The role of local contexts: explaining the policy process of the URBAN programmes in Amsterdam and The Hague

In the second half of the 1990s, European URBAN-I programmes were implemented in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam (Bijlmermeer) and The Hague (Schilderswijk). In both cities, the local authorities held a relatively strong position vis-à-vis other actors involved. At the beginning, the organizational structures of these programmes were rather similar. Whereas the voice of the local authorities remained relatively strong, over time the URBAN policy process in these two cities diverged, resulting in quite different organizational structures. The local institutional contexts and policy frameworks seem to have played a key role in accounting for these differences.