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A history of the Dutch gendarmerie

Two social housing associations (Het Oosten and De Key) and a developer (Rabo Vastgoed) have established an investment fund, called Stedenfonds. This fund will buy all the commercial real estate in certain urban areas, wherein the founders of the fund are active. In these areas value development will be encouraged by implementing strategic area-management. The area management will be done by Het Oosten, because lately they have founded a special department for area-management. The involved area manager is responsible for the development of a so called 'area-business-plan'. Important starting point for an area-business-plan is to make clear how an area-manager will direct an area towards value development of real estate in the selected area. The goal of the ADMS business assignment is concentrated on designing a format for the development of area-business-plans. The design's basic principles are based on the conclusions of three different analyses: 1. An area's value development can be directed by an area-manager, by operating area-oriented as well as by undertaking market-oriented. 2. Strategic answers have to be found towards the following strategic questions: where are we now?, where are we heading for?, what are we about to do?, how are we going to do that? 3. An area-business-plan must tell what part of the real estate development will be offered to the Stedenfonds as investment objects. Visualisation of the designed format The format has eventually resulted in a standard content table, which is generic for all kinds of areas. In practice, it turned out that it is hard for an area-manager to pinpoint his or her activities, which in its turn is an important aspect of the format. A list of 10 generic strategic activities to be done in every area will support the area-manager in pinpointing his or her area-specific activities. The list can be summarized as following: (1) defining a long term vision, (2) defining a strategic market-oriented planning, (3) Offering future-perspectives to the inhabitants of the area, (4) directing towards a distinguishing quality of place, (5) directing towards a positive image and good promoting of the area, (6) Directing towards a flexible functional programme, (7) Stimulating entrepreneurship, (8) dividing the sums of investment between the parties, (9) internalising (political)change processes (10) directing towards a sustainable area-exploitation. Conclusions Area-business-plans are more than just means to convince investors to invest in an area. It has the potential to be an adequate management-tool as well. By using the format area-managers can define a strategy, by a structural method. Advice to the area-managers of Het Oosten is to use the format for all areas