Government policy on urban renewal

The Netherlands Court of Audit published a report entitled Rijksbeleid Stedelijke Vernieuwing ('Government Policy on Urban Renewal') on 25 September 2003. Thirty large cities in the Netherlands receive an Urban Renewal Investment Budget (ISV) directly from the government to improve the quality of the residential, social and working environment.

The Court of Audit believes the Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) should ensure there is a proper understanding of the results of urban renewal policy and determine whether those results agree with the House of Representative's and the government's expectations. The Court of Audit reviewed the agreements made with the cities on the inception of the ISV policy relating to the targets to be achieved, the measures the cities would take to achieve them, how the cities would account for their actions and the control exercised by the ministry. Finally, it considered whether the Ministry of VROM gave sufficient priority to reflection on and evaluation of urban renewal policy.

The report concludes that the Minister of VROM has so far exercised too little responsibility for the system of urban renewal. If the situation does not change, the Court of Audit thinks there is a high risk that it will soon be difficult to obtain a proper understanding of what urban renewal policy has achieved.