Dutch Spatial Planning: The Coordination of Compact Development and Affordable Housing

摘要

This case study combines elements of exploration and description to examine the interaction of growth management and housing affordability within the Dutch system of spatial planning. In Section I, I introduce the research framework and pose the central research question: How do planners and policymakers in the Netherlands conceptualize and manage the relationship between land and housing markets, and the effects of that relationship on housing affordability? In Section II, I provide an overview of Dutch spatial planning, focusing on planning and policymaking at the national and municipal levels, and summarizing the postwar-era u22bundled deconcentrationu22 approach to growth management. Section III covers the economic and political shifts of the 1980s and early 1990s, a period that marked the end of u22bundled deconcentrationu22 and ushered in the u22compact cityu22 approach to spatial planning. In Section IV, I introduce contemporary issues of land scarcity and housing supply stagnation and summarize my primary interview findings. In Section V, I elaborate on my interview findings and discuss the broader perspectives offered by Dutch planners and economists. Finally, in Section VI, I conclude the case study with a review of findings, final reflections, and suggestions for future research.