Building in low-lying areas. An institutional analysis of the decision-making process in the Zuidplaspolder and Rijnenburg
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2023-09-04
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nl
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In the Netherlands, a growing number of houses are going to be built in locations that may be considered unsuitable in terms of water safety and flood risk. A major driver for this is the growing housing shortage of the past decades. However, there is a growing consensus that there is a need for measures focussing more on the consequences of flood hazards. Therefore, studying the concept of flood resilience in spatial planning can be very useful in dealing with flood risks in the future. This research sheds a light on the various factors that influence the decision-making process in low-lying areas. In doing so, the research focuses on two cases located beneath sea level: the Zuidplaspolder and Rijnenburg. The main focus of this research is to develop recommendations on how decision-making in spatial planning may enhance flood resilience. To construct the way decisions in flood prone areas are taken, this research aims to answer the following question: Which factors influence the decision-making on spatial developments in flood prone areas and how may these factors be changed to enhance flood resilience?
The research divides the concept of resilience into three different categories: engineering resilience, ecological resilience and socio-ecological resilience. To construct the decision-making process, the Institutional Analysis and Development framework of Ostrom, in combination with the politicized framework of Clement and the CIAD framework of Whaley, is used. Using a institutional perspective will contribute to a better understanding of the decision-making process in flood prone areas. To answer the main question, a qualitative research has been conducted. After the key variables were operationalized, a document analysis was conducted. This document-analysis has been followed up and strengthened by semi-structured interviews. The combination of these methods gave a deeper understanding of the two locations and the decision-making processes.
After the data was collected, the results were analysed. From the research can be concluded that in order to change developments in flood prone areas in a more flood resilient way, the water authority should get a greater position in legal decision-making. Next to that, it has been found that invested costs provide an incentive to continue building. To alter the decision-making process, this path dependence must be investigated. The housing shortage is also an important factor. By changing the need for houses, the decision-making process can be steered. In addition, the research has shown that attention from media and politicians had a great influence on the decisions takes. It can, for example, create a sense of urgency regarding the consequences of climate change. This means that attention can be steered to alter the process behind these decisions. When studying the concept of resilience, both engineering and ecological resilience turned out to be present in the outcomes. In both polders, water and soil were taken as a guideline in the spatial planning, creating a climate-adaptive development. However, the latter is related to climate-adaptive building. If we want our future to be more flood resilience, we should be focussing more about choosing climate-adaptive instead.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen