TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE SUBURB LESSONS FROM THE NETHERLANDS

by

ANNIE FORBES LUX

A Masters Project submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Regional Planning in the Department of City and Regional Planning.

Chapel Hill

2007

Approved by:

______READER (optional) ADVISOR

Towards a Sustainable Suburb Lessons from the Netherlands

By

Annie Forbes Lux

A Masters Project submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Regional Planning in the Department of City and Regional Planning.

Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... 1 TABLE OF FIGURES ...... 3 INTRODUCTION ...... 4 HOUSING POLICY IN THE EU ...... 5 SUSTAINABILITY IN THE EU ...... 7 SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NETHERLANDS ...... 9 Policy Incentives ...... 10 Economic Incentives ...... 10 Taxes and Laws ...... 11 Guidance ...... 11 THE DUTCH HOUSING ENVIRONMENT ...... 12 DEVELOPMENT HISTORY : 1851-1990 ...... 13 DUTCH MARKET RESEARCH ...... 19 VINEX ...... 21 HISTORY ...... 21 REVISION ...... 22 VINEX TYPOLOGY ...... 22 IMPLEMENTATION ...... 24 CRITICISM ...... 25 CASE STUDIES ...... 26 LEIDSCHE RIJN ...... 26 Location ...... 26 Site Design ...... 26 Transportation ...... 27 Neighborhoods ...... 28 Differentiators – Sustainability ...... 30 The Site Today ...... 31 NESSELANDE ...... 33 Location ...... 33 Transportation ...... 33 Neighborhoods ...... 34 Parks ...... 36 The Site Today ...... 37 Lessons ...... 37 YPENBURG ...... 38 Location ...... 38 Transportation ...... 38 Site Design ...... 38 Neighborhoods ...... 39 The Site Today ...... 40

1 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

LOOKING BACK: DID VINEX WORK? ...... 41 COMPROMISES ...... 41 MARKET CONDITIONS ...... 42 WHY THE SHORTAGE ?...... 42 The economic environment ...... 42 Regulations ...... 43 Costs ...... 43 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE ...... 44 WHAT CAN THE US EMULATE? ...... 46

2 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1 - ENERGY CERTIFICATE (EU) 9 FIGURE 2 - AREA BELOW SEA LEVEL (NETHERLANDS MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS) 9 FIGURE 3 – NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING (RUIMTEXMILEAU.NL) 12 FIGURE 4 – RANDSTAD AND THE GREEN HEART (WWW.GROENE-HART.NL) 13 FIGURE 5 - AMSTERDAM PLAN 1930'S (NAI) 14 FIGURE 6 – ROTTERDAM CENTRUM (ROTTERDAM IN DE TWEEDED WERELDOORLOG) 15 FIGURE 7 – CONCENTRATED DECONCENTRATION (FALUDI) 16 FIGURE 8 – SKETCH OF COMPACT DEVELOPMENT (3 RD NOTA) 17 FIGURE 9 – VINEX LOCATIONS, BY UNITS (RUIMTELIJK PLANBUREAU) 21 FIGURE 10 – SKETCH OF A, B, C LOCATIONS (4 TH NOTA) 23 FIGURE 11 – GROUND FLOOR OF TYPICAL DWELLING 23 FIGURE 12 – SITE PLAN (CONSTRUCTION BROCHURE) 26 FIGURE 13 – BRIDGE OVER A2 (MAXWAN) 27 FIGURE 14 - PLAN ELEMENTS (MAXWAN) 27 FIGURE 15 - PARKWIJK (NEIGHBORHOOD WEBSITE) 28 FIGURE 16 - VELDHUIZEN (NEIGHBORHOOD WEBSITE) 29 FIGURE 17 – NEW CENTRUM (MAXWAN) 30 FIGURE 18 - WADI (NEIGHBORHOOD WEBSITE) 30 FIGURE 19 - LEIDSCHE RIJN DIG (FECTIO) 31 FIGURE 20 - DEMONSTRATION HOUSE (ABA-I) 31 FIGURE 21 - TEMPORARY GROCERY 32 FIGURE 22 - SITE 33 FIGURE 23 - ROTTERDAM METRO MAP 33 FIGURE 24 - BIKE CONNECTIONS (HTTP://WWW.NESSELANDE.ROTTERDAM.NL) 34 FIGURE 25 - SITE SKETCH (HTTP://WWW.NESSELANDE.ROTTERDAM.NL/) 34 FIGURE 26 - HOF VAN NESSELANDE RENDERING (HTTP://WWW.NESSELANDE.ROTTERDAM.NL/) 35 FIGURE 27 - NESSELGARDE RENDERING (HTTP://WWW.NESSELANDE.ROTTERDAM.NL/) 35 FIGURE 28 - AMPHIBIOUS HOUSES (HTTP://WWW.NESSELANDE.ROTTERDAM.NL) 36 FIGURE 29 - SITE DRAWING (HTTP://WWW.NESSELANDE.ROTTERDAM.NL) 36 FIGURE 30 - RIETVELD PARK DRAWING (HTTP://WWW.NESSELANDE.ROTTERDAM.NL) 36 FIGURE 31 - SITE PLAN (HTTP://WWW.YPENBURG.NL) 38 FIGURE 32 - SUBDIVISION 10 (LEGOLAND?) (NAI) 40 FIGURE 33 - YPENBURG STREETSCAPE 40 FIGURE 34 - YPENBURG ART LIGHTING 41 FIGURE 35 - HOUSING MARKET (STAGNATION IN DUTCH HOUSING PRODUCTION) 44

3 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Introduction miles (about the size of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island 1 ), the Although America is concerned Dutch are terrified of running out of space. about sprawl, most regions are not in The population density of the Netherlands danger of running out of land. As long as is greater than that of New Jersey, but there is land that developers can build on, unlike New Jersey, which acts as a and as long as people will buy homes in bedroom community for New York and new neighborhoods, development Philadelphia, the Netherlands contain all patterns in the United States are not likely commercial, industrial, and residential to change. What would happen if we had uses. Thus, Dutch planners realize that a land shortage (or if we decided to strong land use policy is imperative to preserve the open space we have)? How ensuring that Netherlands remain an would we house growing families and attractive place to live and do business. immigrants? Europeans are used to Approximately every ten years, the dealing with limited land. Culturally, Rumtelijk Plan Bureau (national planning they accept compact cities from the days authority) issues a report on physical of city walls. Today, the Swiss still live in planning that guides national, regional, compact cities and villages while striving and local planning policy. In 1991, the to preserve farmland for their beloved Vierde Nota Extra (the “fifth note extra”, cows. The Dutch created much of the better known as VINEX) identified that open space they have by reclaiming 835,000 housing units must be constructed swampland through engineering. They between 1995 and 2005 to accommodate face a legitimate shortage of developable growth and shifting demographics. land. VINEX set forth an explicit building

With a population of over sixteen program to ensure that the Netherlands million living on thirteen thousand square could absorb a rate of construction equal

4 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

to some regions of the United States, but Housing policy in the EU on much less available land. Learning Countries within the European from VINEX’s housing program can help Union regularly look to each other to the United States better house its benchmark their policies and to create occupants sustainably on less land to new strategies. Therefore, it is instructive contain sprawl and preserve more open to understand policies relating to housing space for the future. from around the EU before discussing

To identify successful housing Netherlands-specific policies. The New strategies, this paper will first explain the Amsterdam Development Corporation general European and Dutch housing benchmarked itself by completing a study markets and policy environments. Second, of housing planning in eighteen European it will detail the history of Dutch planning cities. Table 1 shows the cities studied. and development. Third, it will delve Table 1 specifically into the VINEX policy. Finally, Amsterdam Oslo Birmingham Lyon Berlin Stockholm Vienna Nantes it will present three case studies to Frankfurt Barcelona Bologna Paris Helsinki Seville Florence Strasbourg examine the successes and shortcomings Copenhagen Porto of VINEX and identify design and policy All cities have qualitative goals for lessons that can be applied to future providing housing. Some of these goals construction and policies in the United include building new types of homes to

States. Throughout, this paper will meet diverse needs, keeping cities for all highlight specific strategies for promoting people – particularly middle class families sustainability in neighborhood with children, preventing suburban construction as addressing climate change migration, handling population growth, is becoming a global imperative. creating social cohesion and sustainable

communities, meeting aspirations for

5 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

homeownership, providing affordable municipal power to designate privately housing for low-income residents and owned land for housing development. In workers, fighting real estate inflation, Bologna, Italy, the municipality follows a compensating for decreasing number of policy called “Perequation,” or balancing occupants per dwelling, and dealing with out and cross-suburbanization. Bologna’s aging housing stock. PSC, or strategic plan, categorizes the

urban area by places with common Further, some cities set quantitative characteristics and gives each of these goals for housing production. For places the same development rights as its example, Amsterdam planned construc- peers. Property owners then get financial tion of 16,000 dwellings between 2002 and compensation and the municipality 2006, and 20,000 more between 2006 and imposes land use regulations to control 2010. Copenhagen devised the “5X5 growth and development. Perequation is Plan,” which sought to provide 5,000 a cousin of zoning, but adds transfer of dwellings with monthly rent less than development rights to separate 5,000 kroner. Stockholm planned 5,000 development right from land ownership. dwellings per year for four years. Other cities generally planned 3,000 to 6,000 In France, the government dwellings per year. delineates areas for development by using

a tool called the ZAC Instrument (Zone To meet these qualitative and d’Amenagement Concerte). The French quantitative goals, cities have various created the ZAC policy in 1967 and programs to incentivize development. modified it in 2000. The government must Amsterdam, Helsinki, and Stockholm use create the ZAC and it must be in an urban a ground lease system to lower land prices. area. Beyond that requirement, the area Most of Amsterdam is built on leasehold can be used for housing, industry, etc, as land, owned by the city. 2 Other cities use

6 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

long as it is developed. Municipalities market price at the investment value of launch the ZAC by using a “droit de the planned development minus preemption” (right of first purchase on a construction costs and expenses. property in a zone when it is Developers can renegotiate the land price available…can be lower than market throughout the approvals process. value), or “droit d’expropriation” (when Conversely, the city can ask the developer seizing property is necessary in the public for more money if the number of dwelling interest). These two programs are units increases. Since land price can analogous to the right of first refusal and change frequently (each time the the Kelo vs. New London version of developer changes project specifics), the eminent domain. After launch, a public or process is inefficient. In 2004, Amsterdam private entity can take control of the ZAC launched the “Big Simplification,” which and the transfer includes impact fees to included the “Building Envelope”, a tool pay for public infrastructure. for clarifying relations between cities and

developers. The Building Envelope ended After municipalities seize land for the municipality’s ability to increase land development, they often encounter issues price as developers increased density. about how to price the land. In The upside of this policy is that it shifts Amsterdam, the Development Corpor- risk to the developer when the ation of the City of Amsterdam sets the development price is set early in the land price at a level related to its eventual process. function. Expected market value for different types of real estate and the Sustainability in the EU building costs for these types determines Beyond stronger policies for land price. The development corporation housing production, EU countries uses a residual value approach to set emphasize sustainability more than the

7 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

United States does because of culture and completion, the municipality issues a participation in the Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto compulsory energy certificate and the requires that industrialized countries municipality reissues the certificate each reduce their CO 2 emissions by 5.2 percent time the building is sold or rented. A on 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. The certified building must be younger than country-specific reduction is based on ten years and an independent, qualified baseline levels. Therefore, the expert must appraise the building. The

Netherlands must reduce their output by certificate details the building’s current six percent (by comparison, Germany is efficiency level and includes recom- twenty-one percent and Finland is zero mendations on cost-effective ways to percent). Construction is an easy target improve energy performance. Owners of for CO 2 reduction because studies public buildings must display the

estimate that buildings use forty percent certificates prominently (similar to an

of the European Union's energy and thirty elevator permit in the United States). a

percent of its CO 2. 3 Further, the Most countries are aiming for full

construction sector produces forty percent implementation of the EPBD by 2007.

of all waste. Figure 1 shows an example of an energy

certificate. One policy aimed at meeting

sustainability goals, the EU Energy

Performance for Buildings Directive

(EPBD), tries to harmonize energy

calculation methods based on overall

energy performance and sets minimum

energy requirements for new construction

and major refurbishments. At a building's a Document and more information available at http://www.diag.org.uk/documents.jsp

8 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Figure 1 - Energy Certificate (EU) building regulations include stringent

environmental performance measures.

Figure 2 shows how much of the country

lies below sea level.

Figure 2 - Area below sea level (Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Sustainability in the Netherlands The Netherlands emphasize sustainability in most decisions for many reasons. First, like other countries in the

European Union, they are committed to Policies explicitly addressing meeting the Kyoto Protocol. Second, the sustainability started with the National

Dutch are keenly aware that about half of Environmental Policy Plan Extra by their country’s land lies below sea level, MVROM in 1990. In 1995, MVROM therefore placing the country at higher produced the Action Plan for Sustainable risk to global warming. 4 For these reasons, Building, Investing in the Future – this plan

9 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

was updated into the Second Action Plan The EPL is a voluntary policy instrument in 1997. The Second Action Plan that expresses how well a development categorized environmental objectives into meets sustainability goals by quantifying four categories: harmonization, energy use for transportation, irrigation, implementation, consolidation, and and other land use factors. The goal of the preparation. In 1999, the government set a EPL is to incentivize combined heat and target of reducing CO 2 from existing power by means of biomass, wind energy, housing stock by three percent by 2010 and other renewable sources. Total CO 2 from the current trend. 5 emissions drive the EPL’s output. Finally,

regulations control materials use and Policy Incentives promote focus on the lifecycle analysis of One policy instrument is the buildings. In 1998, sixty-one percent of all Energy Performance Coefficient (EPC) building permits used some sustainable that relates energy use against expected measures. performance. b A coefficient of 1 means that the building performs as well as Economic Incentives expected. Buildings were originally Economic incentives back up these

required to score a 1.4, and later held to a policy directives. Through the Green

1.0. It is expected that the requirement Investment Initiative, units that integrate

will soon drop again to 0.8. A second green measures qualify for lower interest

instrument, the Energy Performance per rate loans (one to two points lower).

Location (EPL) measures location-based Because of the attractiveness of these loans,

CO 2 reduction and energy conservation. banks actively seek green projects. b Another economic incentive program is EPC = Q pres;tot /(330 x A g;verwz + 65 x A verlies ); Q pres;tot = the characteristic energy use of the building in MJ; Ag;verwz = the floor area (all floor area of heated zones in the Energy Premium Scheme, that the dwelling/building); Averlies = the loss surface (surface of construction elements toward outside air or the distributes government money via utility ground)

10 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

companies and refunds tax money when per ton of CO 2 reduced because energy saving measures are integrated administration costs were high. into a building. This scheme applies for Since the EPR did not work, the both existing and new construction. Building Materials Degree in 1997 went Finally, “Green Certificates” were farther and banned dumping recyclable introduced in 1998 to fuel demand for construction waste. This policy ensures renewable energy. The Netherlands have that eighty percent of materials are reused a regulating energy tax (REB) that in other construction work. Comple- households who buy green energy are mentary to this, a landfill tax reduced exempt from. Through green certificates, waste going to landfills from 49.7 percent 775,000 households bought green energy in the mid 1980’s to 4.6 percent today. by the end of 2001 (this is thirteen percent Recycling has increased from 49.5 percent of total households). 6 to 94.3 percent in the same timeframe. 7 Taxes and Laws Guidance In 2000, the Energy Premium Through sustainability initiatives, Regulation included energy performance seventy-five percent of housing advice, a green investment scheme and a associations implement some kind of regulatory energy tax. Unfortunately, sustainability measures on a regular basis. many of the measures in the energy The National Package for Housing, a performance advice were already guidance program, has been available standard practice in the construction since 1996. It has suggestions for industry and the policies attracted free integrating sustainability measures at the riders. Further, the cost to the following phases: initiative, design and government was calculated at 300 Euros development, preparation of production,

application, and use. Sixty-one percent of

11 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

building permits used measures from this Figure 3 – Neighborhood Planning (Ruimtexmileau.nl) package in 1995 and this number

increased to eighty percent by 2000. 8 The

National Package for Management is an extension that links measures to housing repair. Guidance stretches into the rental sector with one-half of housing associations signing agreements with energy providers and one-third of housing associations offering tenants information on sustainability measures. 9

Figure 3 shows the goal of sustainable neighborhood planning. It is The Dutch Housing labeled in Dutch but conveys the basic Environment idea. Now that the culture of living in

Europe and the Netherlands is slightly

more clear, we can delve specifically into

the Netherlands by taking a more long-

term and detailed view.

The Netherlands is a polynuclear

network of cities, and the network feeds

into the Randstad, a cluster of three major

cities in the center of the country. In the

Randstad, Amsterdam is the center of

12 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

business and it contains the headquarters divided the country into small-scale

of many multinational companies; general-purpose municipalities with equal

Rotterdam is one of the two largest ports legal power. The national government

in the world; and The Hague (Den Haag) had to approve changes in municipal and

is the center of government. An extensive regional borders. In 1901, the Housing

rail system and (under-capacity) road Law set aside extensive capital subsidies

system link these major cities. Between for housing. National policies for

these cites lies the “Green Heart” which changing borders laxed and between 1918

was initially invented to maintain the and 1923, cities rushed to annex land in an

polynuclear character of the nation – the attempt to increase local taxes.

Dutch did not want a “big city.” 10 Figure Municipalities soon realized that mass

4 is an overview of the Randstad. annexation was an improper solution and

retightened control. In 1929, the Figure 4 – Randstad and the Green Heart (www.groene-hart.nl) government passed tax reform policies

and centralized fiscal responsibility.

Because of the culture of centralization,

migration from cities to suburbs did not

hurt central cities as much as it did in the

United States. 11

W.M. Dudok was an early 1900's

Development History: 1851-1990 architect, town planner, and the Director To understand the culture of of Public Works in Hilversum. Dudok national power in the Netherlands, it believed that “existing villages had to helps to take a long-term view. The grow like flowers: orderly, rational, and

Municipal Law of 1851 (Gemeentewet) outward from a central point.” His main

13 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

goal was to figure out “how, while On a neighborhood scale, in 1934, incurring as little loss of natural beauty as Van Eesteren’s general extension plan of possible, to satisfy the demand for new Amsterdam called for “Garden living space.” 12 Dudok, who believed in a Neighborhoods.” systematic and economical continuation of Figure 5 - Amsterdam Plan 1930's (NAi) the building process, is the father of modern housing planning – today, the

Dutch and planners around the world still look to his legacy for ideas on conserving limited space.

In the early 1920’s, Gerritt Rietveld and others became part of the Nieuwe

Bouwen (New Building) movement. They sought to conserve space by redesigning homes to make dual use of various rooms.

Architects such as H Leppla studied the However, this era of garden lifecycle of households and requirements neighborhoods was short lived, and the of families to design houses whose uses Germans invaded on May 10, 1940. Early changed over time. In the 1930’s, German blitzkrieg attacks during World

Rietveld’s influence could be seen in War II left most of Rotterdam leveled (the housing constructed as standard queen surrendered to save other cities). dwellings. In the Netherlands, housing During the remainder of the WWII authorities standardized dwellings were German occupation, more housing was heavily replicated. bombed out than constructed. Figure 6

14 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

shows the urban fabric of Rotterdam after larger than Cabrini Green in Chicago. the war. And, like many slab housing

developments in the United States now Figure 6 – Rotterdam Centrum (Rotterdam in de Tweeded Wereldoorlog) filled with lower class occupants,

Surinamese immigrants have replaced the

native Dutch who originally lived in these

developments. c

In 1960, Nota Inzake de Ruimtelike

Ordering (Policy Document on Spatial

Planning) was the first national-level

policy document. It assumed a high rate

After World War II, the rebuilding of growth in the Randstad and assumed process included rapid construction of that residents of the rural western part of housing, similar to VA housing in the the country would migrate eastward into

United States. Instead of paying attention the Randstad. The document also to housing quality and placement, foreshadowed increases in consumerism planners' quantitative, units-based and recreation, so it strove to increase approach to reconstruction established commercial activity in urban areas while standardized construction as the norm. keeping the Green Heart open. 13 Standardized construction in the United In 1965, the Rietveldian Open States translated into Levittown-style Building movement rose again with the neighborhoods, but standardized Stichting Architecten Research (SAR) construction in the Netherlands translated into Corbusier-styled slab housing. Dutch c After the Dutch relinquished their colonies, they allowed ex-colonists to freely immigrate to the developments were, on average, each Netherlands. An extraordinary number of Surinamese took advantage of this.

15 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

(Architect Research Foundation) calling density dispersal. 15 16 To maintain open for an industrialization of the building space, the government purchased land process. They wanted to give occupants between cities for agricultural control over the interior of housing. 14 preservation. Figure 7 is a diagram of

this concept. The top diagram depicts From the 1960’s to mid 1980’s, a urbanization, the middle diagram depicts great deal of suburban migration occurred. suburbanization, and the bottom diagram In 1966, planning agencies realized that depicts concentrated deconcentration. building suburban infrastructure was expensive and that migration threatened Figure 7 – Concentrated Deconcentration (Faludi) the Green Heart. As a response, the

Second Report on Physical Planning in the

Netherlands took the first published stand against sprawl by setting forth a policy of

“Concentrated Deconcentration.” This policy sought to guide urbanization and suburbanization in the west as economic incentives slowed in the north and east.

Instead of allowing haphazard suburban- ization, it sought to concentrate new urban growth in designated overspill centers. Further, a dense motorway network was to allow uncongested economic growth. Concentrated Decon- centration’s intent was to compromise In 1970, national planners revised between dense urbanization and low- Concentrated Deconcentration into the

16 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Growth Center Policy and designated Further, the Third Report added rationale specific growth centers close to existing for these policies. For example, it cited cities. To facilitate implementation, the energy constraints in the late 1970’s, to

State paid two-thirds of the average land support a goal of reducing car travel, and cost per dwelling. At this point, demand enabling efficient non-motorized and remained unmet, and in 1975 a new rental public transportation became the rationale and subsidy system incentivized for compact development. The Dutch saw investment in affordable housing by compact development as the way to decreasing the attractiveness for reduce energy use and environmental institutional investment in the premium pollution while decreasing the demand for sector. Unfortunately, instead of (expensive) new roads. Figure 8 is a increasing development of affordable schematic of the new development units, production decreased in all sectors objectives. while demand remained high. Average Figure 8 – Sketch of compact development (3 rd residential prices increased forty percent Nota) between 1976 and 1977. 17

The Third Report on Physical Planning issued in 1977 continued emphasizing centralized decentralization strengthened by increased regulation and control.

Demand for new housing required the government to go as far as to designate Unfortunately, 1977 brought a sharp locations of new towns and to subsidize economic downturn followed by a real land prices and infrastructure costs for the estate crisis in 1978 to 1982. Fast rising 18 redevelopment of existing urban areas. mortgage rates and the economic downfall

17 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

translated into losses for local authorities. plan’s spatial directives focused on

During this period, housing prices attracting business by constructing declined thirty percent, and in that market business parks and by facilitating environment, there was little incentive for transportation and freight linkages at new housing construction. In the early Schiphol Airport south of Amsterdam and

1980’s, the government made budget cuts at the Port of Rotterdam. Later, in 1990, and scrapped government loans for the Second Transport Structure Plan set a housing. target of reducing overall traffic growth

between 1986 and 2010 from seventy The economy rebounded rapidly percent to thirty-five percent. after 1983, and planners introduced a Transportation planners expected that “compact city” policy in response to the concentrating housing and jobs in pre- economic decline in central cities caused specified areas would reduce peak hour by concentrated decentralization. In 1988, volume by five to ten percent. the State produced a map showing where Investment in alternative transportation new development would be. Although would prevent the remainder of the the map’s intent was to guide anticipated vehicle traffic increase. development, designating development areas caused massive real estate In the 1990’s, an important shift speculation of the to-be-developed land. occurred. As the government attempted

to reduce expenditures, they attempted to The Fourth Spatial Planning shift the burden of housing construction Memorandum in 1988 focused heavily on from public housing associations to promoting the Randstad as the private development companies. Netherlands’ concentration of inter- Traditionally, licensed housing national economic activity. To connect the associations owned most housing Randstad to the rest of the world, the

18 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

(approximately seventy-five percent). affected housing prices less in rural areas.

These housing associations operated with The only characteristic that increased a social mission and were committed to prices in both rural and urban areas was reinvesting surpluses in the community. proximity to jobs – jobs affected housing

Today, despite efforts to privatize housing, prices if they were within fifteen to forty- social housing still makes up thirty to fifty five minutes of an urban unit and within percent of all housing, depending on the thirty minutes of a rural unit. In municipality. This is the highest conclusion, the study found that physical percentage of social housing in Europe. 19 attributes account for up to twenty-eight

percent of a house’s price. This study Dutch Market Research matters because it is the Dutch Way to The Netherlands Institute for build the same house with the same Spatial Research studied the Dutch attributes for everyone, but clearly, people consumer’s willingness to pay for certain are willing to pay to get what they want. housing attributes. 20 They found that In addition, if developers can realize a physical attributes mattered more to price premium for building what the residents of rural areas but that social consumer wants, it facilitates the market- characteristics mattered more to residents driven construction market sought after of urban areas. For example, proximity to by planning authorities. woods did not affect urban housing prices, while in rural areas, having woods within This study is one example of a fifty meters of the unit doubled house wealth of information available to help prices. In urban areas, nearby motorways developers make decisions. In 1990, depressed prices while in rural areas, national planners developed a database motorways increased housing prices. called the ‘Woonmilieudatabase’ (WMD)

Minorities had a similar effect – they that contains information on

19 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

neighborhoods and city quarters. The

WMD aggregates data by postal code

(postal codes are on a much finer grain in the Netherlands than they are in the

United States). It includes thousands of variables derived from sources such as chambers of commerce, brokers’ associations, VROM, the Ministry of

Housing, Ministry of Education, Central bureau of statistics, and other national associations. Some examples of variables include housing units, the inhabitant’s income, local businesses, facilities, ground uses, buildings, etc. Planners update the

WMD every four years, and its comprehensiveness makes it a valuable tool for planning housing that the people want. 21

20 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

VINEX Figure 9 – VINEX locations, by units (Ruimtelijk Planbureau)

History The VINEX housing program is an explicit expression of housing goals, national culture, and the regulatory environment. In 1991, The Supplement to the Fourth National Policy Document on

Spatial Planning-Vierde Nota Extra stated that the Netherlands needed 835,000 new homes between 1995 and 2005. The planning authority labeled 455,000 of these units ‘VINEX’ (shorthand for the VINEX launched in 1995 and was housing policy ) 22 and designated sites different from previous housing directives throughout the country as VINEX because it obliged regions to build seventy neighborhoods . Beyond the specific goal percent of dwellings in the market sector. 23 of providing housing, VINEX sought to Therefore, it was up to developers to build increase housing quality, to protect open the designated VINEX sites and rural areas, and to encourage greater speculation skyrocketed as developers public transportation use. Figure 9 shows rushed to secure land. Speculation went a map of the VINEX locations. unchecked because VINEX sites were not

subject to the Municipal Pre-emption Act

like urban renewal sites were. Prices

stayed low under the Municipal

Preemption act because suppliers of real

21 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

estate had to first offer land to the local shifting authority over development to authority. local governments. To decrease munici-

palities’ financial liability, the revision Revision limited site-specific subsidies and stopped Between 1994 and 2000, growth guaranteeing the balance sheet for projects. slowly increased, inflation remained Theoretically, streamlining government stable, and mortgage interest rates fell. involvement would speed up production. Demand for private dwellings and high- quality housing grew and the average VINEX Typology selling price of homes rose ten to fifteen All districts lie within stadsgewesten , percent each year. Supply did not or subregional administrative partner- increase with demand. The economy’s ships. VINEX is closely tied to the “ABC growth slowed in 2001, but the shortage Location Policy”, which aimed to remained. 24 concentrate business activities near

railway stations. "A" locations have large In 2005, planners estimated the numbers of visitors and buildings with housing shortage at 2.5 percent of the many workers. They have high quality housing stock. VINEX was revised in public transport (served by InterCity, 2005 as part of the Vijfde Nota (Fifth regional, and local trains) and limited Planning Document). Satisfying the parking. Fewer than twenty percent of unmet demand required the construction residents near "A" locations use cars. “B” of 420,000 additional units between 2005 locations have reasonable numbers of and 2009. 25 VINEX’s revision focused on workers and visitors, are reasonably the goal “centralized if necessary, accessible by public transport (served by decentralized if possible” 26 and included regional and local trains), and have more several changes. First, it made housing parking than “A” locations. Twenty to policy even more market oriented by

22 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

thirty percent of inhabitants of “B” similar mixed-use characteristics, but locations use cars. Because of the differing style. The Dutch prefer modern accessibility yet availability of parking, housing units with restrained developers favor “B” locations. Finally, functionalism but constructed with

“C” locations lie on or close to motorways traditional materials. Houses generally and are not easily accessible by public have the same layout: front doors open transport (by “not easily accessible” it into the kitchen, and the entire first floor is means that there is only a local train link). an open floor plan. It is possible to look in

Over thirty percent of inhabitants use cars. the front picture window, into the kitchen,

The Vierde Nota mapped “A”, “B”, and through the living room and into the back

“C” locations and designated VINEX garden. Figure 11 shows the transparency locations with different characteristics of the average Dutch house. based on the type of location around Figure 11 – Ground floor of typical dwelling them 2728 Figure 10 shows the differences between these locations.

Figure 10 – Sketch of A, B, C Locations (4 th Nota)

Many VINEX districts are themed –

street names follow the theme, and public art pieces reflect the theme. For example, VINEX districts are analogous to Nesselande has a district with musical New Urbanist communities – they have

23 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

statues and streets named after classical district is constructed to look like an composers. Beyond the themes, districts existing area. Depending on the location, fall into four types: districts are built as urban (Ijburg), as

suburban with urban characteristics in the Normal suburbs have no central area and limited independence from the city core (Ypenburg, Nesselande, Brandvoort), – these include Zuiderburen, Houten, as suburban with “urban highlights” and and Almere-Buiten. a limited core (Houten, Haverleij), or as New-town districts are isolated from green suburban villages. the city, and have a large central area providing all services. Examples include Ypenburg and Ijburg. Appendix A-1 shows the varying urban form of these districts. Independent districts and quarters are not potential new towns, but still have large central areas with services. Implementation Examples include Brandevoort, The first VINEX districts were Meerhoven, Nesse-lande, Stadshagen, and De Vijfhoek. implemented in inner urban areas, and later districts were implemented in the Small town extensions have no centers and are located next to existing modest existing urban fringe and in greenfield developments. Examples include locations outside existing cities. Bergshenhoek and Stellinghof. Implementation was largely based on “Rurban living” are small, isolated residential areas. An example is what was planned and not on what was Haverleij. demanded. For example, when the

All districts try to integrate both program was launched, a survey discov-

functional and visual urbanism. Func- ered that seventy-six percent of potential

tional urbanism means that the district has VINEX buyers wanted a single-family

urban amenities such as some retail and house, yet most units are high-rise. 29 maybe a medical center, library, or sports

center. Visual urbanism means that the

24 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Criticism Although planners made efforts to establish different types of districts that satisfied differing consumer preferences, districts were not differentiated enough.

Urban people thought that VINEX was too suburban while suburbanites thought that VINEX was too urban. Critiques focus on VINEX districts’ monofunctionality, uniformity, and sameness. Everywhere, districts have thirty-five houses per hectare. 30 Further,

objections about Dutch suburbanization

since World War II in general are

clustered with the critique of VINEX.

25 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Case Studies Figure 12 – Site Plan (Construction Brochure)

Examining three VINEX sites in the

Randstad with different characteristics can help judge the successes and failures of the policies.

Leidsche Rijn Location

Leidsche Rijn is located just outside Site Design the city of Utrecht. The site has been Maxwan, an urban design firm, and inhabited for over three thousand years, Crimson, an architectural history firm, but it was once a wild marshland on the created the district’s plan. The plan Oude Rijn river. The district was named echoes three design themes throughout for the Roman ship Leidsche Rijn, whose the district. The first theme is compact- ruins lay on the site and date from when ness and connection to the existing arch of the site was a road linking Roman army Vleuten, De Meern, and Old Utrecht – the camps along the Rijn river. plan partially covers the A2 freeway.

26 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Figure 13 – Bridge over A2 (Maxwan) plan. 31 The designers saw building the

new district as an evolving process and

stayed away from detailed planning.

Neighborhood plans were entirely

separate, and groups were allowed to

form and design their own neighborhoods.

An example of neighborhood formation

and planning was Klaver4, a cohousing

development in the Het Zand area. With The second theme ensures that the group workshops and a teahouse, Klaver4 district is built durably (sustainably) – claims to foster “new style ‘old’ there is a balance between regional solidarity.” development and care for the social and natural environment. Finally, the district At buildout, Leidsche Rijn will be is planned to keep an identity through the largest VINEX development with combining functions and emphasizing 80,000 housing units (30,000 have been public spaces. constructed to date). 32 Beyond housing, it will have 700,000 square meters (7.5 Figure 14 - Plan Elements (Maxwan) million square feet) of office space in four

industrial estates and accommodate 40,000

workers.

Transportation

Maxwan/Crimson’s major catalyst Currently, it is only possible to for the plan was “Orgware,” a concept access the site via the local “stoptrein” that focuses on policy preceding the from Den Haag and Utrecht. The site lies

27 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

on the future Randstadspoor railway line alleyway is named for an Italian author or

(a tram that will connect the site to Utrecht poet. Alternatively, if you live in Parkwijk, on the west and Woerden to the east). 33 you can learn that all the streets in your

NS, the national railway, is expanding the “park district” are named for plants. 34 existing rail track through the site from Figure 15 - Parkwijk (Neighborhood Website) two to four lines, and this expansion will include two additional train stations. One of the new stations, Utrecht-Leidsche Rijn will be a regional “sneltrein” (fast train) stop. Beyond rail, there will be three lanes of Bus Rapid Transit to the Utrecht city center. In addition, since the Netherlands is a country that sometimes builds more Leidsche Rijn has two main areas. cycle tracks than roads, there will be 168 One area contains Parkwijk and Langerak, kilometers of cycle track and four bicycle park districts that reference the garden bridges enabling safe access into Utrecht’s cities of the 1930’s, and Veldhuizen, a central city. district with 3,400 units and surrounded

Neighborhoods by water. The centers of some of these districts are car free. Like most VINEX locations,

Leidsche Rijn has themed neighborhoods.

The development’s website has a page that lists the origin of each street’s name.

For example, you can select

“Bocacciopad” and learn that your

28 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Figure 16 - Veldhuizen (Neighborhood website) Developing the Center

The retail center of Leidsche Rijn

will be fully complete by buildout of the

residential areas and will be located at the

intersection of the A2 freeway and the

main train line at the new Utrecht-

Leidsche Rijn station. A plan called Het

Levende Centrum (the living center) Vleuterweide is a second central district enacted March 24, 2004 will guide based on the Old Holland style with development. Developers of the center superblocks of houses facing on believe that covered shopping centers do courtyards (the other center has much not enable attractive streets and squares. more modern architecture). It has six Therefore, they are focusing on creating areas: De Boomgarden (Orchards), De great public spaces before designing the Rietvelden (Cane Plantations), buildings. Pedestrians are given priority Centrum/De Hoven (Center/The Courts), because all destinations within the center De Tuinladen (The unplanned Garden will be within walking distance from Countries), De Spore (the Spore), and De parking lots placed on the perimeter. Hagen (The Hedges). Construction star- Housing near the center will be urban. ted in early 2007 and will finish by 2010. Beyond retail, amenities in the center will The existing Vleuten rail station will close include Utrecht’s second largest library, and a new rail station called Vleuten-De possibly a cinema, and flexible Meern will open. Finally, Vleuterweide workspaces. Further, the center will be will have a cultural center. divided into four subdistricts, with the

shops and leisure areas in one and homes

29 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

and offices in the other three. works if residents cooperate. Residents

Construction is expected to start in 2008. must wash their cars at certain locations,

Figure 18 shows a drawing of the dogs cannot go near the wadi, and

Centrum and A2 crossing. construction must not use treated wood.

In reality, residents are frequently Figure 17 – New Centrum (Maxwan) unaware of these requirements and

inadvertently cause the wadi to function

subobtimally. The wadi, coupled with a

twin water supply system that separates

drinking water from water used for

washing machines, toilets, and garden

hoses saves twenty-five percent over a

traditional water system. 35

Differentiators – Sustainability Figure 18 - Wadi (Neighborhood website)

Leidsche Rijn attempts to innovate by integrating several sustainable features.

Water Treatment

The water system uses a “wadi,” which is a system of broad channels that collect rainwater. Wadis filter water before it drains into the ground, and Land Use collecting, filtering, and reusing rainwater eliminates the need for drawing water Large and small green spaces from the canal. However, the wadi only within the neighborhood are connected.

30 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Rijnsche Park is the largest of large spaces authorities, commercial institutions, and

– at three hundred hectares; it is one of the education group has a “Sustainable

Netherlands’ largest parks. Connecting House” onsite. zones link Rijnsche Park to smaller parks Figure 20 - Demonstration house (aba-i) and facilitate animal and plant movement.

Other parks will lie atop six of Leidsche

Rijn’s thirty-six archaeological sites.

Figure 19 shows the dig around the

Leidsche Rijn ship.

Figure 19 - Leidsche Rijn dig (Fectio)

The Site Today Because the site’s construction is

incomplete, it is not possible to make a

true assessment of its urban quality.

Although the rail expansion is incomplete,

the site is accessible. Trains run to

Other Green Features Rotterdam in the east and Utrecht in the west twice per hour, and the Vleuten Parts of the development are station is adjacent to completed housing connected to the city’s central heating and temporary services (the grocery store system. Streetlights are low energy LED is a glorified construction trailer). systems designed by Philips lighting, a

Netherlands-based company.

“Foundation”, an initiative of local

31 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Figure 21 - Temporary grocery

Appendices A-2 and A-3 contains additional pictures of the site.

32 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Nesselande Transportation Location Nesselande is at the end of

The Nesselande VINEX lies on the Rotterdam’s Red metro line (Rotterdam outskirts of Rotterdam. It is on two has two metro lines that cross downtown). polders (land created by dredging and The metro station, which opened on damming): the Eendrachtspolder and the August 29, 2005, was built before the

Prince Alexanderpolder. Before the completion of the development, so the site

Eendrachtspolder and Prince is easy to access from the city center, main

Alexanderpolder were dredged in 1753 train station, and tram network. The area and 1874, respectively, the land was is also served by the regional bus line. swampy peat. Figure 22 shows an Figure 23 - Rotterdam Metro map overview of the site, and Appendix A-4 shows more detail and transportation connections.

Figure 22 - Site

Since the site is on a greenfield at

the edge of Rotterdam, and separated

from the existing areas by the A20

freeway, the site plan includes

constructing new viaducts over the

33 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

freeway to connect Nesselande to Neighborhoods Hoofdweg on the south. The site includes three neighbor-

Bicycle facilities are currently hoods: Tuinstad, Badplaats, and Water- temporary but will be fully integrated into wijk. the site. Through the Dutch bicycle Figure 25 - Site Sketch signage networks, routes through (http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl/) Nesselande will be connected to routes through Rotterdam and outward into Het

Groene Hart, or the green area surrounding the cities and polders. 36 A

further bicycle bridge is being constructed

over the N219 ring road.

Figure 24 - Bike Connections (http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl) Tuinstad, which opened in 2001,

translates directly into “garden city”. The

Dutch still revere the work of Berlage and

Dudok who built garden cities in the early

20 th century in other parts of the

Netherlands. This site seeks to echo the

concept by incorporating the natural

landscape while connecting the site to the

central city. Thus, Tuinstad has the

Rietveld Park and the metro station.

Marketing materials for Tuinstad cite

“fewer daily irritations,” “more

34 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

possibilities,” and a “quiet environment” 37 At completion in 2007, Tuinstad

A neighborhood within the Tuinstad will include 3,200 dwelling units. Units called Hof van Nesselande is a direct include luxury townhouses, attached replica of the original garden city concept. houses (carriage type houses), stacked

condominiums, and apartments. Figure 26 - Hof van Nesselande rendering (http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl/) Badplaats, which apparently

translates into “bathing resort”, contains

most of Nesselande’s amenities and lies

adjacent to the lake. Badplaats’

construction timeline stretches from 2004

to 2010 and will include floating houses

It is shaped like a pie slice, and high-density apartments. Everything bordered by a grand boulevard, and has fronts on “Common Green” which also houses facing onto a large interior links public functions. Badplaats is courtyard. Another interior neighborhood, divided into two mini-units: Nesserduin

Nesselgarde is a superblock. and the Nesselande Centrum (center).

Figure 27 - Nesselgarde rendering Nesserduin is lower density, has the (http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl/) theme “wind, water, and space,” and has

a dune landscape. The Centrum is very

high density and includes most shopping.

It is not currently complete.

35 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Figure 28 - Amphibious Houses Figure 29 - Site Drawing (http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl) (http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl)

Parks

Rietveld Park will be a linear park Finally, Waterwijk, which is located running three kilometers through the site, on the far northern end of Nesselande is along the waterway, and encompassing the lowest density neighborhood and is the metro station. 39 The park is currently called the “water district”. It will include halfway complete, with public art 520 units, and most of the houses will be installed, but the landscaping is young or located on manmade islands and will be nonexistent. custom built by the occupants. These

houses get the most attention from the Figure 30 - Rietveld Park drawing (http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl) architectural press. For example, some

houses are built to float and can withstand

water level rises of up to eighteen feet. 38

Unfortunately, these innovative houses are expensive and condominiums start at

525,000 Euro.

36 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

The Site Today looking to the Dutch as architects and planners see the value of working with Currently, 4,800 units have been nature rather than against it. The influence constructed in Nesselande. The water of Hurricane Katrina has sparked interest infrastructure, art installations, and of floating architecture in the United playgrounds are complete. Sidewalks and States. bicycle tracks are temporary. The site itself is depressing – it is very flat, like the Additional pictures of Nesselande rest of the country and very windy, also are available in Appendices A-5 and A-6. like the rest of the country. Construction waste flies about, and clings to partially inhabited units. Like in Leidsche Rijn, there is a temporary Albert Heijn

(ubiquitous Dutch grocery store) to keep services close to residents before completion of the permanent retail center.

Unfortunately, the Albert Heijn is neither visible from nor accessible by the Metro station.

Lessons

Nesselande’s greatest lesson to other areas is its commitment to building transit before completion and creating neighborhoods of floating architecture.

Flood prone areas around the world are

37 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Ypenburg and the 15 and 19 tramlines from Delft. The A4 and A13 motorways cross at the Location Ypenburg sits somewhere outside site, making the site accessible to both

Delft and Den Haag. Its removal from the Delft and Amsterdam. main cities makes it feel like a new urban Site Design entity. The site was originally the Ypenburg covers six hundred

Ypenburg airfield and was part of the hectares, and of this area, 340 hectares municipalities of Rijswijk, Pijnacker, and contain 12,000 homes. There is also an

Nootdorp. Den Haag annexed the eighty-five hectare business park and a

Ypenburg site in 2001. Figure 31 shows main shopping district with 7,000 square the basic site plan (a larger version is meters of retail space. The remaining 170 available in Appendix A-8). hectares of the site contain green spaces,

Figure 31 - Site plan (http://www.ypenburg.nl) water, and road-, bicycle-, and transit- ways.

After the Ypenburg airfield closed,

Den Haag controlled the land and

administered the development process.

The city hired Palmboom and Van den

Bout to complete the master plan for the

five-district development. Each district

was then divided into twenty sector plans,

and Den Haag held design competitions

Transportation or hired from a select group of designers The site is served by the Den Haag to complete each sector plan. The master Ypenburg train station and the stoptrein, plan called for thirty percent inexpensive

38 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

housing, forty-five percent mid-priced maintain the more rural character of the housing, and twenty-five percent preexisting polder. expensive housing. Further, eighty-five An example of a sector plan is percent of the housing was to have Subdivision 10, a neighborhood with ground-level access – a departure from architectural flair master planned by Dutch high-rise style housing. MVRDV and designed by Herman Neighborhoods Hertzberger. Hertzberger won the The first of the five districts is Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi)

Boswijk, a villa neighborhood with prize for architects under 40 in 2002 for is fourteen dwelling units per acre (mainly work on the project. In Subdivision 10, single family). The second, De Singels, cars remain on the periphery, each has approximately 5,000 units with resident’s garden opens onto that of his stacked housing and forty-eight dwelling neighbor, and paths weave between units per acre. This neighborhood houses. Fences are not allowed. Most of includes the Centrum and is serviced by the 768 units are apartments or town the tram. Third, Waterwijk has homes, but there are some single family approximately 1,500 units and lies along detached units. Fifty-eight percent of the the waterway. Many of the architecturally units are rentals, and of those rentals, two- significant houses are in this thirds are market rate and one-third are neighborhood. Fourth, De Venen is a subsidized. While the site plan is award transitional district connecting Ypenburg winning, the buildings’ interiors have to the village of Nootdorp. Finally, De been criticized as being “very ordinary”

Bras lies adjacent to parkland and has and “very cheap.” 40 approximately 2,000 units. It tries to

39 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Figure 32 - Subdivision 10 (Legoland?) (NAi) percent moved from other cities and

towns in the Randstad. 41

Currently, Ypenburg is seen as a

success because public involvement and

design competitions gave the

development character. However, the

Centrum does not appear to have much

A study group from the United more character than any newly created

States visited the development and “main street” in the Netherlands or concluded that the neighborhood United States. Public art helps slightly, succeeds because the neighborhood mixes but they are offset by monotonous brick income groups and because the facades. personality of the neighborhood is tied Figure 33 - Ypenburg streetscape directly to the natural setting and to nearby urban services.

The Site Today Ypenburg attracts a younger mix of residents than neighboring Utrecht does.

In Ypenburg, thirteen percent of residents are older than fifty-five compared to twenty percent of residents in Utrecht.

Further, Ypenburg’s residents have more children. Eighty percent of current residents moved from Utrecht and six

40 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Figure 34 - Ypenburg art lighting 2010 are estimated at 2.6 percent, so it is

possible that market conditions will

improve. Most improvement is antici-

pated to result from shrinking household

size and not from in-migration. In 1980,

the average household size was 2.8

persons and in 1999, it was 2.3 persons. In

Amsterdam, the average household is

only 1.6 persons. Additional pictures of Ypenburg are available in Appendix A-7. Compromises

Most VINEX locations were Looking Back: Did VINEX initially planned, to be easily accessed by Work? subways and major rail stations. By the To this date, housing production start of construction, transit was still lags behind VINEX’s goals. downgraded at many locations. Explanations for the shortage include a Nesselande is still accessible by the Rotter- mature real estate market, a shortage of dam Metro, but it is on an extension of the rental housing construction, and the shift actual metro called the “sneltram,” an to the private sector. From 2001 to 2005, above ground line slower than a subway the housing sector experienced a growth but marginally faster than a regular tram. rate of negative 1.8 percent while the Only one-third of red line trains reach the housing sector in the remainder of Europe Nesselande station. Leidsche Rijn is on a grew at 2.5 percent (largely thanks to local rail line (future heavy rail is planned, expansion in the former eastern block but much of the original transit plan has countries). Growth projections for 2005- been replaced by buses), and Ypenburg is

41 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

only accessible by inconvenient local rail decrease commuting length, etc. People and the tram. In most VINEX locations, chose neighborhoods based on housing the housing is being completed well in type, not on the proximity to jobs and advance of the transit improvements. services. 44 The Dutch place more

Shortchanging transit leads to greater car emphasis on the spaciousness and usage – a study found that car use in functionality of their houses than they do brownfield VINEX locations served by on the location of the neighborhood. They existing and dense transit networks is want a modern dwelling and pleasant roughly one-third of car use in greenfield surroundings. 45

VINEX locations served by transit Why the shortage? extensions. 42

The economic environment Market Conditions

Beyond a failure to react to An economic downturn had a more changing market dynamics, other prominent role than the government’s problems with the VINEX programs involvement in the failure to meet stemmed from a failure to respond to production goals. In 2002, the country consumer preferences. First, VINEX did experienced an economic downturn that not provide enough rental housing when translated into a drop in demand for more it capped social sector housing at thirty expensive owner-occupied homes. percent while the existing rental stock was Developers failed to react to this shift in

95 percent social sector. 43 Second, VINEX preferences and lagged in offering

paid attention to the quantity of housing redesigned homes. Further, because the

without paying attention to the quality of price to quality ratio of available homes

housing. Third, VINEX ignored consumer was incorrect, achievable prices for units

preferences by relying on policies to were overestimated. To sell the correct

42 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

number of units, developers needed to and other factors, it is hard for developers lower prices and liquidate inventory. to maintain positive margins and even to

However, lowering the price per unit profit. In the development business, to required lowering land costs, which repeat a cliché, “time is literally money” would have reduced or eliminated and every process in the Netherlands is margins for developers. In a country that slow. Procedures for obtaining approvals is not afraid of waiting situations out (it are complex and unclear, responsibilities takes three months to open a bank for the approval process are vague, and account) developers sat on unsold homes. rules and procedures are uncoordinated in

Housing starts then decreased because and across jurisdictions. The chaos in the developers had no reason to undertake municipalities stems from being housing projects if they did not think they chronically understaffed – sixty-seven would make any money from them. percent of development agencies are

Further, a boom in the commercial understaffed. 46 construction market from 1999-2000 Costs tightened the labor market and increased labor costs for commercial residential The Netherlands account for 1.7 construction percent of European homebuilding

revenues while its neighbor, France, Regulations accounts for 20.7 percent of European

Lingering construction regulations revenue. Laxer regulations in France and supplier constraints are another allow higher profits. The Dutch share of reason for slow production. Because the total revenue is expected to drop to 1.6 government places so many restrictions percent by 2010, and this could cause on construction locations, product mix, developers to move outside the

43 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Netherlands. 47 The entire industry is Other factors that slowed pro-

valued at $9 billion and is expected to duction included complexities in site

grow to $10.2 billion by 2010. Further, the production (remember that the

private sector now comprises 75.3 percent Netherlands are constructed largely on

of the industry’s value. While the price of manmade land…the adage is that “God

construction materials are increasing created the world, but the Dutch created

globally, some materials have to be the Netherlands”) and resistance to

purchased locally when transportation municipalities bordering VINEX sites

costs are high. Dutch suppliers of cement, because the sites required drawing new

and of other materials with high municipal boundaries. Further, infill

transportation costs, take advantage of by locations had to deal with constraints

creating monopolies and charging higher- from already existing developments.

than-average prices. Looking to the Future Figure 35 compares the housing

market in the Netherlands to that of other The attitude towards strict

European countries planning regimes in the Netherlands is changing. In 2002, Parliament rejected a Figure 35 - Housing Market (Stagnation in Dutch 48 Housing Production) planning report for the first time. It is likely that planning will have to become

more participatory in the future.

The Dutch regularly complete

planning scenarios to keep their

regulations progressive and cutting edge.

The most recent exercise was the 2010-

2030: Development of new options –

44 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Netherlands 2030 that includes four dispersed among open and quiet areas. Town and country are interwoven. scenarios 49 . National-level planners Innovative traffic management systems encouraged lower tiers of government, the such as click-in car systems and collective freight advance the private sector, and NGOs to participate in sustainability of Dutch and worldwide the scenario evaluation process. The society. process focused on the formulation of Flow Country (Stromenland) lies current problems and the presentation of between Palette and Park landscape by emphasizing a partnership between issues. Thirteen partial scenarios, economy and ecology. Technical including “Stop urban expansion”, innovations are applied to water and traffic systems at the same time, and “Agribusiness”, and “Netherlands urban development is centered along Transferland” were developed and were transport corridors. The infrastructure network is the skeleton supporting all narrowed down into four full scenarios. urban development. International freight flows through the Netherlands Palette (Palet) is a break from by rail, water, and pipelines and freight traditional Dutch planning because it is kept off the road network. Agriculture presupposes that people know what is is linked to transport and to green best for them and gives individuals and corridors. businesses freedom of choice. It creates a grand, national plan that functions as a City Land (Stedenland) is a reactionary, safety net covering basic social and anti-development scenario that places a environmental needs. Palette assumes strict division between town and that the market will take care of country. It is a radical halt to environment regulation and ‘encroaching’ urbanization. transportation infrastructure. Appendix A-10 contains maps that

Park Landscape (Parkenlandschip) compare these scenarios. focuses on the harmony between man and nature. In this scenario, green In the future, the Netherlands may working and living environments express the need to restore the experience risks stemming from man/nature relationship. Park Landscape completing development processes, un- is in manifested diverse, mixed-use communities, and urban pockets are resolved past constraints, the appearance

45 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

of new constraints such as air quality transfer of planning from municipality to regulations and carbon limits set by the investor, safeguarding land use planning

Kyoto Protocol. As always, the objectives, and infrastructure contracts

Netherlands face a shortage of land more required to meet the needs of the dire than other countries. It may be development. It should be noted that possible that they can rely on the ‘Kop- methods such as these only work when van-Zuid’, or Blue Hat formula, a distress development is high. Some of these tactics clause that releases covenants from could help the Dutch overcome their rigidness. staffing restrictions, speed up their

approvals process, and meet their housing The Netherlands can also continue production goals. benchmarking itself against other countries to find innovative policies. What can the US emulate? Other European Union countries have

devised innovative ways to speed up the Growing regions in the United

development process to keep pace of States can look to VINEX as they establish

demand. In Germany, investors who hold growth plans. In some locations, this is

developable land are allowed to carry out already happening. For example, a group

and pay for planning studies if the plans of Dutch developers called the “New

are approved by the municipality. In Amsterdam Development Corporation”

addition, “Urban Development Contracts” presented New Design Paradigms for

shift municipal expenses to the developer Housing to the Van Allen Institute in New

– the developer gets faster approvals, and York City. Then, the New York City

the municipality overcomes financial and Urban Center did a six-city tour of Dutch

staffing restrictions. Examples of urban urban housing that was reported on in

development contracts can include Planning magazine and in the New York

46 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

Times. 50 Portland, Oregon looked to

VINEX locations when it decided to lower parking spaces per unit from one to 1.5 spaces per unit to 0.4 to one spaces per unit if developments are served by car- sharing agreements. 51

Further strategies for incentivizing a shift in development patters must be tied to market acceptance since the market drives developers’ practices. Develop- ment of new housing paradigms predicates market acceptance, are not encouraged by communities, and therefore are not tried by developers.

Communities could incentivize sustain- ability by excluding sustainable developments from impact fees, traditional parking requirements, design requirements, and giving density bonuses for incorporating green space or green features.

47 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands

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Sunikka, Minna Marjaana. Policies for improving 6 energy efficiency in the European housing stock . Energy Policy Instruments in the Netherlands . Pp. 44- From the Sustainable Urban Areas series Vol 9. 45 7 Hasegawa 2002 as cited in Sunnika, p. 80 Delft University Press: Amsterdam, The 8 Sunnika p. 44 Netherlands. 2006 9 Sunnika 10 Lambregts, Bart and Wil Zonneveld. Polynuclear van der Veer, Jeroen. "Metropolitan Governments urban regions and the transnational dimension of and City-Suburban Cleavages: Differences spatial planning: Proposals for multi-scalar planning in between Old and Young Metropolitan Areas." North West Europe . Eurbanet Report 3, Housing and Urban Studies 1994: 1057,1058-1079. Urban Policy Studies 26: DUP Science. 2003. 11 Van der Veer, Jeroen. ”Metropolitan Governments and City-Suburban Cleavages: Differences between Old van Uum, Edwin. "Spatial Planning Scenarios for and Young Metropolitan Areas.” Urban Studies. Vol. 31, the Netherlands." Tijdschrift voor Economische No. 7, 1994. 1057-1079. en Sociale Geografie 89.1 (1998): 106-16. 12 Van Bergeijk, Herman. “Dudok and the image of Hilversum.” From: Netherlands Architecture Institute. Verhoge, Rolf. “The Role of the Public Sector in Living in the Lowlands 1850-2004: The Dutch Domestic Urban Development: Lessons from Leidsche Scene . NAi Publishers. Rotterdam 2004. 13 Nota Inzake de Ruimtelike Ordering Rijn Utrecht (The Netherlands). Planning 14 Fassbinder, Helga, and Adri Proveniers. New Wave in Theory and Practice . March 2003. Vol 4, Issue 1, Building: A flexible way of design, construction and p29-45. real estate management. Van Gorcum & Comp. Assen: 15 Tweede Nota over de Ruimtelijke Ordening . 1966. Vos, Koos. "Community Development Policy and 16 Geurs, Karst T., Bert van Wee. “Ex-Post Evaluation Legislation: The Dutch Case." Community of Thirty Years of Compact Urban Development in the Netherlands.” Urban Studies . Vol. 43, No. 1, 139-160, Development Journal 40.4 (2005): 405,406-418. January 2006 17 Hakfoort, Jacco, George Matysiak. “Housing Van Eten, Michel, and Emery Roe. “When Fiction Investment in the Netherlands.” Economic Modeling . Conveys Truth and Authority: The Volume 14. 1997,. Pp. 501-516 Netherlands Green Heart Planning 18 Derde Nota over de Ruimtelijke Ordening . 1973-1983 19 Controversy.” APA Journal . Winter 2000. Vol 66, Morris, Betsy. “Commitment to Communities: A No. 1. pp. 58-67. housing and community development study tour in the Netherlands.” Journal of Housing & Community Development. July/August 2006. pp 33-39. 20 Netherlands Institute for Spatial Research. “Pricing places: Neighborhood characteristics and housing prices.” 1 CIA World Factbook 21 Brouwer, Jan. “Recent Research on Housing https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/nl.h Environment in the Netherlands.” Tijdschrift voor tml Economische en Sociale Geografie . 2000, Vol. 91, No. 2http://www.fmg.uva.nl 3. pp 316-321. 3 Bordeau, as cited in Sunnika: Sunikka, Minna and 22 Netherlands Institute for Spatial Research. Vinex! A Claudia Boon. Housing associations and sustainable Morphological exploration . management: Environmental efforts in the Netherlands’ 23 Boelhouwer, P.J., H. Bouwmeester, H.M.H. Van Der social housing sector. Institute for Housing and Heijen. “Stagnation in Dutch housing production and Mobility Studies: Delft, 2002. p. 35 suggestions for a way forward.” Journal of Housing and 4 500 people from various universities and agencies the Built Environment 28 October 2006. pp. 299-314. make up a multidisciplinary “climate-proofing” team. 24 Boulhouwer, pp310 From “Global Warming: Reports from four fronts – 25 Netherlands Institute for Spatial Research. “’VINEX’ Malawi, India, Netherlands, Australia.” New York Times . housing production, A survey.” 3 Apr 2007. 26 Vijfde Nota . 2004 5 Sunnika, p. 42

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27 Priemus, Hugo. “Contradictions Between Dutch Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie – Housing Policy and Spatial Planning.” Tijdschrift voor 1998 . 1998, Vol 898, No. 1, pp. 106-116. Economisch en Social Geografie . 1998, Vol. 89, No. 1, 50 Holtz Kay, Jane. “How the Dutch do Housing.” pp 31-43. Planning . February 2003. pp. 28-31 28 Vierde Nota de Ruimtelijke Ordening Extra . 1994. 51 Kushner, James. “Car-Free Housing Developments: 29 Priemus, 1998 Towards Sustainable Smart Growth and Urban 30 Ibelings, Hans. “Ypenburg” from Dutch Domestic Regeneration Through Car-Free Zoning, Car-Free Housing. Redevelopment, Pedestrian Improvement Districts, and 31 http://www.potrc.org/urbanindependent/c_lr_q1.html New Urbanism.” Journal of Environmental Law . 32 Wijkenmonitor, gemeente Utrect. Leidsche Rijn . Volume 23:1. 33 http://www.randstadspoor.nl/ 34 http://www.utrecht.nl/smartsite.dws?id=113001 35 Gemeente Utrecht. Leidsche Rijn Utrecht: where people live and work with pleasure. 36 http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl/projectinfo/vervoer/ index.html 37 Translated from Dutch http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl/kopen_huren/te_ko op/haagpark/index.html# 38 Edidin, Peter. “Floating houses built to survive Netherlands floods: anticipating more climate change, architects see another way to go.” New York Times . 9 Nov 2005. reprinted in San Francisco Chronicle Online. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi- bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/09/HOG9RFI0IJ1.DTL 39 http://www.nesselande.rotterdam.nl/projectinfo/vervoer/ index.html 40 Hawthorne, Christopher. “Design Dispatch: The Dutch Retouch Suburbia.” New York Times. 15 Jan 2004. Section F, Column 2. 41 Wijkenmonitor, p. 89 42 Geurs, Karst T. 43 Boelhouwer. P. 303 44 Rouwendal, Jan, Erik Meijer. “Preferences for Housing, Jobs, and Commuting: A Mixed Logit Analysis.” Journal of Regional Science. Vol 41, No. 3. 2001, pp475-505 45 Kauko, Tom. “What makes a location attractive for the housing consumer? Preliminary findings from metropolitan Helsinki and Randstad Holland using the analytical hierarchy process.” Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. 2006 46 Boulhouwer p. 312 47 Datamonitor. Homebuilding in the Netherlands: Industry Profile. June 2006. www.datamonitor.com . Accessed through UNC libraries 48 Lorzing, Han. “Paradise Lost in the Netherlands?” Green Places. March 2004. p. 9. Via Wilson Web. 49 Van Uum, Edwin. “Window on the Netherlands: Spatial Planning Scenarios for the Netherlands.”

50 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-1

52 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-2: Leidsche Rijn Site Visit

53 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-3: Additional Leidsche Rijn Plan Photos

54 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-4: Nesselande Site Map

55 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-5: Nesselande Site Visit

56 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-6: Additional Nesselande Plan Photos

57 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-7: Ypenburg Site Visit

58 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-8: Ypenburg Site Plan

59 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-9: Additional VINEX planning

60 Towards a Sustainable Suburb : Lessons from the Netherlands APPENDIX A

Appendix A-10: Planning Scenarios

61