Delaware Association for Public Administration Housing and Neighborhoods in the Netherlands
—by Sarah Chatterson | download PDF 
Over spring break I had the unique opportunity to study the role of development, redevelopment, preservation, and land use planning in the Netherlands. The trip was led by Dr. Margaret Wilder and Dr. Steve Peuquet of the University of Delaware’s School of Urban Affairs & Public Policy and consisted of 16 MA and MPA students with concentrations varying from Urban and Regional Planning to Historic Preservation. Over the course of a week, we explored Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, and Enkhuizen. We had the privilege of meeting with professionals in the fields of historic preservation, social housing, planning, public policy, and history who were gracious enough to give us talks and tours.
The first thing that you notice when you drive from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam is the many modes of transportation present—cars, buses, trams, trains, bicycles, mopeds, boats, and feet. Even more astounding is how seamlessly all of these modes are integrated. The bicycles have separate lanes and stoplights, pedestrians have a wide sidewalk, trams have their own lanes (which sometimes combine with car lanes), and cars have their own space as well. All of this is delineated by changes in pavement color and road height. All of these modes are also heavily utilized. I was amazed at how the people of Amsterdam have no qualms about riding their bikes in poor weather. I saw several on a cold rainy day holding their umbrella in one hand and steering with the other, as well as women in skirts and high heels. Bikes are stacked every-where throughout the city, and at the central train station there is a parking garage and long-term storage lockers…just for bikes.
What makes all of these modes possible is in large part due to the compactness of the cities. The average population density in the Netherlands is 390 people per square kilometer, compared to 30 in that same space in the United States. The Netherlands is unique in that the government owns the land and building owners must lease it, thus giving the government a lot of planning power. Every city that we visited was compact and walkable, with lots of mixed uses and many modes of transportation. There was one instance of mixed use that I found especially interesting. In order to pay for the construction of a new church, a congregation was building their new facility with apartments above it, the rents from which would help defray the costs. This immediately struck me as something that might happen in the United States only with some great difficulty. In fact, when I returned from the trip, I came across an article about a congregation in Arlington, Va., that was trying to implement a similar plan, except that the apartments would be affordable housing subsidized by the government. The church is being sued for violating the Constitution with regard to separation of church and state.
Overall, I was amazed at how causally the Dutch have instituted planning polices that are just now being considered in the United States. This trip was an extremely valuable experience and has offered me unique insight into planning and development policies.