OECD Metropolitan Review of Rotterdam-The Hague (MRDH) Key findings Mr. Rolf Alter Director, Public Governance and Territorial Development Review Launch - The Hague, 1 February 2016

The Netherlands could be getting more out of its largest cities Labour productivity of select European FUAs Sorted by population size (2010) Labour productivity GDP per worker (USD PPP 2005)

The MRDH faces pressing challenges Unemployment rate (2014)

Past policies (housing, spatial planning) targeted growth centres outside major cities Polycentric spatial structure: a drag on productivity in small countries? Why aren’t Dutch cities doing better?

2011 The MRDH is a metropolitan area in the making: 1) Commuting flows Commuting trends in the MRDH: 2001, 2011, The Hague Rotterdam 2020 ?

Limited business interactions between different parts of the MRDH – Links between firms: only 9% of the core of Rotterdam’s business interactions are with firms in The Hague The MRDH is a metropolitan area in the making: 2) Economic interactions

Reduce administrative fragmentation: – Council of MRDH – 23 municipalities Facilitate decision-making and service provision at the right scale – Transport, economic development; spatial planning, housing “Look big” – From twice ~600,000 to 2.2 million The MRDH is a metropolitan area in the making: 3) Better governance pays

Governance of the MRDH in comparison Financing Policy fields of competency Staffing & budget Organisational model Hybrid: top-down & bottom-up Unique Transport & economic development Common (70% and 80%), but: plus spatial planning (>60%) 95 staff (80/15) ~ EUR 475M/5.5M Larger budgets, but this reflects broader functions Non-elected metropolitan authority Barcelona, Montreal, Vancouver (unlike London, Portland) Geographic coverage & size 23 municipalities, 2.2 million inhabitants Amsterdam, Portland, Vancouver MRDH Other OECD metro bodies

Build on (underestimated?) regional assets Focus inward, while looking outward Mobilise citizens and private sector Align policies for transport and economic development with housing, spatial planning Be bold, but be patient Making the most of the MRDH

Challenge: Constrained labour mobility. One reason is the allocation of social housing and a limited private rental sector. Recommendations: Merge the waiting lists for social housing in the MRDH Facilitate development of private rental market Making the most of the MRDH: Policy focus - housing

The MRDH: Part of the Dutch National Urban Agenda Strengthening the entire urban network Fostering adaptability and resilience Enabling customisation and experimentation Facilitating multi ‑ level collaboration on shared ambitions Four strategic principles of the NUA Korea’s Fourth Comprehensive National Land Plan toward more balanced regional development Japan’s National Spatial Strategy aims to help cities and regions adapt to demographic decline Australia’s aim to increase resilience to climate change & natural disasters in its National Urban Policy The UK’s City Deals France’s differentiated approaches to governing metro areas Mexico’s focus on improving institutional relationships in its National Housing Programme

Thank you