IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirb/v50y2023i6p1645-1659.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparing types and patterns: A context-oriented approach to densification in Switzerland and the Netherlands

Author

Listed:
  • Vera Götze
  • Mathias Jehling

Abstract

While governments worldwide develop policies to promote urban densification, critics point to possible negative effects of densification on social sustainability. The occurrence and distribution of these negative social effects are strongly influenced by land policies. This makes it crucial to monitor the role of land policies and understand what processes shape urban development in the context of densification. To do so, detailed, large-scale international comparisons of densification patterns, including building and social changes, are needed. We address this issue by introducing a method to measure and compare urban development in two countries with contrasting planning systems: the Netherlands, where public actors play a strong and active role, and Switzerland, where strong private property titles and a highly democratic planning system are prevailing. Our GIS-based method analyses densification processes within their surrounding morphological and socio-demographic context. A k-proto cluster analysis on highly detailed spatial and statistical data based on housing units, covering 2011–2019, results in five densification types. The distribution of these types reveals different patterns in the two city regions of Utrecht (NL) and Bern (CH). Most strikingly, contiguous redevelopments frequently occurred in Utrecht but hardly in Bern, pointing at possible advantages for Dutch municipalities to intervene in property rights. While having developed an empirical basis in this study, future research that refines the analysis of the legal, planning and ownership conditions underlying the identified densification patterns can contribute significantly to policy evaluation.

Suggested Citation

  • Vera Götze & Mathias Jehling, 2023. "Comparing types and patterns: A context-oriented approach to densification in Switzerland and the Netherlands," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(6), pages 1645-1659, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:50:y:2023:i:6:p:1645-1659
    DOI: 10.1177/23998083221142198
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23998083221142198
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/23998083221142198?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric Charmes & Roger Keil, 2015. "The Politics of Post-Suburban Densification in Canada and France," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(3), pages 581-602, May.
    2. Peter Bibby & John Henneberry & Jean-Marie Halleux, 2021. "Incremental residential densification and urban spatial justice: The case of England between 2001 and 2011," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(10), pages 2117-2138, August.
    3. Götze, Vera & Hartmann, Thomas, 2021. "Why municipalities grow: The influence of fiscal incentives on municipal land policies in Germany and the Netherlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    4. Debrunner, Gabriela & Hartmann, Thomas, 2020. "Strategic use of land policy instruments for affordable housing – Coping with social challenges under scarce land conditions in Swiss cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Jean-David Gerber, 2016. "The managerial turn and municipal land-use planning in Switzerland – evidence from practice," Planning Theory & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 192-209, April.
    6. Joost Tennekes & Arjan Harbers & Edwin Buitelaar, 2015. "Institutional Arrangements and the Morphology of Residential Development in the Netherlands, Flanders and North Rhine-Westphalia," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(11), pages 2165-2183, November.
    7. Dani Broitman & Eric Koomen, 2020. "The attraction of urban cores: Densification in Dutch city centres," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(9), pages 1920-1939, July.
    8. Edwin Buitelaar & Arjan Bregman, 2016. "Dutch land development institutions in the face of crisis: trembling pillars in the planners’ paradise," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(7), pages 1281-1294, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vera Götze & Josje Anna Bouwmeester & Mathias Jehling, 2024. "For whom do we densify? Explaining income variation across densification projects in the region of Utrecht, the Netherlands," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(7), pages 1273-1290, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Puustinen, Tuulia & Krigsholm, Pauliina & Falkenbach, Heidi, 2022. "Land policy conflict profiles for different densification types: A literature-based approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    2. Vera Götze & Josje Anna Bouwmeester & Mathias Jehling, 2024. "For whom do we densify? Explaining income variation across densification projects in the region of Utrecht, the Netherlands," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(7), pages 1273-1290, May.
    3. Holtslag-Broekhof, Sanne, 2018. "Urban land readjustment: Necessary for effective urban renewal? Analysing the Dutch quest for new legislation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 821-828.
    4. Jonkman, Arend & Meijer, Rick & Hartmann, Thomas, 2022. "Land for housing: Quantitative targets and qualitative ambitions in Dutch housing development," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    5. Juliet Carpenter, 2018. "‘Social Mix’ as ‘Sustainability Fix’? Exploring Social Sustainability in the French Suburbs," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(4), pages 29-37.
    6. Cavicchia, Rebecca, 2023. "Housing accessibility in densifying cities: Entangled housing and land use policy limitations and insights from Oslo," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    7. Jan Rouwendal & Lynn Bouwknegt, 2023. "The effect of urban trees on house prices: evidence from cut-down trees in Amsterdam," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 23-059/VIII, Tinbergen Institute.
    8. Peter Bibby & John Henneberry & Jean-Marie Halleux, 2020. "Under the radar? ‘Soft’ residential densification in England, 2001–2011," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(1), pages 102-118, January.
    9. Broitman, Dani & Ben-Haim, Yakov, 2022. "Forecasting residential sprawl under uncertainty: An info-gap analysis," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    10. Nicole T Cook & Sophie-May Kerr, 2024. "Assembling high-rise: The uneven agencies of air in suburban densification in the Anthropocene," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(7), pages 1308-1326, May.
    11. Dadashpoor, Hashem & Sajadi, Afshin, 2024. "Principles of just urban land use planning," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    12. Dani Broitman, 2023. "“Passive” Ecological Gentrification Triggered by the Covid-19 Pandemic," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(1), pages 312-321.
    13. Mathias Jehling & Robert Hecht, 2022. "Do land policies make a difference? A data-driven approach to trace effects on urban form in France and Germany," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(1), pages 114-130, January.
    14. Edwin Buitelaar & Hans Leinfelder, 2020. "Public Design of Urban Sprawl: Governments and the Extension of the Urban Fabric in Flanders and the Netherlands," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(1), pages 46-57.
    15. Bouwmeester, Josje & Gerber, Jean-David & Hartmann, Thomas & Ay, Deniz, 2023. "Non-compliance and non-enforcement: An unexpected outcome of flexible soft densification policy in the Netherlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    16. Idt, Joel & Pellegrino, Margot, 2021. "From the ostensible objectives of public policies to the reality of changes: Local orders of densification in the urban regions of Paris and Rome," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    17. Zhixi Cecilia Zhuang, 2021. "The Negotiation of Space and Rights: Suburban Planning with Diversity," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(2), pages 113-126.
    18. Petr Hlaváček & Miroslav Kopáček & Lucie Horáčková, 2019. "Impact of Suburbanisation on Sustainable Development of Settlements in Suburban Spaces: Smart and New Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-18, December.
    19. Sasu, Alexander & Javed, Arshad & Imran, Muhammad & Squires, Graham, 2024. "Land banking, land price and Ghana’s informal land markets: A relational complexity approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    20. O’Brien, Philip & Lord, Alex & Dembski, Sebastian, 2020. "How do planners manage risk in alternative land development models? An institutional analysis of land development in the Netherlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:50:y:2023:i:6:p:1645-1659. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.