Integration and decentralization: the evolution of Dutch regional land policy

ABSTRACT

The implementation of planning objectives in the public interest depends on the land laws and land policies of a state. Public stakeholders are not only enabled or constrained in their actions by these laws and policies, they also (re)formulate these laws and policies to support their actions. The objective of this paper is to understand how different stakeholders in spatial development processes influence land policy dynamics (both the (re)formulation and the implementation of policies) and vice versa. The paper explores the changes in land policies in the Netherlands, in particular how changes have enabled the regional planning level. The Policy Arrangement Approach is used to analyse the strategic behaviour of agencies and their use of structure in spatial development processes. The findings show that the arrangement rapidly changed from the 1980s onwards, due to changes in the underlying political discourses and the effectuation of these discourses via regulation and instruments. With objectives of decentralization and integration, the national government has enabled the regional planning level to become more active in spatial development processes. Although the provinces were enabled by new laws and policies, this did not significantly change their role within the Dutch planning system.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. According to Hooghe, Marks, and Schakel (2010), the Dutch provinces have a reasonable amount of formal authority, in comparison with other European regions. They studied the rise of regional governments and measured their formal authority. Based on a dataset from 2006, the Dutch provinces were scored 14.5 on their ‘regional authority index’. This figure is comparable with the Italian Regioni a statuto ordinario (14.0), lower than the German Länder (21.0), but higher than the Regions in the UK (4.0).

2. This search included the Archives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning, and a selection from the Archives of the Dutch Parlement: 2.11.93 Archief Directie Ruimte en Recreatie en taakvoorgangers van het ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (1973)1979–2005; 2.17.05 Archief Ministerie van Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieu (VROM): Raad van Advies voor de Ruimtelijke Ordening (RARO), 1965–1994 (1996) en idem (RARO) (1991)1995–1996(1998) en hun commissies en werkgroepen; 2.02.28 Archief van de Tweede Kamer der Staten Generaal (1949)1945–1980(1994).

3. In 2010, the ministries included Agriculture, Nature and Food Security; Infrastructure and Water Affairs; Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. In 2013, several tasks have been reassigned to new ministries. Planning tasks related to agriculture and nature conservation are now part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and tasks concerning infrastructure and spatial planning are now part of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.

4. See for a detailed overview of how the provinces have taken up their new planning powers as a result of the 2008 Spatial Planning Act, and their reasons for choosing different land policy strategies, Van Straalen, Janssen-Jansen, and Van den Brink (2014).