You can build a house in a few weeks or even a single day. But drawing up plans takes more than ten years. That can and must be done faster, says Sven Schroots, author of the guide to area development. “Fear reigns.”
Recently, Sven Schroots, a partner at Akro Consult (a consulting firm specializing in public-private partnerships and area development), was in Valencia with his soccer team. There, in an old riverbed, they developed the “Jardin del Turia”—“a truly fantastic park.”
What Schroots likes about that park is that they built a number of massive buildings there from the ground up, even before they had a buyer for them. In the Netherlands, something like that is unthinkable, says the expert in the latest episode of the Bureau Stoer podcast.
That’s right. Before a single shovel hits the ground in the Netherlands, a full ten years can easily pass. Schroots believes this process can and must move faster, and through his firm, he helps municipalities, developers, and other stakeholders pick up the pace.
He compiled all the tips and success stories in what is now the seventh edition of the Area Development Guide. Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan, Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, was presented with the first copy during Project Development Day in May. She agrees with Schroots’ analysis and, speaking in travel guide terms, said… “We need to do less sightseeing…”
We spoke with Schroots in Utrecht for the latest episode of the Bureau Stoer podcast.
Why does the preliminary phase of an area development take so agonizingly long?
“Because there are a lot of parties involved. Public and private parties are often at the mercy of one another and quickly get bogged down in all sorts of ‘pre-nuptial agreements’ and complexities.”
Does it bother you that this preliminary phase is moving so agonizingly slowly?
“Not necessarily, but if we want to solve social problems, such as the housing crisis, we’ll have to pick up the pace.”
Is that possible?
“It can certainly be done faster. Right now, however, we’re very busy accelerating the final part of the process: standardizing construction and shortening appeal procedures. These are important, but the greatest gains can be made in the preliminary phase.”
You created the “Area Development Travel Guide.” What kind of journey is area development best compared to?
“To a boat trip… You dock at different places and villages along the way. It’s exactly the same with area development. You have to visit all the different stakeholders to slowly shape ‘your journey.’ On a boat trip, though, I wouldn’t be gone for 20 years—at most four weeks. Otherwise, people would start wondering where I’ve gone.”
Is a trip like that even a little bit fun anymore? Or are most developers and aldermen hanging over the railing, vomiting halfway through?
“That’s putting it rather bluntly, but it’s true that these processes with non-elected partners take quite a long time. That’s also because we have to deal with property rights in the Netherlands. You simply can’t just take someone’s property away. As a result, in large-scale area development projects, you inevitably have to deal with a great many parties. Delta Commissioner Co Verdaas once compared area development to playing billiards at sea: you can know all the rules and want to organize everything perfectly, but if the conditions are constantly changing, that won’t get you very far. In short, the trick is not to prepare for “calm, peaceful seas,” but for rough seas. Think about development strategies and prepare wisely for whatever you might encounter in the future.”
What exactly is the purpose of your travel guide?
“It started out as a fairly utilitarian book. Everyone opted for the most stringent bidding process, and that didn’t help public-private partnerships. We needed to come up with a solution, and that was the very first guide. Since then, quite a few court rulings have been added. Every time the bidding rules were tightened, a new book was published. Since the last edition, we’ve focused primarily on collaboration. How do you go about it? What do you need to arrange? What does that mean for the framework conditions and the terms and conditions for my area development? How do I strategically get from point A to point B?”
Are there many parties that get bogged down along the journey known as area development?
“Well, ‘bogged down’… Area development can be a bit of a slog at times, and that’s not a bad thing. There are also positive examples, by the way.”
What’s a good example of successful neighborhood development?
“I think De Suikerzijde in Groningen, which has just gotten underway, is a textbook example of how to accelerate the process. The municipality is collaborating with Dura Vermeer in a well-thought-out manner. They aren’t locking everything down and are bringing in the necessary expertise at the right time. The first homes there are now being built very quickly. It took just under 9 months to reach an agreement on the construction of 700 homes.”
What’s the secret?
“The art of accelerating progress lies above all in carefully considering your strategy each time… And, get to know each other. We’ve completely forgotten how to get to know each other, because we all find it nerve-wracking to collaborate closely with others. We’re afraid of giving another party an unfair advantage or of running into state aid issues.”
Does fear reign in the world of neighborhood development?
“Yes, but I also see a ray of hope. The debate about doing more together, collaborating more, and having more discussions early on to speed things up later is starting to gain momentum.”
Curious about Sven Schroots’ full story? And what does he mean by the “Ferrari-Dacia syndrome”? Listen to Bureau Stoer.
Want to see more from Bureau Stoer? Click here.
