Public land development as a strategic tool for redevelopment: Reflections on the Dutch experience

For many decades cities in the Netherlands have made extensive use of public land development as a strategic tool for pro-active planning. This paper investigates the Dutch experience to explore its utility both in the Netherlands and in the U.S. We build upon an earlier study by Lefcoe (1977) with similar purposes. His conclusion was that American cities should be cautious in the use of this approach. This paper comes to the same conclusion, but does so taking into account the present institutional contexts and market circumstances both in the Netherlands and the U.S. It is argued that only under very specific circumstances does it make sense for municipalities to act as land developers. Furthermore, the Dutch experience with public land development since the 1990s demonstrates the many dangers there can be to this land development strategy.

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