ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the Dutch spatial planning will be assessed in two ways. The first is in terms of its effects. The second way in which Dutch spatial planning is assessed is by using the criteria which political scientists use when assessing the activities of the public administration. Dutch planning agencies, and in particular the municipalities, often place pragmatism before some of the principles of good government, in particular before legal certainty and transparency. For the pragmatism of much Dutch planning can increasingly be found in other sectors of the public administration. A fairly recent hype in Dutch planning is called 'contract planning', and it is recommended as being much more effective than land-use planning by plans and permits. Using public powers for land-use planning pragmatically, rather than in a principled way, with contract planning as the most extreme form, undermines people's trust in land-use planning.
