Towards area-oriented approaches in infrastructure planning

In Dutch highway infrastructure planning a transformation from line-oriented approaches to area-oriented approaches can be observed. Conventional line-oriented planning approaches are experienced to lead to issues with budgets, time, quality and stakeholder satisfaction. This seems to be due to strong functional interrelatedness at the infrastructure-land use interface. Actors at this interface are interdependent and need to cooperate. Area-oriented approaches are expected to better incorporate the complex array of contemporary needs, demands and opportunities of the area surrounding newly planned road infrastructure. Such integrated planning approaches are expected to lead to more sustainable planning processes and more sustainable road infrastructure. The objective of this study is to provide directions for the application of area-oriented strategies in road infrastructure planning through gaining insights into the potential (dis)advantages of infrastructure-land use integration and by exploring creation, assessment and exploitation of added value. On the basis of this study a six-step process is proposed. The purpose of this process is to identify the need for integration of infrastructure and surrounding land uses and, after that, to provide directions for an area-oriented planning approach. The study concludes with 8 practical lessons for infrastructure planning practice.

Dissertation: http://hdl.handle.net/11370/927e294a-19fa-4966-8a5b-f0cfbc5c1f49