Urban Land Development: the Meaning of the Rotterdam Case for the New Dutch Voluntary Urban Reallotment Act
Johan Groot Nibbelink & Peter de Wolf
The Dutch government is developing a set of rules for the settlement of urban land readjustment. This system of rules seems to be a new idea in the context of Dutch government. However, one precedent can be found in the reallocation of plots in Rotterdam which were destroyed during the Second World. After the war, owners of the damaged area were expropriated and in exchange they got a claim for a new plot. This claim could only be cashed in by building on the allocated plot. Due to the implementation of a sophisticated system, land and buildings values were estimated in former situation and in new situation. This post-war system of allocating plots survived many decades, right up until the early 1980s. The rules for urban land readjustment in their present form are not based on expropriation. Owners have to agree voluntarily to an exchange of property. However, lessons can be drawn from the Rotterdam readjustment. Moreover, in the case of voluntary readjustment it is advisable to work with two different estimated values, one regarding the offered land and one regarding the allocated land. Similar to the Rotterdam case, added value due to reallocation of functions and accessibility of land, can be attributed to the project. It is also important to note that the means of allocation during a long period of time, can be significant for urban land readjustment today.
Event: FIG Working Week 2016 : Recovery from Disaster
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