Metropolitan regional planning in Amsterdam: A case study

The planning of the Amsterdam metropolitan region is presented as a case of interorganisational coordination, focusing on coordination structures and strategies. An overview of regional governance traces the trend towards the establishment of a metropolitan regional 'City Province' and the effects of its unexpected reversal in 1995. Integrative metropolitan regional planning, special area planning and sectoral planning are reviewed, including the metropolitan regional body and national, provincial and local governments, and their interactions in developing metropolitan regional plans and policies. The case study reveals a metropolitan regional planning system of unexpected complexity and attributes the relatively successful outcomes to the intensive role of consultation and the proliferation of coordination structures in Dutch planning.