Introduction

Since the 1980s, planning approaches in European regions shifted as a result of increasing attention to spatial patterns of interaction and movement on regional levels of scale, and alongside “a relative decline of the role of the state, a growing involvement of nongovernmental actors in a range of state functions, the emergence of new forms of multi-agency partnerships and more flexible forms of networking at various spatial scales” (Davoudi, 2008, p.63). Upcoming approaches, often called spatial planning, moved attention from the planning of predefined, contained territories to the planning of spatial networks, stretching across multiple and multi-scalar administrative boundaries. Planning that relied on generally applicable rationalities, statutory planning frameworks and authoritative planning power was challenged by planning that relied on an understanding of the specificities of regions, political consent on their desirable futures and the dedication of actors to these visions (Albrechts et al., 2003, Allmendinger and Haughton, 2010, Healey, 2006, Nadin, 2007, Needham, 1988, Schön, 2005). New approaches typically involved coalitions of plan actors from multiple tiers and levels of government as well as market and civil actors. Packaging their interests in shared visions became a way to operationalise planning. Collaboration in decision-making was used to simultaneously legitimise it. In an "institutional void" (Hajer, 2003, p.175) - in near absence of generally accepted and formally approved regional planning guidance - the inclusion of many in decision-making - good governance - became a normative goal of planning in itself (Innes and Booher, 2003, Mayntz, 2004). The Netherlands is no exception. As elsewhere in Europe, planning underwent a process of regionalisation in this country from the 1980s onward. Increasing attention to regional spatial development led to new planning agendas that emphasised the importance of places in larger, mostly economic, networks. A shift towards regionalisation coupled with deregulation, and an enhancement of development-led planning practices. Direct investment into strategic projects and area development became a dominant way of planning (Hajer and Zonneveld, 2000, Waterhout et al., 2013, Needham, 1988). Regionalisation liaised with tendencies of decentralisation, which resulted in a more equal distribution of planning power across national, provincial and municipal authorities (Haran, 2010, Salet, 2006, Salet and Woltjer, 2009, Teisman and Klijn, 2002). Regionalisation also coincided with the emergence of new decision-making approaches: “[P]lanners […] began to promote constructive ways into actively developing new perspectives for the future instead of merely relying on protective and prohibitive regulation – hence the emphasis on the word ‘development‘. Development planning refers […] to a more involved and anticipatory activity by collaborating public and private agencies, stimulating the likelihood of implementation, rather than public agencies setting limits by decree” (Salet and Woltjer, 2009, p.236). Among decision-making procedures that emerged in the context of spatial planning in the Netherlands was an array of practices commonly referred to as regional design. Practices that gained this label differed in their spatial scope and scale. They had a varying concern about issues such as: urbanisation, the development of transport, landscape and/or water systems at the city-regional, regional, national and transnational levels of scale. Some shared characteristics justify their common label though. Practices were all anticipatory indeed, concerned with the imagination of desirable spatial development. They all sought for comprehensiveness through considering a multitude of aspects that influence the form and functioning of this development. In all practices, the production of spatial representations, maps and models, was a core activity. Although differing in the composition of engaged parties, all practices knew the involvement of design professionals and a multi-actor setting. A significant shared characteristic was their strong relation with ongoing planning, expressed in their concern about large-scale public works, formal plans and policies, and in the frequent participation of governmental actors in practices. Practices also typically raised high and often varied expectations on their performances in this planning realm. Using design-led approaches in planning decision-making was not new in the Netherlands in the 1980s. On the contrary, such use can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century, when urban planning emerged as a distinguished discipline. By then, the Dutch designer Cornelis van Eesteren became a prominent figure in a European-wide debate on where to take the new discipline in the future (Van Rossem, 2014). In the Netherlands, in collaboration with the more analyticallyminded Theodoor Karel van Lohuizen, he established design as a way to synthesise a deep understanding of spatial development with political aspirations, in the form of simple, and persuasive planning principles and to thus enhance the spatial quality of plans (Van Bergeijk, 2015, Van der Valk, 1990). However, expectations concerning the performances of design-led approaches accumulated from the 1980s onward. When regulatory land-use planning came to be seen as an approach that “stifles entrepreneurial initiative, [and] impedes innovation” (Klosterman, 1985, p.2) regional design came to be seen as an artistic, and creative practice that bears unexpected, inspiring and inventive results; a way to mobilise "thinking capacity" in the realm of planning (Ministeries van OCW et al., 1996, p.18). When decentralisation and regional governance became issues in Dutch planning, regional design became expected to perform not only in discussion on spatial matters, but in political and organisational realms too. When efficiency became a major aspiration of Dutch spatial planning, the use of regional design in planning decision-making gained an efficiency rationale as well. The national government argued that the practice “is crucial in accelerating (administrative) processes by curbing the complexity and uncertainty that characterises contemporary tasks” (Ministeries van I&M et al., 2012, p.9, my translation). It became expected to lead to a “better, faster, and therefore cheaper process” (idem). In parallel to these accumulating expectations (outlined in Table 1.1), the use of regional design in planning decision-making underwent a process of formalisation, in particular within the realm of Dutch national spatial planning. While the national government had first been involved in the practices incidentally from around 2000 and onward its engagement became more structural. The scope of policies aimed at stimulating architectural design practice through dedicated funding mechanisms was enlarged in the period, to include design with a concern about high levels of scale (Ministeries van OCW et al., 1996). During frequent reforms of these policies, fundable design practice became more and more thoroughly tied in with national spatial-planning agendas (Stegmeijer et al., 2012). In 2010, regional design became a mandatory moment in decision-making for large scale infrastructural projects (Enno Zuidema Stedebouw et al., 2011, Ministerie van I&M, 2010). Policy makers who promoted this formalisation assumed that interactive regional-design processes can, when employed at an early stage of implementation processes, explicate interdependencies among planning issues at different scales, facilitate discussions on these and in this way help to avoid conflict, delay and costs at later stages. In 2012, regional-design practice became associated with the set up top sector policy, a national policy aimed at an enhancement of internationally operating economic sectors (Ministeries van I&M et al., 2012). Representatives of the national government started to advertise the practice among an international audience of planners and entrepreneurs in urban development, during trade missions for instance. Under the header ‘a Dutch approach’, regional design came to be seen as a marketable export product

Regional design

In recent decades the Netherlands has seen an increase in the use of regional design-led practices in national indicative planning. Despite this, the interrelations between design and planning decision making are not well understood and attempts to involve the expertise and ambition of designers in planning have had unclear outcomes. This paper elaborates on the role and position of regional design in indicative planning. It is argued that design in this realm resembles discretionary action, implying that design both influences, and is influenced by, prevailing planning rationales. An analytical framework is developed on these grounds and applied to a set of regional design initiatives that evolved in the context of Dutch national plans between 1988 and 2012. Significantly, the analysis reveals forms of discretional control that shape the creative design practice, of particular importance being the flexibility of planning guidance and the resulting room for interpretation. In theoretical terms, the article contributes to the discussion of how design – as an explorative search for solutions to problems in a particular spatial context – and design theory can contribute to an understanding of the multiple planning experiments emerging in this post-regulative era

Research approach

Regional design is a collaborative and interactive social practice that includes a broad array of actors with a multiplicity of different interests. It is concerned with the built environment, which is itself a complex system. As noted in the Introduction, regional design triggers multiple expectations but its performances have rarely been evaluated. There are only a few scholarly writings that are dedicated to the topic; these elaborate upon a multitude of theoretically founded interrelations among regional design and spatial planning but draw on a narrow empirical evidence base. In such a context it is important to first detail and stabilise propositions; and exploratory case-study research is an appropriate research methodology to do so (Yin, 2013). Conditions that qualify such research include a well-motivated selection of consistent cases, suited to explore a proposition internally, and to generalise outcomes. These cases should be ones that exist prior to any exploration, be well-documented through a variety of (preferably) publicly accessible sources, and be spread over time. How these conditions were met in this research will be explained briefly below

Epilogue

This dissertation investigated regional-design practices that evolved in the context of Dutch national planning frameworks in the period between the 1980s and the 2010s. Questions concerned whether and how practices influenced these planning frameworks, and the extent to which practices were influenced by shifts that frameworks underwent over time. The main aim of the dissertation was to develop an enhanced understanding of interrelations between regional design and spatial planning, so the performances of regional design in the spatial-planning realm can be better anticipated. The personal motivation of this dissertation lies in my professional experience as a regional designer. I am trained as an architect and gained experience as an urban designer during my early professional carrier. In 2005, I became Chief Designer at South Wing Studio (Atelier Zuidvleugel), a publicly funded think tank which was asked to explore regionalisation and planning in the Southern part of the Dutch Randstad region by means of design. I was used to feeling doubt while designing buildings, public spaces and neighbourhoods. In the meantime, I learned from design theory that it is natural for a designer to doubt. The built environment is an intricate, complex system; there are always a multitude of alternative paths to use during a search for good solutions. However, doubt was accelerated in regional-design practice, due to its concern about large-scale areas and costly public works, and its position in a multi-actor and highly political setting. Every design step accomplished became intensely debated. Every step generated surprises, unforeseen reactions; encouraging at times, discouraging at others

The institutionalisation of a creative practice

This chapter discusses the organisational setting of regional design in the realms of spatial planning and territorial governance. As a starting point, it argues that rules on how imagined design solutions function in an abstract, simplified ‘planning world’ are an important regional design product. When focusing on these rules, regional design practice resembles discretionary action. As such, it aims to improve planning decisions by judging the implications of planning frameworks when applied to particular situations. This implies that the involvement of actors in design practice requires careful consideration. As in any form of legitimate rule-building, a critical distance between those who initiate practices and conduct design, and those who judge the quality and relevance of design outcomes is essential. On the basis of these considerations the chapter investigates regional design practices that occurred between the 1980s and 2010s in the context of Dutch national planning. It shows how they transformed from being a form of professional advocacy, criticising planning, into a practice that was pragmatically used to implement a national planning agenda. The chapter concludes by discussing this institutionalisation of a creative practice in the Netherlands, reflecting upon the implications of these outcomes for territorial governance in particular

Conclusions

To design for the purpose of planning was not new when regional design emerged as a distinguished discipline in the 1980s in the Netherlands. On the contrary, to imagine solutions for particular areas and to discuss these for the purpose of planning has been a long-standing tradition that can be traced back to the emergence of urban planning in the early 20th century. However, when spatial planning emerged as a new, more collaborative and anticipatory planning approach in the last decades, expectations concerning performances of design in planning decision-making increased. Design came to be seen as a practice that not only improves the spatial and technical quality of plans, but also enhances planning innovation, clarifies political agendas, forges societal alliances and raises the efficiency of planning through timely consideration of conflicts that planning may cause in societal and political domains. Since the 1990s, regional design underwent a process of institutionalisation in Dutch national planning. The practice became repetitively used and was formally embedded in planning procedures. Despite more varied expectations and institutionalisation, interrelations between regional design and spatial planning are not well understood. As a result, the performances of regional design are difficult to predict and consequently, often disappointing. Therefore, this research has sought to conceptualise interrelations between regional design and spatial planning. It aimed at an enhanced explanation and prediction of performances. The main research question was: how do the interrelations between regional design and spatial planning influence the performances of regional design? Answers to this question were sought through case-study research. During two consecutive rounds of exploration, two perspectives were taken. During a first in-depth case-study, key performances of regional design were analysed. During a second multiple case-studies analysis, the contextual determinants of these performances were investigated. Detailed results of this dissertation are embodied in Chapter 3 to 7 of this publication. Below, these outcomes are summarised in order to form one coherent line of argument. Theoretical notions, which were considered during the research but were not mentioned in earlier publications of the chapters in the form of journal articles and book chapters, are added. The chapter also contains a critical reflection on the research approaches that were used. A dedicated section summarises the implications of findings for future research

Regional Design:

In the 1980s, planning approaches in European regions have changed as a result of increasing attention to regional spatial developments and a diminishing reliance on government-led statutory planning schemes. Emerging new approaches, often called spatial planning, shifted the focus from planning predefined territories to the planning of spatial networks, which stretch across multiple administrative boundaries. In this specific context of spatial planning, new decision-making approaches have emerged, involving coalitions of plan actors from multiple tiers and levels of government as well as market and civil actors. In near absence of formally approved statutory planning frameworks, broad involvement became a way to legitimize planning decisions and, at the same time, amass organisational capacity for their implementation. A decision-making approach that has gained prominence in the context of spatial planning in the Netherlands is regional design. Building upon a tradition of using design-led approaches in planning, expectations on the performances of regional design in the realm of spatial planning are high. Regional design is thought to be an imaginative and creative practice, which leads to planning innovation. It is expected to enhance the spatial quality that planning strategies and projects produce. Regional design is also assumed to perform in governance settings. It is supposed to clarify political options, forge societal alliances, and remove conflict around planning solutions during early moments of decision-making and speeding up their implementation in this way. Despite these high and varied expectations, an in-depth understanding of the interrelations between regional design and spatial planning is not yet achieved. The rich body of professional writing on regional design in the Netherlands is often focused on single practices. It is fragmented. The body of scholarly writing dedicated to regional design is small and has deficiencies for this reason. A particular knowledge gap is caused by a one-sided perspective on the performances of regional design. Most existing analyses focus on the expected impacts of regional-design practices on planning decisions. Various theoretical notions on spatial planning and governance are used to assert these expectations. A reversed approach, in which the impact of aspects of prevailing planning frameworks on design practice is of concern, is missing. Performances of regional design practice are often considered disappointing and sometimes even averse, due to this lack of indepth understanding. Research aims and questions In consideration of the above sketched background, the main aim of this research is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of interrelations between regional design and spatial planning. There are three secondary aims. This research seeks to first integrate notions from various domains and fields for an enhanced transdisciplinary understanding of regional design. Whereas many Dutch regional design initiatives refer to multiple objectives simultaneously, it remains unclear how regional design-led approaches influence planning decisions. A second sub-aim of the research is to develop a distinction of regional design practices in relation to spatial planning frameworks and to improve the prediction of key performances based upon this distinction. It remains also unclear how planning frameworks influence the performances of design. A third sub-aim is to arrive at an enhanced understanding of key aspects of spatial planning frameworks that determine performances. Aims and secondary aims are reflected in the following research questions: How do the interrelations between regional design and spatial planning influence the performances of design? What are key performances of regional design in the realm of spatial planning? How can these key performances be analysed? What aspects of spatial planning frameworks influence the performances of regional design? How can these aspects of spatial planning frameworks be analysed? Research approach Regional design is a collaborative social practice, which involves a multitude of actors, and has a concern about the complex built environment. Expectations that are triggered by the practice are divers and have rarely been studied comprehensively. The above research questions were therefore investigated by means of an exploratory case-study analysis, which is an appropriate research methodology to stabilize and detail propositions in a context of uncertainty. In the first in-depth single case-study key performances of regional design in the realm of spatial planning were investigated. A second multiple case-studies analysis was used to compare interrelations between regional-design practices and spatial-planning frameworks. The study enhanced a greater understanding of the aspects of frameworks that influence the divers performances. Analysed regional-design practices were selected by their principle concern about urbanisation, a relation with Dutch national spatial plans, and their prominence in the Dutch planning discourse. All practices were developed between the mid-1980s, when regional design first appeared as a distinguished discipline in the Netherlands, and the 2010s, when the most recent Dutch national plan that could be considered at the time of this dissertation was published. The majority of empirical analyses was based on publicly available policy documents. Particular attention was given to geographic representations. Besides drawing on empirical evidence, the analysis involved a continuous process of theory formation, which used notions from the fields of architecture and urban design, spatial planning and territorial governance. Results of the exploratory case-study analysis were published in the form of peer-reviewed book chapters and journal articles. The content of these publications that form the Chapters 3 to 7 of this thesis, is summarized below. Chapter 3 – From concepts to projects: Stedenbaan, the Netherlands Chapter 3 was earlier published as a co-authored chapter in the book Transit Oriented Development: Making it Happen (Balz and Schrijnen, 2009). The chapter presents an initial review of a regional-design practice that was conducted between 2005 and 2007 by South Wing Studio (Atelier Zuidvleugel). This was a publicly funded policy institute concerned with regional spatial planning and design in the Southern part of the Dutch Randstad region. In the chapter, it is argued that the practice has contributed to establishing the Stedenbaan project, a regional transitoriented development strategy, on the political agenda of governance arrangements in the region. It was decisive to involve plan actors in building the argument for the strategy. This observation has led to the initial proposition of this dissertation: that regional design is an argumentative practice that performs in planning decisionmaking. Chapter 4 - Regional design in the context of fragmented territorial governance: South Wing Studio Chapter 4, earlier published as a co-authored journal article in European Planning Studies (Balz and Zonneveld, 2015), presents results of an in-depth single casestudy analysis that answers the questions: what are key performances of regional design in the realm of spatial planning?, and how can these key performances be analysed? The chapter first establishes a theoretically grounded analytical framework that positions regional design in the context of spatial concepts. Spatial concepts are perceptions of geographies that actors pursue during planning decision-making. It is argued that regional design assists in the building of arguments for spatial planning interventions through structuring the reservoirs of analytical knowledge and normative values that these concepts incorporate. As in the initial review of regional design, the South Wing Studio’s contribution to the formation of the Stedenbaan strategy is under investigation. The empirical analysis identifies performances in the form of shifts in policy argumentation from analytical verification to the normative validation of the strategy. The research also highlighted a pragmatic use of design. Analysis showed that design argumentation involved a strong consideration of capacities of actors for planning in territories. Insights led to an adaptation of the original analytical framework: spatial concepts became perceived to have not only an analytical and normative dimension, but also an organisational one. Chapter 5 - Transformations of planning rationalities: Changing spaces for governance in recent Dutch planning The second multiple case-studies analysis in this dissertation sought to answer the following questions: what aspects of spatial planning frameworks influence the performances of regional design?, and how can these aspects of spatial planning frameworks be analysed? Chapter 5 of this thesis, first published as a co-authored journal article in Planning Theory & Practice (Balz and Zonneveld, 2018), presents one part of this analysis. Building upon the earlier established notions on dimensions of spatial concepts as a context of regional design, as well as additional theoretical notions on in particular argumentative planning, it is first argued that the ambiguity of spatial concepts shapes room for interpretation in spatial-planning decisionmaking and thus influences territorial governance. In the main empirical section of the chapter, spatial concepts that have been used in Dutch national plans between the 1980s and the 2010s are assessed on their degree of ambiguity. Analysis led to a detailed and critical reading of the transformations of spatial rationales that were used to justify Dutch national spatial planning over time. On a theoretical level, the chapter proposes a methodological approach to investigate such changes. It contributes to the discussion on how governance responses to the use of geographies in planning decision-making can be explained. Chapter 6 - Regional design: Discretionary approaches to regional planning in the Netherlands Chapter 6, earlier published as a sole-authored journal article in Planning Theory (Balz, 2018), presents the overall outcomes of the multiple case-studies analysis and addresses the central proposition of this dissertation: that regional design is a form of discretionary action and is meant to qualify spatial planning guidance by means of reflecting upon its implications for particular regions. Building upon the earlier established analytical framework and additional notions from design theory, it is first argued that, depending on the ambiguity of premediated spatial concepts, regional design proposals have fundamentally different interrelations with these concepts. They either are a refinement of analytical knowledge, normative values, and territorial instructions that concepts incorporate, or a challenge to these reservoirs of meaning. Performances of regional design differ consequently. Regional design either evolves as a pragmatic approach where actors commonly operationalise an agreed-upon planning framework by applying it to a particular spatial situation or forms an advocacy where actors disagree on a premediated framework and use design proposals to call for its revision. These findings are supported by an analysis of interrelations between four regional-design practices and the earlier mentioned analysed spatial concepts. In the discussion section, the relevance of insights for Dutch national planning is reviewed. Theoretically relevant results concern the use of regional design in the realm of spatial planning. It is concluded that regional design mediates between a collaborative and strategic rationale of spatial planning through its engagement with both, general and specific perceptions of regions and areas. Chapter 7 - The institutionalisation of a creative practice: Changing positions and roles of regional design in Dutch national planning Chapter 7 was earlier accepted for publication as a co-authored chapter in the forthcoming book Shaping Regional Futures: Designing and Visioning in Governance Rescaling (Balz and Zonneveld, 2019). It investigates the organisational implications of perceiving regional design as a form of discretion. In discretion, there is a distinction between discretionary action, which criticises existing rules, and discretionary control, which determines if criticism should lead to a revision of rules. A distance between actors with roles in these functions is required to enhance legitimacy and accountability. In the empirical section of the chapter, the distinction is used for an analysis of a broad range of regional design practices that were used in Dutch national spatial planning during the period between the 1980s and 2010s. The analysis elaborates who initiated practices, who conducted design, and who judged the quality and relevance of design outcomes for planning decisions. In addition, the analysis identifies patterns in the institutionalisation of regional design by the repetition of practices, adoption in formal policies and enshrinement in dedicated organisations. The chapter demonstrates how institutionalisation has facilitated a shift from using regional design as a form of advocacy, oriented at nurturing a critical public audience of planning, to one of pragmatic use, oriented at the implementation of projects of national importance. The conclusions emphasize a need for discernible roles in regional design practice when it is used in discretion. Conclusion Chapter 7 was earlier accepted for publication as a co-authored chapter in the forthcoming book Shaping Regional Futures: Designing and Visioning in Governance Rescaling (Balz and Zonneveld, 2019). It investigates the organisational implications of perceiving regional design as a form of discretion. In discretion, there is a distinction between discretionary action, which criticises existing rules, and discretionary control, which determines if criticism should lead to a revision of rules. A distance between actors with roles in these functions is required to enhance legitimacy and accountability. In the empirical section of the chapter, the distinction is used for an analysis of a broad range of regional design practices that were used in Dutch national spatial planning during the period between the 1980s and 2010s. The analysis elaborates who initiated practices, who conducted design, and who judged the quality and relevance of design outcomes for planning decisions. In addition, the analysis identifies patterns in the institutionalisation of regional design by the repetition of practices, adoption in formal policies and enshrinement in dedicated organisations. The chapter demonstrates how institutionalisation has facilitated a shift from using regional design as a form of advocacy, oriented at nurturing a critical public audience of planning, to one of pragmatic use, oriented at the implementation of projects of national importance. The conclusions emphasize a need for discernible roles in regional design practice when it is used in discretion. This dissertation has evolved as an exploratory case-study research. Its first and most important outcome is in the above listed notions: on (1) key performances that regional design has in the realm of spatial planning and on (2) aspects of spatial planning frameworks that influence these performances. Through building an analytical framework that assesses these propositions, it contributes to an enhanced understanding of interrelations between regional design and spatial planning. A second outcome of the thesis is the results of the empirical analysis which is centred on the use of regional design in the realm of Dutch national spatial planning between the 1980s and 2010s. It is argued that the institutionalisation of practices has favoured a rather one-sided, pragmatic use of regional design. As a result, distances between actors with roles in discretionary action and control became undiscernible. The criticism that the thesis poses is meant to inform reflection on the involvement of regional design in Dutch national planning. It calls for a more comprehensive, accountable and legitimate future use. There are limitations to critical positions. The empirical analysis took account of a selection of regional design practices only, notably ones with a principle concern about urbanisation. The analysis also does not fully consider the Dutch national government’s additional and less pragmatic efforts to stimulate good regional design practice, e.g. through providing funding for academic research and publications that critically discuss the use of regional design. A third outcome of this dissertation is the recommended directions for future research. The thesis argues that regional design equals discretion and thus attempts to mediate between generally accepted and applicable spatial planning principles and spatial rationales linked to problems in particular local situations. An enhanced understanding of such attempts first requires a more sophisticated assessment of how perceptions of geographies transform as they are used – how ambiguous spatial concepts turn into detailed designs and vice versa. The ambiguity or softness of spatial planning frameworks is a prominent issue in scholarly discussion on how spatial planning evolves in a context of decentralisation and deregulation. However, there are no benchmark methodologies to detect such ambiguity or softness. The thesis developed an analytical approach to deduce the ambiguity of geographic perceptions from the amount and relative degree of detail of notions in their analytical, normative and organisational dimensions. It requires further validation. Scholars in discretion have highlighted the importance of professional organizations in controlling rule-building. On the grounds of these notions, this thesis argues that the role of regional design professionals in spatial-planning decision-making requires deeper understanding. In particular the values and norms that professionals pursue need more attention. Due to a tradition of using design-led approaches in the realm of planning, regional design is a frequently used practice in the Netherlands. However, similar approaches occur in other (European) countries, albeit in a less prominent and visible way. As planning systems and cultures differ in countries, a comparative perspective on these may lead to a deeper understanding of not just the practices themselves, but also of ways how spatial development finds attention in spatial planning elsewhere. An implicit proposition developed is that flexibility, in the form of ambiguous geographies, relates to the creativity of planning and its ability to find novel and innovative solutions to problems on the ground. This proposition calls for a broader integration of theoretical knowledge about planning and design.           &nbsp

Regional design in the context of fragmented territorial governance

In the Netherlands, the formation of governance arrangements around planning issues that cross administrative boundaries has been assisted frequently by a design approach that is often referred to as “regional design”. This is a distinctive method of policy argumentation that makes use of spatial representations of the plausible future of regions. Such representations are intended not only to indicate physical changes, but also to stimulate debate on sharing responsibilities and resources for planning tasks among planning actors. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the performance of regional design in the context of fragmented regional governance through a case study in the southern part of the Randstad in the Netherlands. We argue that regional design has contributed to institutional capacity in a complex polycentric and, looking at the governance structure, pluricentric region like the Randstad South Wing, largely by allowing for multiple interpretations

From concept to projects

As cities tend to spread and coalesce into lower density urban regions, public transport systems are evolving from mono-centric hierarchical structures into multinodal horizontal networks. This evolution of metropolitan regions with a multitude of relations and dependencies require not only new forms of transport but also new methods of spatial planning. The biggest danger to an emerging metropolitan area is that of fragmented development and consequently missed opportunities. The project Stedenbaan strives to establish a planning context within which cities are not competitors but partners that work on diverse and complementary developments

Transformations of planning rationales

Dutch national planning has acquired an international reputation because it provides strong planning guidance while simultaneously being responsive to the particular spatial and political circumstances of different regions and areas. Spatial concepts, like the Randstad, are important vehicles for sustaining this approach. Such concepts incorporate select spatial planning rationales that justify operational decisions. Concepts can, however, also be ambiguous, and this can allow for different interpretations and deliberations about how guidance should take effect in different situations. In this paper we assess the degree of ambiguity contained in concepts outlined in Dutch national plans between 1988 and 2012. By focusing on the dimensions of spatial concepts, and the room for interpretation these create, we demonstrate how concepts were modified to accommodate a shifting appreciation of deliberation and, as a result, collaboration and governance. On a theoretical level, we propose a method that analyses in detail the ambiguity (“fuzzyness” or “softness”) of spatial concepts. We argue that such sophisticated understandings contribute to explaining the variety of governance responses that these geographies produce in practice. On an empirical level we seek to increase understanding of change in recent Dutch national planning