ABSTRACT
‘Soft spaces’ play a significant role in Dutch spatial planning and territorial governance, where they have been a key rationale in the development of post-war planning. The Randstad – the most famous Dutch soft space – is in an unremitting state of change of scale and focus, both as a whole and parts within it, and as such it represents a fascinating case for this book. This chapter focuses on the southern part of the Randstad. The search for an effective level of scale between the formal provincial and local, municipal spaces is a persistent issue in Dutch planning. This part of the Randstad is particularly interesting as two largely overlapping soft spaces are at stake: the South Wing Partnership (Samenwerkingsverband Zuidvleugel) and the Metropolitan region Rotterdam The Hague (Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag). 2
