Early in 2001, the Dutch fifth Note on Physical Planning was published. It took a long time to complete this report and it reached its goal not straightforwardly. Spatial and administrative concepts emerged and disappeared again. The network city and the corridor appeared and disappeared again. They were replaced by another concept, called urban network. The densely populated western part of the Netherlands, namely the Randstad, should be transformed into one large, consistent urban network, called the Delta metropolis ('Deltametropool'). Furthermore, in this area new public transport should be created in the form of a so-calIed 'Rondje Randstad' (Randstad circle line). Implementation of the new spatial policy should take place by both national and local governments. Such solutions for urbanisation, mobility, public management, etc. raise many questions: Are urban networks to be implemented in a uniform way all over the country; What kind of spatial image would Deltametropool show in the end; Are there any consequences for the Green Heart and its green belts; and do national as well as regional governments really play an important part in implementation? This paper attempts to give the initial impetus to answer these questions. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD E206647.
Abstract