Policies to preserve open space in the Netherlands have evolved over a long period of time. In the interwar period pressure groups were actively trying to put the issue of open space on the political agenda. Their pleas were only partly met. After the Second World War, and as part of the...

In many parts of Europe, but also at the level of the European Union and the much higher level of the Council of Europe, the creation of spatial visions is now underway. However, these spatial visions often lack an essential ingredient of spatial planning, namely maps. This omission may seem...

The Dutch planning system rejoices a very positive reputation in the international academic planning literature. Yet both the conceptual orientation and the institutional practices of Dutch planning are eroded. New institutional practices have emerged that effectively form a 'shadow structure'...

Within Europe, Rotterdam is by far the largest port and supplier of fossil energy sources. City and port have a “sandwich” position in the low lands between a sea with a rising level and rivers with increasing peak discharges. It is certainly no exaggeration to say that sustainability forms...

"The Randstad metropolitan region encompassing Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht in the western Netherlands is regarded worldwide as a model of a 'successful' polycentric metropolis. It is widely cited as an example of how a region of interconnected small cities can effectively compete...

Several European countries are adapting their planning system to current requirements of public and private sector and society. Examples of such countries are England and the Netherlands. The paper start with an overview of theoretical concepts of planning systems in relation to spatial...