An evaluation on the VINEX policy vision's success. Exploring the possibilities of the performance method to evaluate the success of Nijmegen's Vinex neighborhood "de Waalsprong"
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2018-08-22
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en
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This is a bachelor thesis research, exploring the possibilities to evaluate the Vinex' vision by looking
at its performance. The Vinex, the addition to the fourth memorandum on spatial planning
influenced not only the appearance of the Netherlands, it also played a role in a far-reaching
revolution from old school top-down spatial planning to an invitation planning, with a retrieving
government and a growing role for private parties.
A study of existing literature, in combination with a series of interviews with several experts and
professionals involved, made clear that the Vinex main vision is a further liberalization of the urban
planning and the housing market. Elaborating on its predecessors, it sketches how spatial planning
should play a role in the strengthening of the Dutch economy. Crucial is the realization of several
infrastructural projects, needed to create a network-society, and the building of a lot of houses to
meet the demographic demands of the future. These houses had to be build in a cooperative
construction between local governments and private parties, put on paper in so called covenants.
A case study of the Waalsprong, a Vinex expansion project close to Nijmegen city, made clear that
this urban vision was also the main thriving power behind the plans for this location. Three times in
a row the plans had to be redesigned thanks to external factors, and every time the municipality
follows the vision enrolled in the Vinex.
This research shows how a closer look to the Vinex' performance can help us explain how its vision
kept playing such a decisive role, even when its assumptions seemed to have caused a major
financial loss. Performance is a way of analyzing, better suiting strategic spatial plans like the
Vinex, than traditional conformance applied on project plans. The high performance can be
established by finding out if final decisionmakers are aware of the plan and its vision, and if they
accept it as their framework for further decisions. Thanks to its performance, caused by a inviting,
flexible and adaptable design, the Vinex vision was still visible in the latest spatial plans of
Nijmegen. The Vinex does not impose a market-orientated approach to public housing, but it
successfully invites people to actually start applying it.
The vision chosen by its designers did not lead to co-production between all parties involved,
especially the involvement of individual citizens turned out to be low. As co-production is a vital
aspect of the success of a strategic plan, this is something to remember working on its successors.
The fact that a high performance caused the Vinex to keep on playing a role during the
implementation done by its receivers, does not mean that it was a strong or profitable vision. It is
concluded that to quantify its success, the Vinex can only be evaluated on specific elements, and
than still there is always room for a discussion of this evaluation. That shows how a high
performance is essential for a plan to be effective, but it is not at all a warrant for success. Plan
designers have to remember that flexibility and room for adaption to the recipients framework can
have an essential effect on if or not they will use the plan and apply its enrolled vision.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen