The Governance of Land Use in the Netherlands THE CASE OF AMSTERDAM The Governance of Land Use in the Netherlands THE CASE OF A MS T ERDAM The Governance of Land Use in the Netherlands THE CASE OF AMSTERDAM This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Please cite this publication as: OECD (2017), The Governance of Land Use in the Netherlands: The Case of Amsterdam, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264274648-en ISBN 978-92-64-27463-1 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-27464-8 (PDF) The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. 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FOREWORD – 3 Foreword How land is used affects a wide range of factors – from day-to-day quality-of-life factors such as the availability of food and clean water and the length of daily commutes, to the long-term sustainability of urban and rural communities, including the possibility for climate change adaptation and mitigation. How governments regulate land use and address public and private investment, how competencies are allocated across levels of government, and how land use is taxed, are critical for all of these things and more. This study of the governance of land use in Amsterdam illustrates the importance of responsive and collaborative approaches to addressing such issues as housing demand (particularly affordable housing), the need for high-quality public amenities, the importance of transportation investments and the possibilities for sustainable urban development, including a circular economy. The Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular, are renowned for collaborative and consensus-based approaches to spatial management that have arisen in part due to a century-long tradition of water management. Metropolitan Amsterdam is a highly polycentric region and its commitment to co-operative governance has been critical to the region’s success. But with a growing population and economy, the present informal approach to metropolitan governance may struggle to meet the challenges ahead. This study takes place in the midst of an important new legislative change to the spatial planning framework in the Netherlands. The new Environment and Planning Act adopts an innovative and flexible approach to spatial management – one that challenges planners to embrace highly inter-sectoral approaches to spatial development, and encourages experimentation and flexible uses where appropriate. As the new act is implemented, other OECD counties will likely look with interest at this novel approach. The case of Amsterdam also highlights the importance of thinking about spatial development in a holistic way – considering not just those elements that are part of the formal land-use planning system, but also the wide range of policies beyond it that impact spatial developments. Fiscal relations and instruments are among the most important in this regard. This study examines Amsterdam’s fiscal environment and proposes additional tools to help the city meet its spatial development goals. It further points to the urgency of effective metropolitan governance and the need for this function to evolve beyond the current informal approach. Finally, it discusses the implications of the new Environment and Planning Act, including the need for its implementation to be properly resourced and the heightened importance of effective public engagement. This report is part of the OECD’s Regional Development Policy Committee’s and its Working Party on Urban Policy’s and the Working Party on Rural Policy’s programme of research on the governance of land use. This study of spatial and land-use planning in Amsterdam is the fourth of several land-use studies that the OECD has undertaken. This report, together with other governance of land-use case studies, have in turn informed The Governance of Land Use in OECD Countries: Policy Analysis and Recommendations THE GOVERNANCE OF LAND USE IN THE NETHERLANDS: THE CASE OF AMSTERDAM © OECD 2017 4 – FOREWORD (2017), which provides policy analysis and a synthesis of the main recommendations from OECD work on land use. The OECD has also produced a companion volume to this report – Land-Use Planning Systems in the OECD: Country Fact Sheets (2017) – which provides a descriptive overview of land-use planning systems across OECD countries. THE GOVERNANCE OF LAND USE IN THE NETHERLANDS: THE CASE OF AMSTERDAM © OECD 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS – 5 Acknowledgements The Governance of Land Use in the Netherlands: The Case of Amsterdam contributes to a larger multi-country study of land use in OECD countries. This report was prepared under the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate led by Rolf Alter and its Regional Development Policy Division under the leadership of Joaquim Oliveira Martins and was published under the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Local Development and Tourism headed by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui. This report was prepared at the request of the City of Amsterdam, Department of Planning and Sustainability. This report was co-ordinated by Tamara Krawchenko, under the supervision of Rudiger Ahrend, Head of Urban Unit, and Jose Enrique Garcilazo, Head of Rural Unit. It was drafted by Tamara Krawchenko with contributions from: Arjen J.E. Edzes, Senior Researcher, Department of Economic Geography, University of Groningen, Faculty of Spatial Sciences (Chapter 2) and Arno van der Vlist, Professor, School of Real Estate, Department of Finance, University of Central Florida (Chapter 2). The OECD Secretariat wishes to extend warm thanks to Dagmar Keim and Julian Jansen, Department of Planning and Sustainability of the City of Amsterdam, for project management, coordination and review. This report benefitted greatly from the expertise and guidance provided by the Local Team in Amsterdam: Karla Gutierrez, Michèle Müller and Johan van Zoest (Department of Planning and Sustainability) and Peter Kroon (Ground and Development Department). Special thanks also to the many experts who provided comment and review: Eric van der Burg (Alderman of the City of Amsterdam); Cis Apeldoorn and Ralph Ploeger (Strategic department of Space and Economics); Esther Agricola, Piet Eilander, Ed Buijs, Rigina Christiaans, Remco Daalder, Camiel van Drimmelen, Sara Goudsmit, Bart van der Heijden, Karin van Heeringen, Charlotte Hilbrand, Ymke Hofhuis, Eveline Jonkhoff, Jaap Kersten, Truke van Koeverden, Réka Kovacs, Marin van den Oever, Barbara Ponteyn, Atie van Rhee, Ton Schaap, Daphne Struijk Rick Vermeulen, Bart van Vlaanderen, Aat de Vries, Gerard Willemsen, Koos van Zanen and Dini Zoet (Department of Planning and Sustainability); Pierre van Rossum, Annius Hoornstra, Michiel Lex Brans, Boesveld, Martine Bos, Pierre Elhorst, Ivo Frantzen, Ivo Hamelynck, Roel van den Nieuwenhof, Keimpe Reitsma, Laura Uittenbogaard and Bob van der Zande (Ground and Development Department); Jan Geert Bakker and Henk Balke (Tax Department); Max van Engen, Christel Baeten, Kees Dignum, Elly van Sluijs (Housing Department); Mei Ling Liem, Richard Panneman, Marjolein Stamsnijder and Han Quast (Governance and organisation); Rijk van Ark, René van Schie, William Stokman and Martijn van Vliet (Department of Economic Affairs); Petra Delsing, Fokko Kuik, Frans Solleveld, Willem Wulms (Department of Infrastructure and Public Space), Rutger Krabbendam (Departement of Social Affairs); Martine Brinkhuis (Department of Art and Culture); Aart Oxenaar and Annette van Dijk (Department of monuments and archeology); Paulien Hartog (Waternet); Hester Booi, and Jeroen Slot and Annika Smits (Research and Statistic); Antonio Carretero de Jong (Amsterdam Economic Board); Gijsbert Borgman, Daniël de Groot, Sjors Hoetink, Leo van’t Hof, Eric Huner and Hanna Lara Palsdottir (Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment); Jurgen Heemst and Elze Woudstra (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations); Jeroen van der Veer (Amsterdam Federation of Housing Associations); Gerard Anderiesen (Director Stadgenoot Housing Association); Fred van der Molen (Nul20); Marijn Bos, Ton Bossink and David Quarles van Ufford (Province of North Holland); Anne Joustra, Gerrit van der Plas, Constance Winnips