· · · Institutional Repository

Excessive land use regulations aimed at containing urban sprawl have been criticised, because they may overcompensate for the external effects of uncontrolled greenfield development and contribute to stagnation in house building. Taxes on building in green spaces may be an instrument for balancing urban growth and the protection of the landscape. This paper discusses development tax and puts it in the context of other planning instruments. It reviews a recent policy debate in the Netherlands relating to the introduction of an open space tax and the research into this tax . It also investigates the policy process, which resulted in the tax not being introduced. Finally, conclusions are drawn as to whether the taxation of development may be a useful instrument to complement other planning measures.

Planning on a national level performs a different function to planning on a local level. Uncertainty plays a larger role, as national planning is often more abstract, i.e., local government has its own responsibilities for the precise location of activities, and zoning of land use. National planning is a process in which public and private agencies each play a different role, and neither of these agent can control the outcome. This paper is about the evaluation of one aspect of Dutch national planning: the concentration of urban development, in which there is a tradition of different government agencies each having a different role in planning. This paper examines how to evaluate a complex national urban planning policy.

Promoting mixed-use development is part of policies aimed at enhancing urban quality. Until recently, however, industry and housing have rarely been found together in the same development as there is a long tradition of keeping these functions separate. As part of a compact-city policy, Dutch local authorities are in the process of introducing housing on single-function industrial estates developed after World War II. Local governments are looking for strategies and instruments that will help them to redevelop these sites towards mixed-use areas combining housing and industry. This paper analyzes case studies on the Binckhorst and Plaspoelpolder sites in and around The Hague and the Buiksloterham site in Amsterdam in relation to the following themes: attractiveness of the site as a location for the introduction of housing, the environmental loading caused by combining industry and housing, and municipal strategies for redevelopment of the industrial estates. It was found that traditional amenities such as waterfronts can provide ample potential for housing development; that while there may be plenty of room for housing, much of it will be subject to unacceptable environmental hazards; that a cooperative enforcement style is used to mutual adapt the local interpretation of environmental standards to the interests of the mixed-use areas;; and that in all cases, local government became strongly involved in the property market in order to internalize the external effects of investments in the area.

Accommodating urban growth in the fast growing city of Istanbul encounters several problems. This paper discusses the development of greenfield sites in Istanbul by examining the institutional structure of the land development process of some recent large-scale housing projects using a framework of institutional analysis. The result reveals that the public (through both the central government and the local municipalities) has an important role in land development by acting as both regulator and investor. These roles have been empowered by the recent changes in the law. Success has been achieved in terms of the quality and quantity of housing built on greenfield sites in Istanbul over the last decade. However, the price of serviced urban plots in the legal land market remains high, and it remains difficult for the lowand mid-income groups to gain entry to the property market.

A large part of the population has no access to proper housing. This situation is most severe in large growing metropolises in the developing world, such as Istanbul, Turkey, where a third of the population is living in squatter housing. Typically there is a is a dual structure of both legal and illegal land development, where the legal sector is not able to provide land for housing development for the poor and middle-income population. A traditional role of government as regulator based on planning and building law does not change this. In Istanbul, the government has developed an investor role, next to the regulating role. National government has developed several institutions to provide affordable housing. The aim of the paper is to discuss the impact of planning and land policy and practices on land provision for social housing in Istanbul, and establishes whether the results may be of wider relevance for other large growing cities in developing countries.

Medio 1996 is de gewijzigde Wet voorkeursrecht gemeenten (Wvg) in werking getreden. Hierdoor kan een groot aantal gemeenten gebieden aanwijzen waar eigenaren die grond willen verkopen, deze grond eerst aan de gemeente moeten aanbieden. Op deze wijze zou de regisserende rol van gemeenten bij locatieontwikkeling versterkt kunnen worden. Mogelijk heeft de Wvg verder een prijsdempende werking op de ontwikkeling van grondprijzen en leidt deze tot meer inzicht in de grondtransacties op bijvoorbeeld VINEX-Iocaties. In het jaar 2000 zal er een wetsevaluatie plaatsvinden. Als voorbereiding op deze evaluatie is in opdracht van de Rijksplanologische Dienst een beoordelingskader opgesteld en is er ingegaan op een aantal voor de wetsevaluatie relevante achtergrondontwikkelingen. Op deze wijze ontstaat een beeld van de thema's die van belang zijn voor de evaluatie van de Wvg. Tegelijkertijd met dit werkdocument komt een studie uit naar de eerste ervaringen met de Wet voorkeursrecht gemeenten.

Contracts between local government and private investment agencies play an important role in strategic urban projects. Real estate cycles provide only a narrow window of opportunity within which to draft such contracts. A legal system should therefore not impede the possibility of reaching an agreement quickly; instead, it should facilitate efficient ways of reaching an agreement. Lengthy contracting may contribute to the persistence of real estate market cycles. This paper explores the question of whether the civil-law principle of good faith facilitates the drafting of incomplete contracts, which may be efficient in situations of high uncertainty and complexity, as was the case with two strategic inner-city projects: the South Axis in Amsterdam and Battery Park City in New York City. The paper further establishes that good faith does play a considerable role in the differences in contracting practice.

De hoofdvraag van dit onderzoek is: Wat is de kwaliteit van het aan- en verkoopbeleid van onroerend goed van de gemeente Tilburg in het licht van het oordeel van de niet-gemeentelijke partijen hierover? De volgende omissies in het gemeentelijke beleidskader worden onderscheiden: hoe om te gaan met de situatie wanneer een projectontwikkelaar voor vestiging van het voorkeursrecht reeds heeft verworven; hoe om te gaan met de situatie wanneer de grondeigenaar in combinatie met een projectontwikkelaar gebruik wil maken van zelfrealisatie; een verantwoording waarom het onwenselijk is dat niet-gemeentelijke marktpartijen grond verwerven; een uitsluitsel over het al dan niet bestaan van een gentleman’s agreement; beleid aangaande eventuele beleidsvrijheden omtrent de vaststelling van de gronduitgifteprijzen; een afwegingskader voor het vasthouden aan rondbeleidsinhoudelijke doeleinden (zoals een voorkeur voor actief grondbeleid) ten opzichte van de tijdige en succesvolle uitvoering van achterliggend beleid. Wanneer grondbeleid inderdaad facilitair is aan andere beleidsdoeleinden, moeten de grondbeleidstechnische doeleinden soms worden losgelaten om achterliggende ruimtelijke, economische, volkshuisvestelijke, etc. doelstellingen te halen. In welke gevallen komt dit aan de orde? Of komt dit nooit aan de orde, omdat grondbeleid niet facilitair is aan ander beleid, maar belangrijker is dan dit andere beleid?

The OTB’s research covers the areas of housing, urban, mobility and geo-studies. The research activities deal with the built environment, and refer to aspects of the technological sciences, the policy and management sciences, the behavioural sciences, spatial disciplines and the application of information and communications technology. This research profile is directly connected to the mission of the institute to conduct strategic research on the built environment in which both a fundamental understanding and application of results are central objectives. More specifically, research on the built environment is focused on the design and use of system innovations. The interplay between technical components and societal issues forms a key element of the research.

In deze bijdrage brengen we in kaart hoe de Nederlandse praktijk van lage grondprijzen voor corporatiewoningen zich verhoudt tot de Europese regelgeving over staatssteun. Is de huidige praktijk toelaatbaar en zo nee, hoe kan wel worden voldaan aan de Europese regels?