Green Belts as a Means of Managing the Landscape at the Edge of the City

Abstract

This paper will review the theory and practice of green belts as instruments of urban containment in a European context. It will point to the emphasis given to the compact city in the European Spatial Development Perspective. It will then review and compare some of the practices in different parts of Europe. Particular emphasis will be given to a comparison of policy and implementation in Scotland and the Netherlands.
The analysis will show that green belts are used to pursue a number of policy aims:they are not exclusively a tool to manage landscape resources. Furthermore they have social and economic impacts as well as landscape impacts. There are also important questions about the relation between policy and implementation. Finally recommendations are made for a more active design and management approach to planning land at the edge of the city as part of strategic spatial planning practice.