Dutch experience, plans and visions

Dutch experience, plans and visions _

Max van den Berg

This article looks at the trends that have influenced level (areas within a radius of Z&40 kilometres

posf-war planning in the Netherlands, based on the from the central nucleus);

four national development reports. The first two 0 environmental and functional differentiation in

repot-k infroduced the concept of the Randstad cities and villages of residential and commercial/

urban area and its new towns; the third concen- industrial functions and public facilities (hier-

trated on the mefropolitan areas that had lost archy of facilities).

population and employment as a result of the new towns; and the fourth is influenced by current social

This report added an important quality aspect to

changes and a ‘Europe without frontiers’. This latter Dutch physical planning.

report is offered as one of the first regional develop- The starting point for the First and Secotld Report

menf ouflines of tomorrow’s Europe. otl Physical Planning in rhe Nerherlunds was that, in order to preserve the quality of the living environ-

For centuries the Netherlands has had a rich tradi- ment, neither the population nor the scope of econo-

tion in the field of what we call physical planning. In mic activity in the Randstad should exhibit any

1958 the first post-war plan on a national scale was further growth. When the new towns were founded,

drafted. The report, The Developtnc~nr oJ thp West of it was assumed that soon after the residents moved

the Counrry, introduced the concept of the urban in, employment opportunities would open up for

region of Western Holland, the so-called ‘Rand- them. This turned out to be much less the case than

stad’. The essence of this concept consisted of: had been anticipated. For reasons involving the various agglomeration advantages, the urban facili-

0 keeping the ‘green heart’ of Holland open; ties and international accessibility, most of the larger

0 promoting an outward emanation of the urban- businesses and industries preferred sites in the

ization to the new towns anywhere between five Randstad. There was widespread commuting, and

and 60 kilometres from the urban region (the road and railroad infrastructure was not equipped to

urban region consists of the four major cities in cope with it adequately.

the Netherlands and a number of smaller towns The departure of many young, well-educated between those cities). families to the new towns had negative effects on

This concept, elaborated upon at the national level social and cultural life in the donor cities. At the

in the First Reporr OH Physicul Planning in the beginning of the lY8Os there was renewed interest in

Netherlunds, was to serve as a guideline for the the metropolitan areas. Now efforts were being

country’s town planning policies for approximately concentrated on the built-up area in the Randstad.

two and a half decades. This renewed interest in metropolitan areas was

Shortly afterwards, in 1966. the Secotld Reporf ott described in the Third Report ot1 Physical Planttiq

Physicul Plantting it1 the Nerherlands wx published. in the Netherlands and in the structural sketch for the

This focused on: urban areas derived from it. The concerns regarding the detrimental effects of economic growth that

0 the spread of residential and employment func- came to play an increasing role in the lY7Os - partly tions to the peripheral parts of the country; under the influence of the report of the ‘Club of

0 clustered deconcentration at the urban district Rome’ - were also expressed in this Third Report.

The role of government

M. van den Berg is Chief Planner, Province of North Before discussing in greater detail the recent de-

Holland and Visiting Professor at the University of Utrecht, velopments described in the Fourth Report ott

The Netherlands. Physical Planning in the Netherlands it is necessary

0264-2751/89/040277-05$03.00 0 1989 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd 277

to consider the role played by government author- areas. These large areas. which also serve as buffer ities. Physical planning in the Netherlands takes zones between the urban agglomerations, wcrc in- place at three government levels. strumental in shaping the ‘face’ of the Randstad.

In general. it can be said that the national goverli- mcnt formulates the guidelines, bears the responsibility for the legislation and develops an cffcctivc financial and subsidizing system. The provincial governments implement thcsc principles and supple- ment them at the regional level. The municipalities draw up land-use plans. These arc the only plans

that are legally binding for private citizens, trade and

industry and for government authorities. Within the framework of the provincial physical planning con- mittee, there arc extensive consultations among the three government levels. The coordination bctwccn the various government lcvcls all coincide in the probincc. This responsibility is stipulated in the Physical Planning Act. In other legislation, for inst- ancc with regard to the environment. traffic. transport or land use. explicit mention is made of the obligation to take physical planning considerations

into account. The Physical Planning Act itself has no instruments for implementation. Nor dots it pa-ovidc

for any binding long-range planning. Implcment~~- tion and financing arc to take place by way ot consultations with the other policy fields. The physical planning \ystcm is thus focused on arriving at a consensus regarding aims. plan\, means and

funds.

In ;I physical planning sense. two important processes arc now taking place in the Rnndstad. Firstly, the concentration of urban functions. accompanied by the great shortage of space in the metropolitan arcas. After the urban renewal that began in the lY7Os. the first steps towards urban innovation have begun. These steps have included the restructuring of the old harbour and industrial area\;. lirban innovation also encompasses the integral renovation of the city centres, the traffic and transport systems, and special attention for cultural facilities. Thiy i\ ;I complex and laborious process. At numerous spot>, the ground under the cities has become polluted. The volume of noise is excessive and it is difficult to establish good public transport conncctiona. Once plans hnvc been drawn up, financing their implc- mcntation is often difficult. (‘ollaboration among government and private investment is somctimc5 recluircd in order to finance Iargc+cale projects. This is termed ;I ‘public-private partncr4iip‘.

Secondly. with a view to accessing the E<uropcan market after 19%. thcrc has hccn ;I grow)ing influx of American and Japanese Firms.

Future challenges

As the most important planning agcncich. the provinces have translated the national reports into very general master plans and regional plans. In North Holland the policies of the Second Report - characteristic of the growth-oricntcd ideas of the l!Ms - were illustrated in the map ‘Plans and ideas for the year 3_000’. In retrospect. the map featured some rather exaggerated growth and expansion UN- pcctations, over-estimating the guiding capacity c>t the authorities. The politics were rather daring, hut due to the lack of long-range financial planning and inadequate conditions in other respects as well, thcq wcrc not very realistic.

The challenges WC arc faced with today are multifa- rious. In the decades to come the following factors are likely to shape the field of physical planning:

0 international inter-city link%; 0 closer town and country links; 0 diffcrcntiation and division of the population.

The effects of the Third Report wcrc clearly evident in the general master plan drawn ~11’ for North Holland in 1c)82, and more specifically in the regional plans. For ;I clear picture of the developments in the Randstad. the regional plan for Am- stcrdam is of particular importance. In addition to the cities’ development, the development of large- scale recreation arcas has been cxtrcmcly important for the Randstad. One of the special rcsponsihilitics of the provincial government has been the dcvclop- mcnt of these arcas. The province has ;I role in making and carrying out plans for various recreation

The internation~rliz~ition of cities and the establish- ment of international inter-city links mean\ that the production. distribution and consumption of :lrticlcs and wrvices, including know-how. arc sprc;iding

across the globe. Advanced telecommunic~itions technology is welding the component proccsscs into ;I single process. which is guided and opcratcd from the main offices in the Iargc cities.

l‘hc location in the vicinity of intercontinent~II

airports, the ;ICCC’SS to high-speed railway lines. the

introduction of high-grade office headquarters and

the construction of increasingly prestigious culture temples are all important fol- the international position of cities (Figure I ). (‘itics and metropolitan

regions have acquired a new meaning ah the basic elements of international hierarchic nctworhx. their-

peak consisting of supcrcitie\ like New Yorh. I.on-

278 CITIES November 1989

Paris ( Transport over water l

L 4 l Transport over land

QQ Potential transport routes

Figure 1. The Randstad as a part of the northwest European megalopolis.

don, Paris and Tokyo. In a global sense as well as within the European Community, there is a rank order among cities, accompanied by cultural rivalry. Within that ranking, the Randstad is determined to occupy a prominent position.

Due to the increase in the amount of leisure time, the rise in spendable incomes and the change in mentality, interest in first-hand experience with nature and the appreciation of man-made landscapes and recreation in the open air have become normal phenomena. The city-dweller has discovered the countryside and, in enormous numbers. they arc making use of the rapidly growing facilities there. As plans arc made and implemented with respect to nature reserves, man-made landscapes and rccrea- tion regions. the desires formulated in the cities are definitely taken into account. In this way there is an increasingly closer link between the interests of the city and those of the countryside, and farming is no longer the only dominant factor.

Differentiation wzd di~~ixiorl of the ppdation

A third point is the differentiation and division of the population. This does not solely refer to the division between the employed and the unemployed. Other processes that arc also important to physical planning are the changes in the composition of the population: more younger people. fewer elderly people, larger ethnic minorities. By the year 2000. the ethnic minorities will constitute 3.5%8% of the population in the Randstad. In the large cities it even could reach 4(&X)‘%,

The composition of households is also changing. Households consisting of one or two people already

account for more than 50% of all Dutch households,

and by 2015 the figure will have risen to approximately two-thirds. The groups and firms which are most likely to succeed are attuned to these developments and reinforce them.

When international companies select a location, whether new or established, they are not focused upon any one single region or country, they focus on the entire European Community. This is why, in addition to cooperation, there is also competition and rivalry among the metropolitan regions. The highly trained managers of international firms are sent out to branches abroad. The executive ranks have turned into well-paid, hectic nomads.

The city is thus a temporary breeding ground and nesting place for people from all four corners of the globe. Social mobility leads to new ideas, new mentalities, new works of art and culture, new fashions. New life styles, new ways of living together are given an opportunity to bud. There are. however, individuals who have a hard time keeping up with this whole turbulent process. Loneliness. poverty, unemployment, crime and addiction are the other side of the social mobility and emancipation coin. A high rate of unemployment not only puts certain segments of the population into a poor economic position. in a society where social control and soli- darity barely play a role, it also drives them into social isolation. People who are socially, physically and economically mobile take part in what is happening in Europe and all across the globe, whereas people who arc immobile are tied down to their ‘home’ and whatever facilities are (still) available there.

The Fourth Report

The rapid social changes and the influence of a ‘Europe without frontiers’ has stimulated the Dutch government to publish the Fourth Report OH Pkysic- ul Plrrrlrlirlg in tllr Netherlmds. Lyddon’ draws a number of conclusions from the report which he feels would also be relevant for people in the physical planning field in the UK.

The report is based upon two principles: ‘interna- tionalization’ and ‘the daily living environment’. With respect to the daily living environment, spatial quality is viewed as a prerequisite for healthy economic development. It is of vital importance that neighbourhoods be prevented from turning into

‘Derek Lyddon, The Planner, February 1989.

CITIES November 1989 279

slums. Wherever there are visible signs that this is

happening, urban renewal should take place.

Nowadays, the important prohlcms to be solved

concern the environment: noise that is :I nuisance.

disposal problems, scwcragc systems that do not

function efficiently. roads that have subsided and surface water that has lmxme ~{~il~~t~~~. Kcncwcd

~Itt~~lti(9n is being devoted tcr cultural aspccts, the

qdential value, the unique identity of II street and

:I neighbourhoctd and the beauty of their form.

Physical planning can make a ~~9ntril3lIti~9Il in this

~on~~~~~ion, th~9LI~h its int~I-~~~rI~i~)n r~ll~~Iins limited.

El~vir~3nI~~nt~Il consciousness. ccfucntion, socio-

CllltLlrill activities art‘ society’s prerecluisitcs for spa-

tial quality. Thus the l3olicy formulated in the Fourth

Report to promote the spatial quality of the daily

living environment is of great significance.

The Fourth Report is :I sclcctivc report that

devotes special ~Itt~nti~91~ to economic growth. It is

rho first time the cffccts of the int~rt3atit,naliz;ltion of

the Dutch economy on physical planning have ken

examined to this cxtent. This is why, side by side

with thu Benelux Structural Outline. the Fourth

Report can hc viewed as WC of the first regional

development outlints of tomorrow’s Europu. The

Ncthcrlands serves an importnnt functiotl in north-

west Europ. it is in a competitive position with

respect to the other northwest European ;IgplonIcra-

tions, to the ~listributi(9il and transport of goods and

to the provisit3n of ;I husincss site that is truij

I~~~tr~913~3lit~Iil and ~~9sInt3p(9lit~~n.

The Fourth Report indicates how these strong

points can be utilized in or&r to cnatdc the Ncthcr-

lands to ii~~~ii~t~Iin its ~~~9Il(9nli~~Ill~ prominent posi-

tion within the ~ur~9p~~In ~~3nln~IIIlity. The reltctrt

~~~kn(9~rle~l~~s the ‘main ports’. Atllst~r~i~IIli Airport

and Rotterdam liarhour, as very important cic-

mcnts. In the decades to come’. sizcablc growth is

anticipated at both of these main ports. The Fourth

Report predicts an intensification and espansion of

the Rottcrdam i]ifr~Istru~tur~ with respect to the

hnrhour facilities RX well as the ~(9~iIi~~t~~9ils with the

hiI?t~rl~Il?~l. The aim with respect to Amstcrciam

Airport is to cspmct it into an intcrcc9ntin~ntaIlt~Il

junction with the same kind of notwork as the

airports of London, Paris 2nd Frankfurt.

Another iml3(3rt~Int element is the l3r[9visi(3n of :I

husincss site that is truly Inetr~3~3~~lit~Irl and cosmopo-

litan. Particularly in the R;tndstad, top sites for international firms have to hc developed. These

have to become excellent locations for financial,

commercial, research and technological ccntres. The

Fourth Report also elahoratcs upon the earlier rc-

ports and ~~3vernrn~iit st~Ill~p(3ints. In ~I~l~liti~)n to the

280

~Itt~nti(9Il cievotecl to the town and country links. the

j~~p(9rt~Ii~~~ of the Randstad Green Belt is also

emphasized. This torm refers to the entire structure

of lorgc-scale landscaping and recreation clcments

designed to iml3rovc the living environment in the

Ranclstacl. The recrcatittn regions referred to earlier

arc an in~p(9rt~Int ~~3Inp~9n~iit of this s~r~I~tIIr~.

At the l3rovil~~i~Il lcvcl. the inlpl~n~~nt~~tit9Il of this

Ranclstad Green Belt is based upon the following

physical design principles:

the pattern of open sl3aces which scrvc to dotur-

mine the quality of the visual cspericncts of the

lanclscapc:

the pattern of the landscape elomcnts, such as

rivers, CiInnls and dikes, Lvhich SCI’VC as link4

between the urban and rural rqions “- they

constitute the milin lines in a nclwork of cycling

and ~~~~IlkiI~~ routes enabling city clwellcrs to use

the rural regions tc-tr rcct-eahnid purposes:

the pattern of the ccologieal cc9ntext in natural

ctcvclopmcnts - it i\ within this contest thitt

coIIncctiorIc arc cstablishcd between the various

green regions whcrcvcr they are in rlangcr of

being ‘built in’.

A new society

The CII~IICII~CS dcscrihed ilh(>\,e. Europcm unifica-

tion and the social acceptance of the achicvemcnts of

l~~(9~~I-11 t~~l~I~(91(9,~}/, will lead to a new society. Onf

that can no longer simply bc termed post-iilliustrial.

II13 ((9 ~wM’, the changes h:Ive 13ccn gr:IduiIl. Since the

lc)7Os, however, the intervals hetwoon them have

become shorter and shorter. CVo iire now

~Il3pr~3~i~i~ill~ iI pcrioci of sudden changes that come’

by fits ztnd starts and :tre irrcvcrsible. This is ;I pcrioct

of transition. ;I term that best catchus the surlclen ami

inevitable quality.

All this is certain to affect the field of physical

planning. One of the characteristic fcaturcs of the

IWOs will bu that though the ~~9v~rilt~i~nt will

obscrvc the ~i~~/~l~913Il~eIlts and set down the guidc-

lines, it will play much luss of a planning role, and

more of an organizational and supervisory role than

in the past. Tho role of trade and industry and the

role of investors wilt cxpnncl. C‘oitntcr power will hc

~i~v~lop~~l by instit~Iti(9Ii~. intcrcst groups and action

groups.

National authorities will bc explicitly gcat-cd towards international developments. Provincial ~ILI- thoritics will play more of ;I role in making and

iI~~pl~i~i~ntin~ plans frtr the rural regions. They will

ill~r~iIsiIl~ly work in ~t9nju~l~ti~3rl with ~~lLl]licip~~f

~~ilt~~(~riti~s to prctmote city-to-city amI city-ttt-

CITIES November 1989

country communication and cooperation. The large cities are not only to have greater opportunities but,

at the expense of their smaller neighbours, a greater role as well. It is to be their task to cross new frontiers to control and steer the consumption of space and the problems of transport and traffic.

In these turbulent times, ready-made plans will not play a significant role. Provisional plans, ideas, visions and concepts are the ones that will count. They will be needed to set the consultations and negotiations into motion. If we are to build towards the future in these times of transition and uncertain- ty, then these consultations can enrich our ideas and broaden the basis they arc founded on.

The formulation of policy visions should be fol- lowed by plans, long-range programmes. agreements and contracts. verifying whether the policies can actually be carried out. As noted, in itself the field of physical planning does not have financial means at its disposal. It has no choice but to use funds from other policy sectors.

In the Netherlands, implementation-oriented plans are now being drawn up at the national level for all the relevant policy areas. These plans pertain to housing, traffic and transport. to nature, agricul-

ture and the environment. All of these plans provide for the allocation of funds. By means of whatever consultations and top-level persuasion might be called for, it is the task of the men and women in the field of physical planning to see to it that these funds arc made available to bring about the desired quality of the environment we live in. Cooperation between the world of trade and industry, institutions and interest groups and the government officials is a necessary prerequisite to heighten the investment level and feasibility.

Physical planning has gradually changed from being a government-run activity to being a policy formulated in close conjunction with the private sector. Governments have to behave as civic entre- preneurs. Marketing and promotion methods will be used in government business. Consultations, negotiations and their outcomes, as expressed in the agreements that arc drawn up, will be instrumental in shaping their implementation. These activities can be termed transactions. All the elements of consulta- tion, participation, negotiation and agreement are combined in this term. Transition and transaction in the cities are going to play a decisive role in the physical planning policy in the future.

CITIES November 1989 281

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Dutch experience, plans and visions