Abstract
Over the last few years, the economic crisis in Europe has dramatically altered the reality for sustainable area
development projects. Quite a few projects have been unable to respond to this changing context and have
been left in a deadlock. However, literature tends to focus on the successful or at least implemented projects. This research looks at one of these stillborn projects in the Netherlands in order to determine what prevented
them from adapting and continuing. The case is Rijnenburg, a sustainable housing project in the municipality of
Utrecht. The results show that the inertia in the projects are caused by unfulfilled expectations caused by
changing ambitions due to new financial or political realities. To add a level of reflection and discussion, a
workshop with experts was organised to determine institutional remedies that move beyond an individual case.
development projects. Quite a few projects have been unable to respond to this changing context and have
been left in a deadlock. However, literature tends to focus on the successful or at least implemented projects. This research looks at one of these stillborn projects in the Netherlands in order to determine what prevented
them from adapting and continuing. The case is Rijnenburg, a sustainable housing project in the municipality of
Utrecht. The results show that the inertia in the projects are caused by unfulfilled expectations caused by
changing ambitions due to new financial or political realities. To add a level of reflection and discussion, a
workshop with experts was organised to determine institutional remedies that move beyond an individual case.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Annual Congress of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) 2014 |
| Place of Publication | Utrecht, The Netherlands |
| Publication status | Published - 9 Jul 2014 |
