Planning for quality? Assessing the role of quality of place in current Dutch planning practice

In recent years, an attractive urban environment has increasingly been recognized as a factor of local competitiveness in a globalizing world. Notably, Richard Florida and Charles Landry have stressed the importance of the concept of quality of place. The implications of their often criticized, but nevertheless widely adhered ideas for current planning practices are, however, not unequivocally clear, especially with regard to large-scale redevelopment areas where notions of quality of place may clash with short-term profits goals. This paper assesses the role of quality of place in current planning practices by examining two projects, the Zuidas in Amsterdam and the Central Station area in Rotterdam. It analyses public and private actors' perceptions of quality of place, the role of quality of place in the complex arenas of decision making, and the respective responsibilities of public and private actors based on an examination of the plans and on a series of interviews with key actors involved in these projects. The expectation that public actors would be crucial, if not alone, in aiming at quality of place issues turns out to be too simple; private sector developers also tend to rely on a long-term perspective that stresses quality of place.