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Multiscalar Governance of Shrinkage in the Netherlands

Past, Present… Future

Bibliographic Data

ID22018455
AuthorsMarco Bontje (0000-0002-8326-9528, University of Amsterdam, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume9
Publication date2024-05-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueUrban Planning (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2183-7635 • E-ISSN: 2183-7635
PublisherCogitatio (PUBLISHER • PT)
DOI10.17645/up.7972
OpenAlexW4399063181
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited18

The extent of shrinkage in the Netherlands is rather limited so far. Still, the Netherlands was one of the first European countries that introduced a national-level policy for regions facing structural population decline and shrinkage in 2009: the Population Decline Action Plan. This happened in response to local and regional policy initiatives and a lobby of local and regional governments, but also because the Minister of the Interior perceived shrinkage as a national policy challenge. This action plan was an attempt to arrange a multiscalar governance of shrinkage at national, regional, and local scales. However, this policy ended in 2019, and its last remaining element, a targeted subsidy for regions facing structural population decline, ended in 2022. This article will discuss (a) how and why the policy was introduced and how its governance was arranged, (b) how the policy changed between 2009 and 2022, (c) why it ended, (d) which new regional policies have been developed recently instead, and (e) what this could mean for the governance of shrinkage in the Netherlands

Business · Corporate governance · Environmental resource management · Geography · Shrinkage · Computer Science · Environmental Science · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Urban Development and Cultural Heritage · Urbanization and City Planning · Finance

  • Research on China’s population health policy

    Open Access•Rongjiang Cai, Congying Shen et al.•BMC Public Health•2025

  • A Renewal of Integrated Concepts as a Strategy for Enhancing Its Own Scope as a Small Town in a Shrinking Realm

    Open Access•Arvid Krüger, Lena Knacker•Urban Science•2026

  • Urban Shrinkage, Degrowth, and Sustainability

    Open Access•Joop de Kraker, Christian Scholl et al.•Urban Planning•2024

  • What Does It Take to ‘ Accept ’ Urban Shrinkage ? A Comparative Analysis of Discursive Pathways to Policy and Action on Shrinking Cities in the Netherlands and Finland

    Open Access•M Marjanovic, Johanna Lilius•International Journal of Urban…•2025

  • Stigma, constraints and policy paralysis. Explaining local governments’ failure to deal with population decline

    Open Access•Marlies Meijer, Josefina Syssner•Planning Practice and Research•2026

  • Parallels and divergences

    Open Access•Sara Löwgren, Josefina Syssner•Planning Practice and Research•2026

  • Scale

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    Gert‐jan Hospers, GERT-JAN HOSPERS•European Planning Studies•2014

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    Open Access•Cristina Martinez-Fernandez, Tamara Weyman et al.•Progress in Planning•2016

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    Gregory F Randolph, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett et al.•Journal of the American Planning…•2022

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    BAS WATERHOUT, Frank Othengrafen et al.•Planning Practice and Research•2013

  • An evolutionary perspective on experimental local governance arrangements with local governments and residents in Dutch rural areas of depopulation

    Open Access•Hiska Ubels, B B Bock et al.•Environment and Planning C…•2019

  • Dutch urban governance

    Open Access•Anita Kokx, Ronald Van Kempen•European Urban and Regional Studies•2010

  • Urban shrinkage as an emerging concern for European policymaking

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    Open Access•Raoul Beunen, Marlies Meijer et al.•Land Use Policy•2020

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    Open Access•Alan Mallach, Annegret Haase et al.•Cities•2017

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Unique citing works6
Citations per year3
Citation span2024 - 2026 (3)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 6
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