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Leisure-led regional development refers to leisure as a mechanism to achieve broad societal goals within a region: economic revenue, employment and service levels but also cultural or conservationist ambitions. Engaging in such leisure-led regional development proves a complex matter. Based on ethnographies of leisure in the Dutch province of Fryslân conducted over a five-year period between 2013 and 2018, this paper argues that combining theoretical understanding of complexity theories with analyses based on both evolutionary and discursive approaches results in enhanced understanding of the interactions shaping uncertainty in leisure development. Results of field observations, interviews, participation and document analysis show that planning for leisure-led regional development should consider autonomous and evolutionary processes, whilst focusing on purposefully influencing the interactions and perspectives of actors in leisure. More precisely, this means shaping the narratives and practices in these institutions which make specific interactions more likely to develop. This can be undertaken by including in planning efforts the individual perspectives and emotions among actors in the regional leisure sector. To cope with uncertainty at the heart of leisure-led regional development, an adaptive strategy should be adopted, both in the planning efforts taken and in how such efforts are monitored and evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how applying psychological and cognitive theories in nudge design can increase the effectiveness of nudging in public space. Nudges are those policy instruments that alter human behaviour by exploiting cognitive biases/heuristics, without limiting the choice set. Based on interviews with Dutch urban planners, barriers in applying such behavioural theories are identified. These barriers relate both to urban planners' inexperience with nudging and to the organisational and societal context in which nudges are designed. A design framework is presented to optimise the design of nudges by helping planners to identify when and where nudging is feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adds axiology to ontology and epistemology. These three together address the ultimate questions of what (is being observed), how (to know and respond) and who (adds meaning). This is not about producing knowledge about one true reality. Instead, these three aspects will differentiate their questions about the what, how and who, depending on the circumstances. As these circumstances differ in varying degrees of uncertainty, it is the uncertainty of a situation that determines which ontological, epistemological and axiological questions are asked. This paper proposes three categories into which these questions can fall, for simple, complex and highly complex issues. For each of these categories of 'uncertainty', the ontological, epistemological and axiological questions must be in balance. With the addition of axiology and the differentiation of reality into various uncertainties, a much more powerful method of knowing and understanding the world in which we live arises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local and regional governments in western European peripheral areas aim to spur leisure-led regional development. We explore planning for leisure by applying an evolutionary economic geography (EEG) approach from a complexity perspective. We identify conditions which enable and constrain leisure development and its effects on the region as a whole. This means combining the local level of individual adaptations with the institutional setting and with the regional scale. We examine the Dutch province of Fryslân and explore by means of case study analysis how current leisure development processes can be explained in a complex evolutionary manner. We explore economic novelty as a result of individual adaptations; how such adaptations through interactions create emerging spatial patterns; how these spatial patterns form self-organizing new types of order; and the way this process is dependent on previous paths whilst also creating new pathways. Our findings show that although development is dependent on individual adaptations often stemming from a few actors, for such adaptations to have an effect on the region requires a connectivity between actors and a sense of urgency amongst those actors. Using a complex EEG approach allows us to explain leisure-led regional development as the product of these conditions. This can help planners deal with the complexity and unpredictability of this process, focusing not on a desired end goal as such, but on creating the conditions in which a more autonomous development can take place. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article introduces the concepts of robustness and flexibility into the discussion on spatial quality to unpack the approach adopted by the Dutch province of Friesland in pursuit of their ambition to stimulate spatial quality. The analysis of how robustness and flexibility are manifested in Friesland, respectively the capacity to counteract negative impacts on spatial quality and the capacity to progress to more enhanced forms of spatial quality, reveals a multi-component, dynamic and selective approach. Multi-component refers to the combination of regulations, the building of purposeful organizations and teams and deliberate actions to influence spatial development projects and plans. It is dynamic because the approach is adapted to the dynamics of the multilevel governance system wherein the province and its actions are embedded. It is selective because spatial quality is reduced to a limited set of factors, decision-making is done by a selected set of actors and some measures tend to address a limited set of themes. The findings suggest that stimulating spatial quality strongly depends on how spatial quality is conceptualized and formalized in the arena of politics and planning, negotiated in multilevel decision-making processes alongside decisions on whether to make resources available for this purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper argues that many of the key notions associated with spatial planning, such as ‘sustainabilit y’, are essentiallyfuzzyin their nature. The paper introduces a method of data collection and analysis that seeks to clarify such situations, which might lead to the identification of more realistic spatial policy that reflects the thoughts, aspirations and motives of crucialactors, being limited in number and having a common and positive understanding regarding the issue at hand. The paper refers to two examples from the UK and the Netherlands respectively of how such a method can be used to explore realistic ways for ward for a sustainable housing policy. In both cases it was considered necessary to explore aspects of policy that go beyond the conventional boundaries of spatial policy for housing in order to learn how to pursue more sustainable approaches. The actor-consulting model was effective in unpacking the fuzzy notion of sustainability in a way that assisted the planning authority to learn how policy might be more realistically framed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is interest among planners in autonomous behaviour and non-linear processes supporting urban development. Self-organization has attracted attention as a potential driver for urban transformations. This paper aims to explore the mechanisms behind urban land use patterns resulting from the interdependence of self-organization and institutions. Our argument is based on an empirical study of two land development cases in urban Beijing. The paper argues that urban land transformations include characteristics of symmetry breaks, self-organizing processes, unintended collective behaviour and spontaneous patterns while simultaneously being institutionally framed. The interdependence between self-organization and institutional rules builds upon a circular causality framework at various spatial levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This new global financial crisis has required us to recognize how closely and deeply different regions and countries around the world are connected and how they interact with each other. In this interconnected context, planning theory and experiences also become fluid rather than being confined within certain boundaries. This paper explores the links between Chinese planning and European (or “Western”-oriented) spatial planning by critically analysing the development of Chinese planning. In China, modern European planning theories have been under discussion and partly in practice for years. Indeed, they have been playing an important role over the past 30 years in, for example, urban growth management, land-use regulation and environmental protection, and also in helping achieve sustainable development. However, the evolution of Chinese planning, now in a highly dynamic phase, has distinguished itself from that of European planning by adopting a highly rational, coordinated and top-down approach. This paper argues that there are several reasons for this. However, beyond this mere observation, there are a wide range of possibilities to be considered and reflected on with respect to these two different trajectories of planning development, which could enhance planning theory and practice. In other words, there are lessons to be learnt in comparing contemporary Chinese and European planning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the evolution of the spatial planning practice in the Netherlands. The change is evident in its ideology, process, structure and orientation. Several questions also arise which include whether the region is capable of coping with additional delegated power but less funding and tiny concrete policy instruments.

Many planning theorists have suggested that peoples' non-participation in collaborative processes is due to disempowerment. This paper challenges that assertion, arguing that a person's tendency to participate in neighbourhood interventions is intimately related to their lifestyle as well. Analysing the results of a survey conducted in a Dutch city, we compare and contrast the personal circumstances and the mental attitudes of participants and non-participants. The results show that participants tend to evaluate participation more positively and in more altruistic terms than those who do not get involved. Participants are not necessarily older or poorer than non-participants, but tend to have lived in their neighbourhoods for longer and to have a greater sense of belonging to their local community. This suggests that collaborative planning has a structural bias towards inclusion of some parts of the community over others, excluding those whose social lives are not concentrated within the boundaries of the neighbourhood. Consequently, some of the perceived positive outcomes of collaborative processes are under pressure in the field of urban regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2006 “Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment” is the first piece of official European Union (EU) policy solely focused on the urban environment. It follows a process of several years in which the EU has tried to promote an integrated approach to urban management. During the 2005-2007 “Liveable Cities” project, reflection was given to the “Thematic Strategy”. This resulted in important critiques on the EU's approach to the urban environment. Explaining how the initial top-down approach chosen by the EU contributed to the perceived “failure” of the “Thematic Strategy”, suggestions are made for alternative approaches to the creation of liveable cities in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on Netherlands' development of Integrated Environmental Zoning, an effort to account cumulatively for several environmental spillovers from manufacturing and to manage their impacts on residential areas. Environmental categories and classes; Provisional system for integrated environmental zoning; Standardization noise.

A major problem confronting effective urban development is posed by conflicts which often emerge between environmental policy and land use planning. Environmental control seeks to reduce pollution and limit its intrusion on other activities, often separating pollution sources from environmentally sensitive areas. Land use planning commonly seeks to combine multiple uses in the same area to minimizg travel distances, often favouring compact urban development. When those two sets of objectives clash, working out a balance between them is important although difficult. This paper is about the Dutch experience with mapping several kinds of pollution spillover from manufacturing activity, and where these effects cause hindrance or are detrimental to health, acquiring housing and moving residents if it is not possible to mitigate these effects at source. The experience is of international importance, because it is based on an integration between environmental policy and spatial planning. Referred to as integral environmental zoning (IEZ), this programme is announced by the internationally well‐known Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan. The IEZ programme is being tested in several pilot projects. The aim is to fill in Chapter 6 of the Dutch Environmental Management Act, called ‘Environmental Zoning’, based on the results of the IEZ programme. Up to the present the results are shocking! [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]