ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses how an almost forgotten historic landscape was transformed into a modern recreational heritage asset, in the process becoming an inspiration for the future regeneration and sustainable reuse of heritage landscapes. It gives a general overview of the successful revitalisation of an entire defence landscape in the Netherlands, part of a long process with different stages, projects and outcomes. The chapter describes six phases in chronological order, with identification of the most important enablers who made the revitalisation process a success. The six phases are: initiative, reflection, starting point, transition, national implementation and, finally, the provincial implementation phase. The chapter focuses on revitalisation from its beginning in the 1980s, with a general overview of the wider set of enablers, crucial for a successful transformation, which is not always covered in contemporary accounts. Growing attention has been paid to the transformation of military sites in the Netherlands, leading to many recent high-profile architectural and landscape architecture projects.
