PBL: tightening necessary for the final Spatial Planning Memorandum

The Draft Spatial Planning Memorandum rightly states that space is scarce, but at the same time the national government calls for more space for housing, businesses, defense, and energy. The question of whether less space can be used is hardly asked. It is essential to use existing space more efficiently, advises the PBL, to better substantiate why more space is needed for an activity, and to make choices about which activities can do with less space.

Housing Task

The housing task is not yet well connected with other important aspects of urban development in the draft memorandum, the PBL researchers observe. “The national government focuses on housing in regions where population growth has historically been low and the demand for housing relatively low,” says David Hamers, program leader at the PBL. “That is risky. Housing must match demand. People need homes with work, recreational opportunities, and facilities within reach.” 

Necessary Conditions

The PBL also sees that spatial developments threaten to stall due to inadequate energy and drinking water supply or nitrogen problems. These are all necessary conditions for successful urban development that would strengthen the final Spatial Planning Memorandum. And: the national government makes clear in the draft memorandum that housing locations must be better resistant to water nuisance, flooding, and soil subsidence, but these conditions still need to be reflected in the choice of proposed housing locations. 

Regarding energy and space, the PBL advises bringing more coherence between these themes in the final Spatial Planning Memorandum. Energy generation and new high-voltage connections require space. New routes not only require good integration into the existing landscape but also form the new landscape, as they guide future spatial developments. This calls for better coordination between energy planning and spatial planning. It is important that the national government indicates where energy infrastructure should support housing and business activity and where not.

In terms of nature and agriculture, the PBL notes that the national government does not allocate enough space for the extra nature needed to achieve nature goals. Time is pressing for the necessary improvement of water quality; the spatial interventions required for this are still underexposed in the draft memorandum.

Major Challenges in the Living Environment

“The Netherlands faces major challenges in the living environment. This requires sustainable land use. Because previous cabinets have scaled down national steering in the spatial domain, important choices at the national level have been postponed. Decentralized authorities and social partners need frameworks to align their policies,” says David Hamers. “We see the commitment of this Draft Spatial Planning Memorandum to actively steer the quality of the living environment and better coordinate the use of space across various sectors as very positive. Further elaboration of this broad approach in the final memorandum is essential to effectively tackle the complex problems of the Netherlands.”

The PBL has made as much use as possible of the most recent insights from research in its analysis. This Reflection on the Draft Spatial Planning Memorandum will be handed over on January 22 to Marjolein Jansen, Director-General of Spatial Planning at the Ministry of VRO, during the fourth PBL Spatial Dialogue, the conference on spatial research at the PBL.