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Acknowledgement
The author wishes to acknowledge the financial assistance of the Dutch government through the Habiforum Program Innovative Land Use and Delft University of Technology through the Delft Centre for Sustainable Urban Areas.
Notes
1. For a comparison with other member states see Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (NEAA, Citation2005).
2. The RaRO merged in 1997 with other advisory councils into the VROM Council, which covers the entire area of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (or in Dutch volkshuisvesting, ruimtelijke ordening and milieubeheer– hence, VROM).
3. Influential officials have been J. Linthorst Homan in the 1950s, J. Vink in the 1960s, J. Witsen in the 1970s and 1980s and D. Martin as from the 1990s.
4. The new spatial planning act was approved by both chambers of parliament in 2006 and will take effect in 2008 (see http://international.vrom.nl/).
5. However, it is estimated that in the Netherlands about 54% of the fine particles are of natural origin due to soil conditions and the coastal climate and in all likelihood not dangerous (NEAA, Citation2005). Be that as it may, the European Commission’ Directive does not differentiate between particles of natural and of artificial origin.
6. Note, however, that these losses should be balanced against costs in terms of healthcare and lower life expectancies due to exposure to poor air, which are estimated at about 4.5 billion Euros per year.