Informal institutional change in De Achterhoek region: from citizen initiatives to participatory governance

Abstract

As in other European countries, the formal planning task of Dutch governments is subjected to devolution and austerity measures. Not only did these developments lead to outsourcing planning tasks to lower-level governments, also citizens are increasingly 'invited' to take responsibility for providing public facilities and services. In De Achterhoek, a Dutch region, these shifts are amplified due to population change and traditional active citizenship, and led to institutional change. Since a decade local governments stimulate citizen initiatives, under the umbrella of participatory governance. This process of institutional change did not alter formal institutions, but was the result of an informal and dialectic process between local governments and citizen organizations. In this paper, we will demonstrate the process of change and how it affected planning practices in De Achterhoek, building on theories of informal institutional change and its driving forces. The empirical part of this paper draws on the results of three focus group meetings, in which a diverse set of local stakeholders discussed the effects of change they observed and how it shaped planning practices. In the final section, we reflect on the degree of institutionalization, by examining the robustness and resilience of the observed change.

A new role for citizens’ initiatives: the difficulties in co-creating institutional change in urban planning

“…Citizens increasingly want to become active participants in urban planning and governments increasingly put in effort to ensure inclusive planning processes (Brand and Gaffikin 2007;Boelens and de Roo 2014;Meijer and van der Krabben 2018). As digital technologies continue to make information more accessible, both the demand for cocreation and the potential of its contributions are likely to increase even more in the near future (Fung 2015).…”

When it goes wrong … learning from challenged (and revived) community initiatives

“…This movement goes beyond government-led planning, since citizens and communities take the lead and implement planning initiatives themselves (Boonstra, 2016;Healey, 2006;Nederhand et al, 2016). Ideally community initiatives contribute to social cohesion and the liveability in a cost effective way, but also could help preventing degeneration (like finding new uses for empty buildings, or maintain valuable landscapes) (Li et al, 2017;Meijer and van der Krabben, 2018). Concrete examples of community-led planning initiatives are developing village plans, building community centers, maintenance of landscape, community gardens, care or sports accommodations, touristic and recreational facilities, restoration of cultural heritage sites, etc.…”

“…Also, population decline and community participation is perceived very differently in both countries. In the Achterhoek population decline is tackled proactively, with policies aimed at stimulating citizens to take over governmental facilities (Meijer and van der Krabben, 2018). In Östergötland hardly any specific policies were developed to tackle problems due to depopulation.…”

“…Also, from the perspective of planning practice and public administration there seems to be an increasing interest in community initiatives (Bisschops and Beunen, 2018;Curry, 2012). Especially in depopulating or marginal rural areas, where governmental plan-making is expensive and unrewarding, responsibilities are increasingly outsourced to the level of citizens (Meijer and van der Krabben, 2018). In such areas the capacities of communities in developing such initiatives, their resilience in dealing with decline, and the potential of endogenous development is praised (Feldhoff, 2013;Haase et al, 2012;Hospers, 2014).…”

Broadening the Scope of Spatial Planning: Making a Case for Informality in the Netherlands

“…In the fourth section, our theoretical reflections are confronted with a case study of De Achterhoek, a region in the eastern part of the Netherlands that is facing a major societal challenge: population decline. Within the Dutch planning system, traditional planning practices do not provide satisfying solutions to mitigate the effects of population decline (Kempenaar et al 2015; Meijer and van der Krabben 2018). Stakeholders in De Achterhoek are trying to go beyond these practices to deal with this challenge.…”