Beweging in het plan: Focus en reikwijdte van integrale ruimtelijke plannen

Wind turbines, widened rivers, data centres. All kinds of transitions are undeniably influencing Dutch cities and landscapes. For some, they are symbols of a new sustainable future; for others, they are annoying disruptions to a familiar environment. It is up to spatial planning to organise these transitions spatially. They come on top of the traditional, but equally urgent, urbanisation and protection tasks.
In the 20th century, the Netherlands built up a distinguished tradition of spatial planning. Iconic plans ensured that employment, infastructure and amenities kept pace with the growth of housing construction. They kept natural beauty and agricultural areas free from urban development. But how sustainable is the instrument of the fully integrated spatial plan, now that the challenges are piling up and their course is highly unpredictable?
This research addresses the question what can be the scope and focus of fully integrated spatial plans in modern-day Netherlands, and how they relate to other spatial steering tools. It links planning theory to the theory of social practices, the activities through which people connect with society. This is where social changes first enter and take shape. What might spatial planning look like that follows the rhythms of these practices? That conditions them where deemed necessary?
In the “responsive planning” the research describes, fully integrated spatial plans have a particular function in terms of agenda setting, operationalisation, vision formation or generic guidelines. But for strategic spatial policy, another kind of plan appears to be more suitable – an ´integrative´ plan that´s limited to a single challenge or closely related cluster of challenges, seeking linkages with area qualities and other challenges.