Sustainability through Information in the County of Viborg

This chapter summarises a study, which sought to address the question of how the provincial authority of Drenthe, The Netherlands, might more effectively support the sustainable renewal of the urban environment in the Province. One of the main goals of urban renewal policy in the Netherlands is to contribute to the sustainability of the urban environment in physical, societal and economic terms. The resulting urban renewal policy framework incorporates several policy fields at various levels of government, and relies upon concerted action by a variety of actors. The main advantage of using the actor-consulting model to gain insight into sustainable urban renewal was the fact that it was possible to identify discrepancies between the actual and desired contributions of actors. Most of the actors indicated that the role of the provincial authority is primarily a stimulating and co-ordinating role: The Province has few concrete opportunities to exert influence.