Strategic spatial planning through pragmatic blueprints:Forms and levels of adaptivity in modernist planning of the Dutch IJsselmeerpolders

Strategic spatial planning is a governance practice pursuing coordinated improvement of mobility, housing, food production and other functions with a spatial impact. The institutions in this practice marry long-term thinking in the light of societal challenges with strategic action. These activities are intertwined, visionary and pragmatic at the same time. The currently prevalent association within strategic planning of long-term polical determination with rigid, top-down blueprints has prompted reduced national and regional planning efforts in the Netherlands and other European countries. Adaptivity and resilience within planning processes are promoted as novel and more suitable ways of steering spatial conditions within societies today. Adaptive is defined as 'being open for reconsideration'. Choices that were considered good yesterday, may need to be reconsidered tomorrow. The notion of adaptivity in planning, and the desirability of it, needs more nuance. Because, (1) Do changing long-term perspectives imply a need for adaptivity in the strategies used? (2) To which precise aspects of deliberate strategies can adaptivity apply? (3) Does the pursuit of adaptivity require a new planning approach, as is often claimed? We applied these questions within a critical case study: the creation of the Dutch IJsselmeerpolders, prototypes of rigid rather than adaptive planning, a strategy pursued for over 50 years. Despite radically shifting long-term perspectives, the governance practice of plan-making appears to have been capable of serving evolving purposes. Within this masterplanned mega-project we identify five forms of adaptivity associated with different geographical and time scales. We conclude that an enduring strategic governance effort can support shifting long-term perspectives when it is applied pragmatically with regard to selected topics. Rigidity and adaptivity are equally indispensable and inevitable for strategic action

What collaborative planning practices lack and the design cycle can offer:Back to the drawing table

This article critically discusses the premises underpinning the collaborative ideal, which has become central to Western spatial planning practices. With their emphasis on a structure which focuses on the problem, actors, deliberation, agreement and acceptability, collaborative processes produce conservative choices. However, this approach might not effectively address the big challenges confronting our metropolitan areas and regions today. Instead, the essence of choosing how to respond in the face of long-term challenges is a thorough analysis of the situation (beyond just the actors’ wishes), generation of a wide array of possible actions (more creative than mere compromises), and arriving at decisions which demonstrate vision and leadership. This resembles the design cycle, which we claim enriches the collaborative model. We propose principles for a more creative governance which suggest emphasizing the exploitation of an area’s full potential instead of solving its specific problems

The Dangers of Transplanting Planning Instruments

After the collapse of socialism and the consequent land privatisation process, Central Europe was left with an unfavourable agricultural production structure. In this light, the exchange of Western European knowledge on land consolidation seemed logical and effective. Looking back, a match that seemed at the time to be straightforward now appears much more complex. This paper aims to provide insight into the complexity of transplanting planning instruments by analysing both the inherent problems of this approach and the alternative solutions. In this type of situation, the need to start from a transparent terminological base is vital to cross-national exchange, and, as such, the strategic issue of a given problem and alternative solutions to it should be dealt with before attempting to address the operational details of any given solution

The Dangers of Transplanting Planning Instruments

After the collapse of socialism and the consequent land privatisation process, Central Europe was left with an unfavourable agricultural production structure. In this light, the exchange of Western European knowledge on land consolidation seemed logical and effective. Looking back, a match that seemed at the time to be straightforward now appears much more complex. This paper aims to provide insight into the complexity of transplanting planning instruments by analysing both the inherent problems of this approach and the alternative solutions. In this type of situation, the need to start from a transparent terminological base is vital to cross-national exchange, and, as such, the strategic issue of a given problem and alternative solutions to it should be dealt with before attempting to address the operational details of any given solution

Green place rather than green space as a health determinant:A 20-year scoping review

Numerous scientific studies, applying different approaches, have provided evidence of the links between the environment and people's health. Green spaces have been the subject of research aimed at exploring their benefits as components of the urban environment. We investigated possible causal relationships between green spaces and health, with the aim of addressing the following question. Does the mere material presence of green spaces contribute to the health of people who live in its vicinity, or are the health-promoting qualities of green spaces attributed to the ability of people to actually see, access, and enjoy them? The latter view highlights the relational dimension of places, and it entails personal relationships with places which are imbued with psychological meaning and significance for those who visit and experience them. We reviewed relevant literature, comprising a total of 189 papers on thi

Boundary spanning in design-led strategic spatial planning:lessons from post-Sandy rebuilding efforts

In complex area transformations, strategic planning tends to include a collaborative approach that invites a wide range of stakeholders. But because the perspectives and interests are diverse, partly conflicting, and dynamic, a unifying plan of action will not emerge without good process design and proper facilitation for dialogue. Designers are increasingly considered as helpful for pursuing a shared vision of a complex challenge, as they are expected to unify across organizational and cultural boundaries. We interviewed 11 professionals who worked on the Rebuild by Design programme (restoring hurricane Sandy damage in and around New York) for more than five years. The interviews reveal how these designers supported reaching across boundaries as well as the conditions that are vital for designers to achieve their intended added value in a collaborative strategic planning process.</p