The Constitution of Spatial Transport Concepts
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Date
1999
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AESOP
Abstract
In discussions about regional economic development a few key concepts regularly keep turning up. These key concepts focus on issues of infrastructural connections and transport systems, in relation to (spatial) characteristics of the region. In the Netherlands planners are struggling with these concepts. Since the nineties there has been an increasing mismatch between national spatial concepts and local ideas and concepts. My research project aims on identifying causal factors for this mismatch by focusing on the constitution of spatial transport concepts.
In the Netherlands there has been a tradition of working with spatial concepts5 in spatial policy. With the Fourth National Report (1988), Dutch Government introduced a large amount of relatively new spatial concepts. In the following years some of these concepts turned out to be missing a connection with wishes and ideas of local planners or other actors in the policy process. The concept of ABC-locations is a clear example of this disconnection. Based on targets of environment and public transport, national government was trying to stimulate location of economic activity -as they formulated- "on the right spot". Their policy aimed at location of industries and services with a lot of visitors and employees in areas with a perfect connection with public transport, so-called A-locations. Other industries and services which had less employees and visitors combined with a strong dependency on highways for their production process had to be located in areas with a perfect connection with the national road-system, just outside the city. These locations are called C-locations. Unfortunately it appeared that this national policy of ABC-locations didn't match with wishes and practices of local government and most of all: with preferences of the industries themselves. In many cases industries and services preferred location on C-locations above A-locations, because of the better car-accessibility. Due to the expected positive economic effects local government turned out to be eager on attracting economic activity within their municipality-boundaries.
Description
Book of abstracts : AESOP PhD workshop 1999, Finse, Depertment of Geography Univeristy of Bergen, Norway
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CC-BY