ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about the Dutch local governments that have a financial stake in developing new offices, due to their direct-development strategies. It examines what extent innovative ways of using law and property rights could contribute to finding solutions for these collective shortcomings, with the Amsterdam Office Space Tragedy as an example. The chapter discusses the Amsterdam local governments have failed to control land use and analyses the set of regulatory decisions that have been proposed to address the problem, for example through the use of transferable development rights. It analyses whether law and property rights are the best way to deal with the challenges, or whether other approaches might result in more effective solutions. The chapter further focuses on the way the Amsterdam region is dealing with the office overcapacity. It explores some municipal initiatives, like the ideas for introducing a vacancy tax, more flexible zoning, mechanisms of urban land readjustment, or the office-for-office instrument.
