The rise (and fall?) of national retail planning

One of the most important factors driving urbanisation processes is the location of shops. The Netherlands has taken a particularly hard line against what it calls 'peripheral' developments by establishing rules at the national level to curb the growth of out-of-town hypermarkets and shopping malls. With the arrival of the Fifth Report on Spatial Planning draft, this resolve seems to have weakened, and deregulation and decentralisation have become the new catchwords. Paradoxically, this is occurring as Belgium, Germany, France and the UK - all of whom have had experience with a more liberal policy - are tightening restrictions. This paper explores this curious shift in terms of political interests, asking who was served by the old planning regime, and who would rather see it go. In this debate, planning ideology and rhetoric was pitted against that of free-market competition. In the end, it seems as if the latter has gained the upper hand.