An Introduction to Spatial Planning in the Netherlands
Summary of all SGPL lectures in Social Geography and Planning, subject Spatial Planning, geosciences. The main topic is The Planning Triangle, consisting of Object planning, Process planning and Context planning.
Summary All the litature for the upcoming Going Dutch exam in 2024
Samenvatting alle literatuur An Introduction to Spatial Planning in the Netherlands 2024
Samenvatting Spatial Planning – an exploration of the discipline(GEO2-3122) GOING DUTCH 2024
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Sociale Geografie en Planologie
Going Dutch
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Spatial planning HC
HC1 introduction & positioning spatial planning: a definition and first
exploration of the discipline (part 1)
“Spatial planning encompasses the search process for spatial design in a
changed society and making choices about how and where functions can
be used (long-term focus) plus the reflection on this” a future-oriented
discipline: looking long-term far ahead and articulating a desirable future
Spatial planning: a mirror of societal developments (Kreukels, 1986)
Motto spatial planning: placing current actions in the light of future
objectives.
A spatial planner is creative in two ways: to design and to steer the future. Making scenario’s helps us
make decisions now for the future. 4 spatial scenarios and 5 themes by PBL:
Projective scenario: reasoning from current state
Prospective scenario: knowing where you want to go in the future and looking at how to get there
Two perspectives on spatial planning (ruimtelijke ordening)
- As an academic discipline: spatial planning (planologie)
- As a field of practice: spatial development (ruimtelijke planning)
The future is to some extent already ‘bounded’: the past and the present elements elements of the
future. We are always ‘in transition’ and need to anticipate these changes.
International terms of spatial planning: urban and regional planning
Conclusion – planning is:
- Adapting to a changing society
- Long-term future-oriented
- Creative (planner as mediator)
- Process-oriented (e.g. the role of the citizen)
- Action-oriented (implementation, change)
- Contextual (context-sensitive)
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,HC2 positioning spatial planning: a definition and first exploration of the
discipline (part 2)
Relevant planning concepts
- Planning is always a public activity, but this is increasingly up for discussion (because of
increasing number of other actors)
- Planning is always future-oriented, but is increasingly being equated with urban
management
- Planning is always about space, but is increasingly bound-up with socio-political processes
Future orientation: flexibility vs. legal certainty
- Dilemma: “a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable
or preferable”
- Planning needs flexibility because the future is to a large part uncertain
- Planning needs legal certainty because spatial interventions often have long-term effects
- Strategic ambiguity: sometimes actors benefit from vagueness and procrastinating choices
Space: comprehensive vs. sectoral planning
- Sectoral efficiency: every sector (transport, economics, housing, nature etc.) oversees its own
‘domain’
- Integration often increases the problem-solving capacity of spatial planning (multi-functional
land use, ‘unsought’ solutions to complex spatial problems)
- Integration can also be seen as a form of strategic ambiguity
A public activity: the trias politica
- Trias politica: planning as a part of the executive part of the state
- Implement planning law: controlled by/in court
- Role of planning law and property rights
- Planning as public activity: “the systematic preparation of policy-making and executive
actions that are aimed at consciously intervening in spatial order and at organizing these
interventions”
The Planning Triangle
- Object land-use (‘what’)
- Process governance (‘who’)
- Context administrative and institutional (‘how’)
- What, who, how and different conditions make every situation unique
Object orientation: planning instruments to achieve planning goals (governing) planners make us
of planning instruments:
- Sticks: expropriation law (onteigening)
- Carrots: municipal land policy (actief grondbeleid)
- Sermons (visions/visies): the most commonly used instruments; a combination of solid
argumentation and inspiration (omgevingsvisie)
Changes in the object of planning: increasing normativity
- Multi-functional land use leads to many interests
- Sustainable urban development
- Climate-adaptive and resilient cities
- Path dependence and changing norms
- New planning concepts (smart, healthy, green, etc.)
2
, Process orientation: actors and institutions
- The planning process: systematic (but flexible)
- Every planning process is unique: actors may differ and little formalization (open, informal
processes, but many institutions)
- Link with context (administrative and institutional)
Changes in the process of planning: increasing complexity
- Government: less money, more levels
- Private initiatives vs. legitimacy of plans
- Civil participation and self-organization
- Challenges beyond scale and sector
- ‘Governance’ as a response to complexity
Context orientation: policy and law
- Spatial planning processes are always embedded in ‘regular’ policy processes
- Importance of the formal process through planning law
- Institutions: both formal and informal rules of the game
Changes in the context of planning: increasing uncertainty
- Complex institutional structures (EU)
- Formal: laws and regulations (Planning Act in NL)
- Societal dynamics (smartphone, 5G)
- Trends (climate change, artificial intelligence)
- Change events (pandemics, innovations)
History of Dutch spatial planning
Bottom line Dutch spatial planning
- Strong role of national government
- Influence of spatial planning concepts and doctrines
- Aimed at increasing spatial quality
- Pendulum movements over time when it comes to dominant thoughts on planning
- Move beyond blueprint planning and the ‘makeable society’
- Move beyond entrepreneurial and participatory planning
- Bottom-up planning still exists, but it will not save the world (subjective)
Early planning: problem orientation, modelling and design as solutions
- Garden Cities (Howard)
- Design orientation at local level (AUP, 1938)
- Model orientation (Christaller), local and regional level
Post-war planning: rebuilding, spatial concepts and makeability (1945-1965)
- Object-orientation
o Scaling up
o Population growth (housing need)
o Infrastructure development
o Urbanization spatial layout of NL is expanding
- Process-orientation
o Blueprint planning
o Professionalization of planning
o Top-down system
- Context-orientation
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