| dc.description.abstract | The liveability in numerous Dutch cities is under pressure, with decreasing social cohesion and
feelings of unsafety. Representatives of these cities now warn the Dutch Minister of Housing to
take liveability issues seriously in urban developments and urban planning policy. However,
liveability is a broad and complex concept, which is difficult to ‘’just’’ integrate in urban planning
frameworks. Next, the concept of the compact city has been a key concept in this research, as
liveability in the compact city is central to debate in the academic literature. Therefore, this study
has examined the concepts of liveability and the compact city, and how these concepts are
depicted and translated into urban planning frameworks. With a case study on the future
neighborhood of Rijnenburg, this study has examined how this debate is seen in practice.
This qualitative study was conducted with an analysis of eleven policy documents from the Dutch
government and municipality of Utrecht. Additionally, four experts with different expertise in the
f
ield of urban planning have been interviewed in order to answer the main question. This study
has revealed that the diverse and broad depictions of these concepts make it difficult to translate
them into actual policy. It has been discovered that especially the Dutch government has no clear
strategy in planning for liveable cities. Furthermore, planning the liveable compact city has been
seen as challenging, due to the often abstract, context and time-dependent nature of liveability,
as well as the Dutch focus on the physical aspect of urban developments. To address these issues
even further, it is recommended to do more research on specific components of liveability, as it
requires even more in-depth examination to address the complexity of this concept. This could
also lead to more concrete policy recommendations. Lastly, this study argues that the Dutch
government cannot address the complexity of planning for liveable places with sectoral thinking
and recommends creating integrated, collaborative policies with different institutions to foster
liveability in Dutch cities. | |
