An Analysis of the Decision-Making Process of Schiphol's Holland
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OPENING THE BLACK BOX: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OF SCHIPHOL’S HOLLAND BOULEVARD MASTER’S THESIS XANDER STEGE 11363029 URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING (MSc) GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM 21 AUGUST 2017 SUPERVISOR: DR. D.V.H. EVERS SECOND READER: MS. C.W. YANG (source cover photo: www.skitterphoto.com) ii iii ABSTRACT Airports have developed significantly in the past decades, particularly due to deregulation and liberalization of the aviation industry itself. Nation branding projects have appeared at many transfer terminals. The result is a semi-public space with a mix of travel, consumerism, entertainment, recreational and cultural activities where private actors seem to have a substantial influence in an otherwise very regulated environment. From an urban planning point of view issues of public interest are at stake as long as the decision-making process is not transparent. This in-depth case study gives an exploratory analysis of the dynamics between main actors in the decision-making process concerning a nation branding development - Holland Boulevard - in the departure lounge of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The research focuses on the negotiations between the multitude of actors and the power mechanisms that are at play in this practice. The study discovered that the most opposing objectives and motives in the decision-making process are not between key actors but several departments within the organization of the airport operator. Furthermore, the decision-making process of Holland Boulevard underperforms on the democratic values of participation and representation since the involvement of the public is indirect and restricted to passenger surveys. The research concludes that the emphasis on Dutch identity at Schiphol - as it is magnified and concentrated at Holland Boulevard - is more typical of the airport operator’s marketing approach than it is a top-down nation branding strategy of multi-levels of governance. Key words: nation branding, non-place, social justice, public interest, sense of place decision-making process, stakeholders. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my genuine gratitude to my thesis supervisor Dr. David Evers for his expertise, words of direction and motivation during the different stages of the research. His guidance and assistance have been invaluable. I also wish to thank the various respondents who - despite their busy schedules - agreed to be interviewed and share their stories and experiences. My research would simply not have been possible without their participation. Finally, I am forever grateful to my sister for her love and support, and my friends for their encouragement and words of advice this past year. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ······································································ 1 1.1. Problem Statement ··························································· 1 1.2. Structure of the Study ························································ 3 2. Literature Review ································································ 4 2.1. Airports as Non-places ······················································· 4 2.2. Sense of Place at Airports ···················································· 5 2.3. Branding ······································································· 8 2.3.1 Nation Branding ······················································ 8 2.3.2 Nation or Place Branding? ··········································· 9 2.3.3 Airport Branding ···················································· 10 2.4. Social Justice – The Just City ·············································· 11 2.5. Stakeholder Identification / Analysis ····································· 13 3. Methodology ···································································· 14 3.1. Research Question ·························································· 14 3.2. Research Design ···························································· 14 3.2.1 Case study selection ················································· 15 3.2.2 Data collection Method ············································· 16 3.3. Data Analysis ································································ 17 3.4. Unit of Analysis ····························································· 18 4. Results ·········································································· 21 4.1 Background & Context ····················································· 21 4.2 Schiphol Group ····························································· 23 4.2.1 Objectives ························································· 23 4.2.2 Nation Branding ················································· 24 4.2.3 Participation ······················································ 25 4.3 Commercial parties ·························································· 27 4.3.1 Objectives ························································· 27 4.3.2 Nation Branding ················································· 30 4.3.3 Participation ······················································ 32 4.4 Cultural parties ······························································ 33 4.4.1 Objectives ························································· 33 4.4.2 Nation Branding ················································· 35 4.4.3 Participation ······················································ 36 4.5 Architects / Designers ······················································ 37 4.5.1 Objectives ························································· 37 4.5.2 Nation Branding ················································· 39 4.5.3 Participation ······················································ 41 5. Synthesis ········································································ 45 5.1. Key Actors and Nation Branding ········································· 45 5.2. Public Participation ························································· 48 5.3. Power Relationships ························································ 55 vi 5.4. Key Actor’s Objectives ···················································· 60 5.5. Schiphol – a Public Space?················································· 66 6. Conclusion ····································································· 69 6.1. Revisiting Research Question ············································· 69 6.2. Discussion ··································································· 73 6.3. Research Limitations ······················································· 75 References ········································································· 76 Appendix ·········································································· 81 vii 1. Introduction The days the airport’s function was purely to facilitate a smooth and efficient transportation of arriving and departing passengers are long behind us. At its core certainly remains the functional infrastructure for the traditional, aeronautical activities but as a result of the deregulation and liberalization of the aviation industry since the early 90’s we have seen a shift towards an increased importance of revenue from non-aeronautical services – retail, food&beverage and entertainment (Fuerst, Gross, & Klose, 2011). The comparison with the urban shopping mall is easily made, not the least because of their generic, universal architecture. And while most of us aim to make our stay at the airport as short as possible when catching a plane, airport authorities increasingly are putting efforts in turning the airport into a destination in its own right. In order to create an overall more appealing airport product, airport operators are acutely aware of the potential of emphasizing the identity and symbolism of the host city/nation’s within the airport terminal. Similarly cities, regions and nations have started to realize that airports can be transformed into spaces with a sense of place - with opportunities for marketing and place branding (Elliott & Radford, 2015). Through place branding or nation branding practices, new cultural and recreational facilities i.e. a museum, a library are added to the existing mix of commerce, hospitality and entertainment in the terminal. The airport as the face of the nation; a visual business card to greet the international traveler. Question remains, who decides over the content of how the nation and the identity of its citizens is portrayed? Is it solely the mix of public and private actors directly involved - each with their own objectives and responsibilities? And how does the airport operator deal with issues of public interest in the nation branding process when their motive is to optimize profits of these non-aeronautical activities? Not surprisingly, the process of nation branding is often referred to as deeply anti-democratic with low levels of public participation (Jansen, 2008, p.121). These issues will be addressed and reflected on in this qualitative research. 1.1 Problem statement One could argue that through the process of nation branding airport authorities turn the airport from a non-place, as it is traditionally often referred too, into a place. Apart from the fact whether it is done tastefully and effectively, there are certain issues at hand that arise. Not the least since nation branding is a public issue. It’s about the promotion of the nation; how it is portrayed, including its citizens, to the rest of the world. A certain