Building up resilience in cities worldwide – Rotterdam as participant in the 100 Resilient Cities Programme

Cities worldwide are challenged by a high complexity of acute and chronic problems, including challenges related to economic development, social polarisation and segregation as well as climate change and ecological degradation. While all of these problems are complex in themselves, they are also interrelated. Addressing them in a meaningful...

The innovative potential of central regulation: The case of urban development in the Markermeer-IJmeer Natura 2000 area

This paper draws attention to a case in which Natura 2000 regulation, problematic ecological conditions, governance congestion and the aim to develop large urban projects are to go hand in hand in the Markermeer-IJmeer area, a 30 by 25 km lake in the centre of the Netherlands. The key interest is how central regulation is interpreted to fit...

Bringing central regulation and local governance interaction together: The case of the Markermeer-IJmeer Natura 2000 area

This paper draws attention to a case in which Natura 2000 regulation, problematic ecological conditions, governance congestion and the aim to develop large urban projects are to go hand in hand in the soft space of the Markermeer-IJmeer area, a 30 by 25 km lake in the centre of the Netherlands. The key interest is how central regulation is...

Soft spaces and governance: The transformation of planning

Soft space governance arrangements are emerging all over Europe and at all geographical scales. Soft space approaches complement, but do not come in place of statutory planning. They are a reaction on and reflection of the changing context in which planning aims to be effective and as such indicate a reworking of the boundaries of the planning...