Mobility and Congestion Impacts of Dutch Vinex Policy

2005

Mobility reduction and modal shift towards public transport, walking and cycling were important aims of the Dutch spatial policy from the nineties (VINEX). This policy encompassed several criteria for new housing developments, to limit the mobility these generate. This paper reports on a study into the mobility consequences of the developments that were the result of this VINEX policy. It discusses the compliance of these locations with policy criteria and analyses the (car) travel behaviour of their inhabitants. The study focusses on the spatial situation of all newly built housing from the period 1995-2003 and the travel behaviour of their occupants. Part of these are classified as VINEX developments or dwellings, others are not developed as part of the VINEX policy and are referred to as non-VINEX. Results were obtained from detailled analyses of spatial characteristics and regression analyses of individual travel patterns. Differences between sections of the population and their...

2012

The concept of the compact city is a key strategy to limit suburban sprawl and to obtain a more sustainable urban development. In the Netherlands, concepts for compact forms of urbanization have played a major role since more than half a century. In various Dutch national spatial policy documents different concepts for urban compaction and urban densification have taken a prominent position. The Second and Third National Policy Document on Spatial Planning (1966 and 1973) introduced the concept of 'clustered dispersal' and 'growth centres', whereas the Forth National Policy Document on Spatial Planning (1988) was based on the concept of the 'compact city'. More recently, the National Spatial Strategy (2004) set specific goals for so-called 'concentration areas' around greater urban conurbations and 'urban densification' in existing built-up areas. However, recently ambitions concerning spatial planning and urban compaction have been decentrali...

Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2003

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European Planning Studies, 2000

The Dutch planning system rejoices a very positive reputation in the international academic planning literature. Yet both the conceptual orientation and the institutional practices of Dutch planning are eroded. New institutional practices have emerged that effectively form a 'shadow structure' to the of cial planning system, eroding both its effectiveness and legitimacy. The article suggests that this instititutional development is to be understood against the background of larger processes of social change to which the system has so far not responded: the coming 'network society'. In light of this analysis it is suggested that Dutch planning could enhance both its effectiveness and legitimacy by reconsidering some of the basic features of the planning system.

2013

In 1998 a stratified model that distinguished spatial planning tasks on the basis of the differing spatial dynamics of substratum, networks and occupation patterns – i.e. three layers – was introduced in the national debate on spatial planning in the Netherlands. Although using layered models was not a new thing, this model hit a nerve in spatial planning practice, initially in particular on a national level, but later also on the provincial and municipal level. Since 1998 this ‘layers model’ has developed into an approach to spatial planning and design: the Dutch layers approach. In the process it got transformed in different ways. In this paper we aim to provide information on and insight in the development of the layers approach between 1998 and 2009 both from a theoretical angle as well as that from its application in practice, focusing on the variations of the layers approach that have been constructed since its introduction. We then add our own comments to the ongoing Dutch discourse concerning the layers approach, both in general and from the point of view of the relation between 'time' and 'space'. Concluding we also answer the question posed in de title.

2006

Social, economic, and technological developments — e.g. individualisation, globalisation and developments in information and communication technology — have repercussions on spatial planning. There is evidence in society and in the economy of a continuous increase in spatial scale (reinforced by increasing mobility), which has repercussions for the level at which spatial issues are addressed. This will increasingly be the supralocal and the regional level. This is paralleled by a debate on urban governance: Hemphill et al. (2006) bring forward that urban governance has become the catchword of modern urban policy despite lacking precise meaning and often being used in a variety of different discourses. Whereas Hemphill et al. deal in their article with the move from state control and regulation of urban policy towards local empowerment and decentralised decision-making, in some cases of this phenomenon we are also seeing scaling-up to the regional level. This paper discusses the chan...

International Journal of Public Sector Management, 2009

PurposeDrawing on changes in the nature of European metropolitan development planning in general, and the example of the Randstad, in particular, the purpose of this paper is to argue for an improved interconnectedness between regions and their public and private sector agencies. These should be linked to “flows of social and economic interaction”, and, as such, complement conventional notions of “bounded spaces” and “nested territorial jurisdictions”. This is in response to the now crucial question for metropolitan planning of how to develop and renew effective institutional capacity to deal with the increasing spatial complexities at regional or metropolitan level.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a case study‐based theoretical review of types of metropolitan planning, drawing on original policy documents and interviews with relevant policymakers.FindingsIt is shown that the answer to addressing the challenges of development planning at the city‐regional level is not primari...

2006

In many West European countries the welfare state is retreating and instruments of urban policy have changed. Urban policies are now often area based, which means that action is taken in a spatially defined area. One of the problems of this approach is that it leads to a so called spatial knock-on effect. This is when an area-based approach causes

2000

The first sections of this paper use parts of my paper written for Module 4 of the SPECTRA project of the Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, EIA Centre .

Urban Studies, 2006

Despite the wide array of academic research, the impacts of compact urban development are not very well understood. What is lacking are, firstly, the insights into how a region or country would have appeared under policy regimes other than those realised and, secondly, a broad evaluation of relevant land-use, transport, accessibility and related societal and ecological impacts. Here, we report on an initial attempt to establish a methodology and evaluation framework for analysing the effectiveness of Dutch compact urbanisation policies implemented between 1970 and 2000. Our conclusion is that without compact urban development policies, urban sprawl in the Netherlands would have likely been greater, car use would have been higher at the cost of alternative modes, emission and noise levels in residential and natural environments, and the fragmentation of wildlife habitats would have been higher.

Europe's towns and cities remain its primary source of wealth creation and the centre of its social and cultural development. However there are rising problems relating to rapid economic adjustments. It is clear that new efforts are necessary to strengthen or restore the role of Europe's cities as places of social and cultural integration, as sources of economic prosperity and sustainable development, and as bases of democracy" (European Commission, 1997). The environment of cities has become increasingly competitive and complex. Cities need to anticipate and respond quickly to opportunities and threats that influence their position structurally. Although city governments develop policies and strategies to meet the challenges, at the same time higher layers of government pursue policies that influence the position of cities. National governments draw up financial and policy frameworks and create conditions in which cities have to manoeuvre and design their own policies. Although the European Commission recognises the important role of cities for regional development, until now European urban policy initiatives have been blocked by a majority of national governments, as a consequence of the principle of subsidiarity. The objective of our contribution is to compare current developments as far as explicit urban policies in the member states of the European Union are concerned. However, the scope will not be limited to explicit policies alone. National policies with a substantial impact on urban development will be dealt with too. In this paper we compare national urban frameworks (the national urbanisation pattern and the administrative framework) and we deal with the questions like: what do national authorities consider to be main issues for, and challenges to their cities?; and how do national governments respond to these issues and challenges by policies targeted to the role and function of cities? The results of our investigation into current national urban policies are for an important part based on fifteen national case studies produced by colleagues from each of the member states, according to the framework mentioned before. This contribution summarises the main findings of the comparison. These results might produce ingredients for a future urban policy at the European level.

2012

SUMMARY Danish spatial planning has been increasingly subjected to profound reorientations over the past two decades. The comprehensive frame wherein planning policies and practices operated across different levels of administration has become significantly altered. This has been particularly evident after the implementation of a structural reform that changed the political and administrative structure in the country. Most importantly, the reform abolished the county level, which caused that planning policies, functions and responsibilities were re-scaled to municipal and national levels. This situation brought about radical shifts in terms of the scope of planning policies, the implementation of land-use tasks as well as the performance of the institutional arrangements operating within and beyond the planning system. Based on an indepth analysis concerned with these changes, the paper endeavours into discussing how spatial planning has become reoriented. This is performed through ...