Commissioned by VRO, PosadMaxwan worked on the design process and mapping of the Ontwerp-Nota Ruimte. We coordinated the themes, monitored coherence and worked on the integral theme of living, working and accessibility. The direction of the Nota was set by the ministries, but was partly fed and inspired by our design research. We translated the complex system logic into clear maps that help guide the Netherlands' spatial choices.
The Nota Ruimte outlines a compass for the future. With it, the State gives direction to how we organize the Netherlands, from Groningen to Zeeland, from the major cities to the rural areas and the North Sea. This direction is necessary, because in our densely populated country, space is precious and the challenges are piling up. Housing, accessibility, energy, defense, economy, agriculture, nature, water and soil require coherence. New housing needs energy and water. Businesses and industry must be easily accessible. Everything intertwines. This is precisely why a clear and future-proof perspective is needed.
Four integral themes to 2050
The pressure on our space is growing. Many solutions require smart combinations and cooperation across borders. This means that interconnections are created between tasks, from local to international, and that the short and long term timelines are connected. In the Nota Ruimte, therefore, the national government combines four integral themes in which sectoral subjects touch and reinforce each other. This creates a coherent perspective for the whole of the Netherlands. In addition to living, working and accessibility, these are economy and energy, agriculture and nature and water and soil. Each theme has its own logic, but together they form a structure that gives direction to the development of our country.
Designing research
To lay out the complex puzzle of spatial choices for the whole of the Netherlands, we worked with our partners Generation.Energy, Defacto Urbanism, FABRICations, BRIGHT Cooperative and Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, as well as clients from VRO and other departments, through a process in which maps played an important role.
In this process, the maps were not only the final product but also emphatically an intermediate product during the process. The maps thus became a catalyst for ideas and the visualization of research into the spatial consequences of certain choices or priorities. Moreover, there was regular interaction between the various themes, so that our maps of living, working and accessibility were also influenced by research on housing or water, for example.
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Vision Map 2050
The Vision Map 2050 shows what the Netherlands could look like in 2050. The integral development picture makes the connection between spatial choices visible and serves as a dot on the horizon. Although the main features of the map remain recognizable, much will change in the way we organize our living environment by 2050. The map makes it clear that all spatial tasks are interrelated. Towards 2050 we are working integrally on a future-proof Netherlands, in which choices fit together and reinforce each other.
VISTA
The VISTA map is a striking feature of the Nota Ruimte. VISTA stands for: strengthen, initiate, stimulate, transform and accommodate (versterken, initiëren, stimuleren, transformeren en accommoderen). They are distinctive strategies for regional development that make visible how the national government looks at the long-term development of regions. From continued metropolis formation and radical transformation to balanced further development. The VISTA map shows how spatial planning works today: not just with instruments, but primarily as a content-driven process that connects regions and the state.
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Living, working and accessibility
Looking ahead to 2050, we are working throughout the Netherlands to achieve a better balance between living, working and accessibility. In doing so, we are exploiting the strengths of the regions and ensuring that they remain attractive and recognizable for their inhabitants. Within the regions we strive for proximity: living, working and facilities close together and easily accessible.
The three scales require different building blocks:
National the focus is on strong connections between our regions and abroad, for more network strength.
Regional the focus is on more agglomeration strength: at urban nodes of road and rail, living, working and facilities come together.
Locally the focus is on good living environments: we use opportunities to combine functions, build innovatively and make existing residential areas future-proof.
This is how we are working with the Nota Ruimte at every scale to create a future in which living, working and accessibility reinforce each other.
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Implementation towards 2050
The Ontwerp-Nota Ruimte is the prelude to the final Nota Ruimte. In order to realize the policy objectives from the Nota Ruimte, the choices will be elaborated in current and new programs, projects and - if necessary to safeguard a national interest - in rules that have direct effect in provincial environmental regulations, water board regulations, project decisions or environmental plans. This will leave sufficient room and opportunity for decentralized considerations and area-specific solutions.
In the meantime, the national government is already making agreements with the provinces on the implementation of their spatial plans. Spatial arrangements per province are being made and plans are being developed for the 16 NOVEX areas with complex tasks, such as the North Sea Port District in Zeeland and the Peel in Brabant. In these areas, the national and regional governments are jointly managing the process.