Rob de Leeuw van Weenen
Project Manager Infra
+70 3988 342
rle@nea.nl
8 - Roads and Regional Development
Roads and Regional Development
We live in a complex world. A relationship exists between transport and economy and thus also between transport and regional development. Investment in transport has its effects on the economy of a region (and beyond) and investment in the economy of a region has its effect on the needs for transport and the use of infrastructure in the region (and beyond). The effects on the economy could lead to different results for various groups within the region. The changes in the use of infrastructure will also have an effect on the environment (pollution) and safety. The actors in the economic and transport market are diverse and have varying needs and interests. It is the government who is responsible to ensure that the best decisions are made when spending scarce public budgets for investments so that optimal results will be achieved.
To what extent and in what ways can road infrastructure contribute to regional economic development? The answer to this question is almost synonymous with the question why roads should be constructed in one area and not in another. In the multifaceted world that we live in, what we need is a robust, transparent system that is geared as well as possible to our needs. Robust means that whenever the calculations are made by whatever authority or researcher or banker, the outcome is the same. Transparent means that the system is not a black box, but that all mechanisms that are incorporated in the mathematical formula in the system are known and can be verified. With a robust and transparent system, all actors in the field of transport investment and regional development will have a common understanding of the complex world and will be able to communicate about alternatives and rely on the outcomes in order to make the best decisions.
Would you like to know more about describing regional economic development?
The more National transport infrastructure plans are integrated with long-term plans for other policy areas, the more impact they will have. This applies in particular to land-use planning and territorial development, as well as for strategic environmental plans. To be effective, national transport infrastructure investment planning should not be considered a technical or technocratic process. The acceptability of the planning results and subsequent implementation depend on a transparent public debate on the costs and the benefits of the transport infrastructure policy, including the environmental and distributional side-effects. Formal procedures of public consultation play an important role here.
Would you like to know more about an integrated approach to regional policy development?
Would you like to know about SWOT methodology and regional development planning?
