**2. Outline**

24 Urban Development

offs in the adjustment between spatial planning and infrastructure planning in one of the

key urban development projects in the Netherlands: Leidsche Rijn.

Fig. 1. Aerial photo of the Landtunnel Utrecht. (Gerry Hurkmans, 2009).

This chapter deals with the growing tension between the necessity to widen the Randstad's motorway network and its urban footprint. It poses the question how to integrate large scale infrastructure in urban areas. This design/engineering/planning task requires a multidisciplinary approach, combining insights drawn from urban and spatial planning, civil engineering, safety assessment, environmental impact assessment and governance.

Because most foreign readers aren't familiar with the topography and the spatial development of the western part of the Netherlands three key areas are highlighted first: the Randstad, the Green Heart and Leidsche Rijn. This sets the stage for explaining why Leidsche Rijn is a good indicator for the changes occurring in the leading concepts of urban planning, spatial planning and infrastructure planning in the Netherlands. It allows the discussion of the main concept of the Leidsche Rijn in order to explain why the city wanted to integrate the A2-corridor in the urban development. That integration had deep consequences for the physical shape of that road as it required the construction of a major road tunnel. As soon as the concept for a tunnel was embraced by the local and regional governments the deal started to unravel under pressure safety concerns, voiced by the national government. The safety of the users of the tunnel and the safety of those that would live or work next to it seemed at risk. At this point the chapter moves into an interdisciplinary area where only a few specialist speaks each others professional language. Due to a lack of mutual understanding between politicians, urban planners, safety assessment officers and transport planners the project moved in to a deadlock which took years to resolve.

The storyline is based on the review of many of the relevant policy documents and plans written in the Dutch language on this matter, on in depth interviews with key players in the process and the various environmental and safety assessments. The final form of this chapter is that of a rigorous multidisciplinary case study.
