5. the Role of Road Development, Accessibility and Mobility in Developments of Demographic Decline
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MASTER THESIS Public Administration, Policy and Governance Faculty of behavioural, management and social sciences (BMS) University of Twente Topic: The influence of actor beliefs on unobvious policy decisions for the development of new roads in demographic decline regions Status: Definitive Date: 25-08-17 Author Name: Inge Rohaan Study programme: Master Public Administration Specialization: Policy and governance University: University of Twente, Enschede Student number: s1497642 E-mail: [email protected] University of Twente Drienerlolaan 5 Postbus 217 7500 AE ENSCHEDE Examination committee Dr. F.H.J.M. Coenen Dr. P. Stegmaier E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Source image front page: photo of the construction of the N18 Varsseveld-Enschede made by J. de Wit (JdW Studio’s, 02-08-2017) PREFACE For the master’s programme in Public Administration at the University of Twente, conducting a research is the final part of this master. With my interest in spatial developments and my background of Urban and Regional Planning (University of Applied Sciences), for this master thesis I have chosen a research topic that addresses this. The topic of this research is: the explanation of unobvious policy decisions for the development of new roads in Dutch demographic decline regions. A topic that will appeal to many people when it comes to public decision-making processes for major spatial developments, as well as current developments of demographic decline, from professional or personal experience. In consultation with my first supervisor Frans Coenen, I have prepared and conducted the research. First, I would like to thank him for his critical feedback, support and patience. I would also like to thank my second supervisor Peter Stegmaier for his support, useful additions to conduct this research and his feedback. Besides, for this study, interviews were conducted with participants from practice. I would like to thank these participants for their time, effort and the interesting conversations I have had with them. Finally, I would like to thank Bart, my mother, my family and others interested, for their support, encouraging confidence, patience and interest in conducting this research, but also for following and completing this master’s programme. In the end, the period of writing the master thesis, was a long journey and a learning experience for me, on the level of conducting a master's research and also on a personal level. I hope you will enjoy reading this report. Inge Rohaan Neede, August 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1. Background ................................................................................................................................................ 8 1.2. Relevance of this research ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.3. Purpose .................................................................................................................................................... 10 1.4. Problem statement .................................................................................................................................. 10 1.5. Research questions ................................................................................................................................. 10 1.6. Outline of this research ........................................................................................................................... 10 2. Theoretical framework and key concepts ............................................................................................. 12 2.1. Actors in the public policy process ........................................................................................................ 12 2.2. Theory for the explanation of the unobvious policy decision to keep developing new roads in demographic decline regions ................................................................................................................. 13 2.3. Actor beliefs ............................................................................................................................................. 15 2.4. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 17 3. Methodological framework .................................................................................................................. 18 3.1. Research design ...................................................................................................................................... 18 3.2. Sampling strategy: case selection ......................................................................................................... 18 3.3. Data collection ......................................................................................................................................... 19 3.4. Analysis of the empirical data ................................................................................................................ 20 4. Road development in the Netherlands .................................................................................................. 21 4.1. A century of road development .............................................................................................................. 21 4.2. Current trends in Dutch road development and road use .................................................................... 22 4.3. The importance of road development .................................................................................................... 23 4.4. ‘The Netherlands competitive, accessible, liveable and safe’ .............................................................. 24 4.5. Procedures for development of national and provincial roads ............................................................ 26 4.6. Relevance of the context of actor beliefs .............................................................................................. 27 4.7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 27 5. the role of road development, accessibility and mobility in developments of demographic decline ...... 28 5.1. Demographic decline in the Netherlands .............................................................................................. 28 5.2. Consequences of demographic decline for infrastructure and mobility ............................................. 30 5.3. Role of the development of roads and the maintenance and improvement of the accessibility and mobility in Dutch policy for demographic decline ................................................................................ 31 5.4. Relevance of the context of the actor beliefs ........................................................................................ 34 5.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 34 6. Actor beliefs in the cases De Centrale As and N18 Varsseveld-Enschede ............................................. 36 6.1. Case I: ‘De Centrale As’ (N356) ............................................................................................................... 37 6.2. Actor beliefs - Case I ............................................................................................................................... 39 6.3. Case II: N18 Varsseveld-Enschede ........................................................................................................ 47 6.4. Actor beliefs - Case II .............................................................................................................................. 51 6.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 62 7. The influence of actor beliefs on the unobvious policy decision ........................................................... 63 7.1. Decision-making processes: problems, goals and solutions .............................................................. 63 7.2. Actor beliefs ............................................................................................................................................. 66 7.3. The influence of actor beliefs on the unobvious policy decision to keep develop new roads in demographic decline regions ................................................................................................................. 71 8. Conclusions and discussion ................................................................................................................. 73 8.1. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 73 8.2. Discussion ................................................................................................................................................ 77 9. List of references ................................................................................................................................. 79 Appendix 1: Questionnaire (Dutch) Appendix