Towards Regional Development Planning in the Netherlands

摘要

Dutch urbanization policy has a tradition of large-scale housing developments that combine green structure and the infrastructure as components of an integrated urban design. The restructuring of the welfare state has had a considerable impact on this tradition, and it has brought about changes in the institutional position of local governments, which have traditionally played a dominant role in the pursuit of 'direct-development' policies (i.e. policies in which a local government buys land, provides infrastructure and sells the land to developers and housing associations). A regional level is now emerging in the field of land development, as new developments are increasingly likely to cross municipal borders. Land-development planning intersects with landscape planning, which has its roots in land consolidation. Development planning is no longer patently local. This article begins by tracing the Dutch traditions of urban and rural land development, which have evolved separately in different institutional settings over the years. It then discusses the causes behind the emerging practice of regional development planning, which unites both traditions. Two cases, Heerhugowaard-Alkmaar-Langedijk (HAL) and the Hart of the Heuvelrug, are analysed to provide further insight into this new practice. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications of regional development planning for the institutional capacity of Dutch provinces in particular.