherlands.


Birmingham comes to mind. Lots of concrete, big ring roads cutting through everything.

It's unfortunate because there's still a few historic buildings from before that era suggesting what might have been.


No love for the roads, but many of those brutalist buildings in Birmingham are considered masterpieces of architecture. That's why they are listed. And I can't think of one from before 1960, either.


Some would say they had to be listed to be prevented from being torn down.


Neighbouring Coventry is a more complete example, being smaller.

Croydon also has a similar reputation.



Well, Bijlmer itself has become a mess at some point


> Well, Bijlmer itself was a mess…

Still is, but massively improved compared to the 80's.


Lots of those in former SovBloc countries.




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