Dutch National Spatial Planning at the End of an Era

In 2010 A few years ago, the Dutch ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment — known by its Dutch acronym VROM — was dismantled. For the first time since 1965, the year that marked the construction of the three-tiered planning system, “spatial planning” can no longer be found in the name of a Dutch ministry, reflecting fundamental changes in national planning in the Netherlands. Over time, the relationships between planning and sectoral departments have changed — becoming intensified with economic development, infrastructure and water management but weakening with housing and agriculture. National planning itself has also changed direction. The 2012 National Policy Strategy for Infrastructure and Spatial Planning abolished most national urbanization policies, handing authority for this over to provinces and municipalities, and refocuses efforts on economic development. For this reason, Dutch national planning is gravitating towards the “regional economic approach” and away from the “comprehensive integrated approach” it had historically exemplified.