Probing and planning the future of the Dutch Randstad

Since the ‘discovery’ or social construction of the Randstad, Dutch spatial planners and policymakers have been preoccupied with its future development. This chapter takes a critical look at how the future of the Randstad has been probed and planned. It begins with a general discussion of the strengths and limitations of future-oriented research for policymaking and identifies some common pitfalls. The chapter focuses on the utility of future-oriented research and design activities for spatial planning. As far as spatial planning is concerned, the pressure for urbanization is the greatest in the high-growth scenarios: ‘transatlantic market’ and ‘global economy’. One of the most significant studies in the run-up to the Randstad 2040 Strategy is the Territorial Review of the Randstad. Aside from a small circle of professionals who may remember it, Randstad 2040 has faded into obscurity. National planning has become dismantled and more oriented to implementing sectoral objectives such as infrastructure and the energy transition rather than urbanization.