From plan fast to delivery in practice - how Houten wins four years in area development

Metropoolregio Utrecht
14:00 - 14:30
Wednesday 10 June
content
Dutch spoken

Houten is on the threshold of a major development challenge. With around 30 locations in a contiguous area – and soon also Houten Oost – the municipality is deliberately choosing parallel planning: an approach in which plan-making and collaboration with developers take place simultaneously and intensively. This enables Houten to maintain momentum with limited capacity, working with initiators and housing associations to create strong neighbourhoods with a coherent residential programme and an attractive, multifunctional public realm.

Parallel planning must become the new norm. The shortened process cuts the plan cycle by as much as four years, prevents everyone, amid capacity constraints, from having to keep reinventing the wheel, and also ensures a pleasant, equitable collaboration. But how does that work in practice, and what should you watch out for?

Eveline Herben (councillor Houten), Barbara Wassenaar (area development regisseur Houten) and Evelyn Rademakers (Fakton) take you through the Houten approach: the lessons, the pitfalls and, above all, the opportunities to truly accelerate area development.