Stimulating spatial quality? Unpacking the approach of the province of Friesland, the Netherlands

ABSTRACT

The article introduces the concepts of robustness and flexibility into the discussion on spatial quality to unpack the approach adopted by the Dutch province of Friesland in pursuit of their ambition to stimulate spatial quality. The analysis of how robustness and flexibility are manifested in Friesland, respectively the capacity to counteract negative impacts on spatial quality and the capacity to progress to more enhanced forms of spatial quality, reveals a multi-component, dynamic and selective approach. Multi-component refers to the combination of regulations, the building of purposeful organizations and teams and deliberate actions to influence spatial development projects and plans. It is dynamic because the approach is adapted to the dynamics of the multilevel governance system wherein the province and its actions are embedded. It is selective because spatial quality is reduced to a limited set of factors, decision-making is done by a selected set of actors and some measures tend to address a limited set of themes. The findings suggest that stimulating spatial quality strongly depends on how spatial quality is conceptualized and formalized in the arena of politics and planning, negotiated in multilevel decision-making processes alongside decisions on whether to make resources available for this purpose.

KEYWORDS:

• Spatial quality
• robust
• flexible
• governance
• decision-making

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Leisure economy is an umbrella term used in Dutch planning practice to refer to an economic subsector including tourism, recreation, leisure, wellness, and exurban living and working (Hartman, 2013).

2. The data for this research were obtained from ten semi-structured interviews. Respondents were selected on the basis of their professional involvement in relation to the approach of Friesland, that is, planners and policy advisors from the province of Friesland, independent policy advisors, landscape architects and architects. Data for this research also build on the analysis of secondary sources, including key policy documents in the context of spatial quality: the provincial strategic plan for spatial development (Province of Friesland, 2007), the provincial ordinances that deal with the formal, legal implementation of the strategic plan (Province of Friesland 2011; 2014b) and the thematic strategic plan ‘Grutsk op ‘e Romte’ [proud of our environment] that specifically outlines the vision spatial quality (Province of Friesland, 2014a). These documents were considered for the analysis of how robustness and flexibility are manifested in the approach of the province.