Planning for Decline: Anticipating on Population Decline in the Netherlands

Abstract

Some regions in The Netherlands have been experiencing population decline in the last decade(s). Although decline figures are much lower than in more traditional areas of decline in Europe, Dutch planners and policy-makers feel the need to develop several strategies of planning for decline. This paper gives an overview of regional population trends in the Netherlands up to 2040, showing that at the regional level, population growth and decline can occur next to each other in both urban and rural areas. The number of single-person households is expected to continue growing. However, single households form a varied group, and population trends differ substantially between urban and rural areas. The strategies applied by policy-makers who focus, so far, on accommodating decline through measures on the housing market are analysed. Next to this, some additional policy alternatives are discussed. Copyright (c) 2010 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.

The self-reinforcing effects of population decline: An analysis of differences in moving behaviour between rural neighbourhoods with declining and stable populations

“…As a growing number of developed countries and regions across the world are reporting falling population numbers (Lee and Reher, 2011;Martinez-Fernandez et al, 2012), both scholars and public policymakers have become increasingly interested in the issue of population decline over the past decade (Feser and Sweeney, 2003;Stockdale, 2006;Reher, 2007;Haartsen and Venhorst, 2010;Coleman and Rowthorn, 2011;Matanle et al, 2011, Martinez-Fernandez et al, 2012Bontje and Musterd 2012;Haartsen and Van Wissen, 2012;Hoekveld, 2012). Regardless of the scale at which population decline is being observed, it is clear that such decreases can happen for a variety of reasons, and can have a wide range of consequences.…”

Who fears and who welcomes population decline?

“…The following are some examples of the types of messages that are appearing in the media: "Shrinking towns should not become ghettos for senior citizens," "Cities are ill-prepared for population decline," and "The better educated are having too few children." In short, population decline is slowly but gradually becoming part of the Dutch reality, and in some regions it is already a fact of life (see Haartsen and Venhorst 2010).…”

Population Change and New Firm Formation in Urban and Rural Regions

“…Population decline is a complex issue with many social and economic implications; with mainly young people leaving, fewer children are born and the ageing population is left with fewer employment opportunities, and fewer retail and care facilities (Haartsen and Venhorst, 2010;Van Wissen, 2010).…”