De grondexploitatie: Een kleine geschiedenis van een belangrijk begrip

De grondexploitatie is een begrip in ruimtelijk Nederland. Zelfs zodanig dat velen ook al weten wat je bedoelt als je het acroniem ‘grex’ gebruikt. Het is de begroting voor het proces van bouw- en woonrijp maken, waarvan het financiële resultaat voor een belangrijk deel bepaalt of een gebiedsontwikkeling haalbaar is. Die grondexploitatie wordt in de regel gevolgd door een vastgoedontwikkelingsexploitatie en eventueel een vastgoedexploitatie (Vlek et al., 2011). Het begrip grondexploitatie is betrekkelijk Nederlands. In andere landen maken ze uiteraard ook financiële inschattingen, maar die zijn vaak anders van aard. In Engeland kennen ze bijvoorbeeld een meer geïntegreerde grond- en vastgoedontwikkelingsexploitatie (Morley, 2002). Het Nederlandse begrip laat zich dan ook wat onhandig vertalen in iets als ‘land servicing account’ (Needham, 2007). Het is dus een (contextspecifieke) ‘institutie’. Instituties kunnen soms aan transities in de weg staan. Zo staat ‘exploiteren’ van grond op gespannen voet met beleidsdoelen als ‘water en bodem sturend’ (Pelzer, Haasnoot & Buitelaar, 2023). De grondexploitatie lijkt als institutie sterk verankerd. Om de huidige ruimtelijke uitdagingen het hoofd te kunnen bieden, is het daarom nuttig om de grondexploitatie in historisch perspectief te plaatsen. De centrale vraag van dit artikel is dan ook: waar komt deze institutie vandaan en hoe is deze in de loop van de tijd veranderd (of constant gebleven)

Experimenting in urban self-organization. Framework-rules and emerging orders in Oosterwold (Almere, The Netherlands)

Thee intent of this article is to explore the scope and working of “framework-rules” in relation to self-organization in urban development, both theoretically and empirically. It explores the strategies promoted in Oosterwold (Almere, e Netherland), and the framework-rules that discipline its emergent development, without wanting to suggest that Oosterwold is a “best practice”. It is an extreme case that helps us to broaden our thinking about governing urban development

Effect of density on house prices in the Randstad region

Increasing degree of urbanization has led to a greater pressure of densification in cities across the world. This underlines the pressing need for socially, economically and environmentally efficient spatial planning. It is believed that compact urban living would provide a desirable outcome in this direction. However, the lack of empirical evidence prevents a thorough investigation of the costs and benefits associated with compact urban living. This study contributes to the debate by measuring the impact of localized urban density and characteristics of urban form on house prices in the four largest cities of the Randstad region, namely, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Our results suggest a negative valuation for density, as measured by the floor space index, in Amsterdam and Rotterdam as opposed to a positive valuation in The Hague and especially Utrecht. To the contrary, the valuation for building height and open space appears to follows a reverse trend, and a preference for greater building height generally aligns with a preference for more open space in the neighborhood. Additionally, our results also indicate a preference for mixed land use in the neighborhood. Amongst the case study areas in this study, Amsterdam represents a high-rise and high density urban form while Utrecht represents a relatively low-rise and low density urban form. We believe that it is this difference in the urban character of cities coupled with heterogeneity in household preferences that leads to the contrasting price effects of density between them. Our results also hint at a sorting phenomenon based on differential preferences for urban design characteristics

What drives developers?: Understanding vertical (dis)integration strategies in the land development process

Real estate developers play a crucial role in the production of our cities. Yet, the knowledge about how they operate is limited. They are often portrayed as a homogeneous group, while in practice we see a large variety of different types of developers and of their strategies. Particularly striking are the differences in the extent to which real estate developers cover the land development process. Some limit themselves to development, while others incorporate strategic land acquisition, construction, and/or long-term investment. With the help of theories from organisational economics, we explore different vertical integration strategies and the motives behind them. We apply these insights to cases from the Dutch homebuilding industry. Our analysis leads to a conceptualisation and categorisation of real estate developers according to their vertical integration strategy and we identify different motives behind those strategies. We find that vertical (dis)integration strategies are informed by strategic considerations, such as land assembly in order to secure future workload in construction, by price advantages, and by transaction-cost considerations that are related to the highly specific nature of some activities in the land development process