While for a long time the Dutch followed their own path in land and property development, they have now broadened their scope to alternative approaches. One might argue that they are forced to do so by changing market conditions on the one hand, and a different, neoliberal political attitude towards the role of the public sector in planning and property development on the other hand. At once, ‘shopping’ for effective development strategies in neighbouring countries seems to have become attractive, as numerous European comparative studies by Dutch authors in recent years indicate. So, by analysing the Dutch case, we will pay attention to alternative real estate development strategies used in other parts of Europe; particularly those that seem attractive to the Dutch as an alternative to their public land development model.
The structure of this chapter is as follows. The next section provides some general insights in the process of land and property development and the strategies and tools for both public and private parties to make use of in that process. After that, we pay attention to the current situation in the Netherlands: the advantages of and problems with the public land development model and the search for alternative development strategies that, preferably, should serve as ‘income models’ as well. The following section pays attention to the spatial patterns of Dutch cities that are the result of these strategies. Then we present three alternative private sector-led development strategies: a strategy that ‘invites’ incremental, piecemeal development (as part of a larger vision on the transformation of urban areas), a strategy based on a concession by the local authorities to a private developer, and an urban land readjustment strategy facilitating private-private cooperation. Finally, the last section discusses outcomes and critiques of real estate development in the Netherlands.
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Chapter 4 Netherlands by Van der Krabben and Heurkens can be found here:
Van der Krabben, E. & Heurkens, E. (2014). Netherlands: a search for alternative public-private development strategies from neighbouring countries. In G. Squires & E. Heurkens (eds.), International Approaches to Real Estate Development (pp. 66-81). London: Routledge.