BUNDELING: EEN GOUDEN GREEP? - KpVV

All in all, implementation of urban compaction policy is under pressure, as illustrated by a recent
analysis of the New Map of the Netherlands (a digital interactive database with all completed and
approved development plans in the Netherlands): building activities are increasing around motorway
slip roads and declining around railway stations.
An important objective of urban compaction policy has always been to curb car use. An international
comparison is revealing: there does indeed appear to be a relation between urban compaction (in
whatever form) and choice of transport mode. More compaction or clustering leads to greater use
of public transport. High population densities in the cities are also connected with increased use of
public transport, but this must be accompanied by a high level of service, supporting policies (such as
strict parking regulations) and considerable patience. The city of Lyon in France is a good example of
how public transport (in this case light rail) can provide the backbone for new urban development.
Looking to the future, we see an increasingly mobile population. Besides commuter journeys, new
forms of mobility associated with other activities are developing apace, including the fast growing
leisure industry, and ‘pointless mobility’: driving somewhere just for the fun of it; the modern
equivalent of sitting by a ditch and sucking on a straw. These new journeys make the roads busier
and congestion less predictable.
Not only can we expect traffic to increase, but it seems it will also become more difficult to steer
developments through the adoption and execution of policy. To implement its policies, government
is increasingly dependent on close cooperation with private parties, civil society organisations and
individuals. Moreover, scenario studies by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis
indicate that policy measures have little quantitative effect: at best a few per cent reduction in
mobility. The age of building major new motorways is over. Should we conclude, therefore, that soon
we will all be stuck in the traffic queue? Luckily, no. Extra capacity can be gained by widening existing
roads and completing the supporting road network, especially outside the Randstad. But regional
and provincial authorities must actually receive sufficient funds to do this. In future, technological
developments may also create more breathing space, although considerable thought will have to be
given to their integration into existing structures and organisations. For public transport gains should
be sought through better linkage between the various modes of transport, as has already been
achieved by Randstadrail.
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B U N D E L I N G : E E N G O U D E N G R E E P ?
In the field of policy there seems to be a future in seeking to adjust the socio-economic characteristics
of groups and individuals instead of focusing just on locational issues. For example, a highly-qualified
full-time employee with children is twice as mobile as the average person; a pensioner living in rural
East Groningen in the far north of the country is much less mobile. For urban compaction policy
specifically, it will prove difficult to check and reverse the socially-driven flight from the central urban
areas in the usual way, with hefty policy documents. But the growing level of public engagement
(e.g. NIMBY), in combination with more coercive European regulations, could effecti-vely bridge that
gap. The most important development in the future of urban compaction policy, though, will be
relaxing the hold of spatial units and giving more emphasis to steering people’s behaviour. We could
see numerous ‘new style’ compaction deals. For example, a transport company and property
developer could enter into a joint venture for the development of offices in a (highly accessible by
public transport) location. Instead of a restricting condition, urban compaction would then be a
quality in itself.