ABSTRACT
Central government intervention has traditionally been the driving force behind housing policy and strategy in the Netherlands. While other countries might have developed a less interventionist approach, with a greater role for local agencies and the private sector, central planning has been at the heart of Dutch housing policy. But this situation is slowly changing and there has, in recent years, been a discernible shift towards local responsibility and the market. If the European approach to housing is seen as being less comprehensively and intensely public sector-led, then the Netherlands is slowly but surely becoming more ‘European’. This change has grown, perhaps paradoxically, from the success enjoyed by this highly centralised approach. An apparent end to past housing shortages, the availability of relatively inexpensive housing for lower income groups (at least in the cities), and the greater importance attached to high-quality living environments amongst housing consumers have resulted in a shift in the focus of housing policy. Strong leadership in mass provision is no longer needed and so the role of government is today more about maintaining and managing the status quo than additional delivery. It also retains an important monitoring role (Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, 1997, 2001).
