The Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment ( nl, Ministerie van Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieu or ''VROM'') was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

ministry. It was responsible for policies on

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

spatial planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...

, the environment and the housing of national government agencies. It was merged with the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management into the new

Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment , type = Department , logo = Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat Logo.png , logo_width = 250x250px , logo_alt = Logo of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management , image = Rijksgeb ...

on 14 October 2010.

History

The Ministry of VROM was established as the ministry of Reconstruction and Public Housing (Dutch: ''Wederopbouw en Volkshuisvesting'') in 1947, to coordinate the reconstruction of the Netherlands after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Its main goal in this period was to build enough housing. In 1958 the ministry was renamed Public Housing and Construction Industry (Dutch: ''Volkshuisvesting en Bouwnijverheid''). In the 1965 the ministry was renamed Public Housing and Spatial Planning (Dutch: ''Volkshuisvesting en Ruimtelijke Ordening'').

Spatial planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...

and

land management Land management is the process of management, managing the land use, use and land development, development (in both Urban planning, urban and rural settings, but it is mostly managed in Urban places.) of Land (economics), land resources. Land reso ...

became more important. The high level of population growth in the

densely populated Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

Netherlands made centralized coordination of

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...

necessary. The ministry began to publish coordinate the land use policies of

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

also became an important issue for the ministry. In 1982 the ministry was renamed Public Housing and Spatial Planning and the Environment. The environment has previously been a part of the portfolio of the

Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport ( nl, Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport; VWS) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for public health, health care, quality of life, social work and sport. The Ministry was created in 1951 as ...

. With rising environmental consciousness the environment became the most important issue for the ministry. The ministry also bears responsibility for international environmental policy. Since 2006 the

Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency ( nl, Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving - abbr. ''PBL'') is a Dutch research institute that advises the Dutch government on environmental policy and regional planning issues. The research fields includ ...

is an agency of this ministry.

Ministers

First Lubbers cabinet *

Pieter Winsemius Pieter Winsemius (born 7 March 1942) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman. Winsemius worked as a researcher at the Leiden University from February 1966 until October 1970 and as a ma ...

, 1982-1986 (

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberalRudy Andeweg, Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingsto ...

) ** State secretary: Gerrit Brokx ( CDA) Second Lubbers cabinet *

Ed Nijpels Eduardus Hermannus Theresia Maria Nijpels (born 1 April 1950) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and nonprofit director. Nijpels studied Civil law at the Utrecht University obtaining a Master of Studie ...

, 1986-1989 (VVD) **State secretary: Enneüs Heerma (CDA) Third Lubbers cabinet * Hans Alders, 1989-1994 ( PvdA) **State secretary: Enneüs Heerma (CDA)

First Kok cabinet First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Margreeth de Boer Margaretha "Margreeth" de Boer (; born 16 April 1939) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). Early life and education Margaretha de Boer was born on 16 April 1939 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She studied at the Social ...

, 1994-1998 (PvdA) **State secretary: Dick Tommel ( D66)

Second Kok cabinet The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous first Kok cabinet and was formed by the soc ...

Jan Pronk Johannes Pieter "Jan" Pronk Jr. (; born 16 March 1940) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) and activist. Pronk studied Economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics obtaining a Master of Economics degree and ...

, 1998-2002 (PvdA) **State secretary: Johan Remkes (VVD)

First Balkenende cabinet The first Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Netherlands government from 22 July 2002 until 27 May 2003. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the nationalistic Pim Fortuyn List (L ...

* Henk Kamp, 2002-2003 (VVD) **State secretary: Pieter van Geel (CDA)

Second Balkenende cabinet The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal Peo ...

* Sybilla Dekker, 2003-2006 (VVD) **State secretary: Pieter van Geel (CDA)

Third Balkenende cabinet The third Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 7 July 2006 until 22 February 2007. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-liberal ...

*Sybilla Dekker, 2006 (VVD), resigned *Pieter Winsemius, 2006–2007 **State secretary: Pieter van Geel (CDA)

Fourth Balkenende cabinet The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Unio ...

* Jacqueline Cramer, 2007-2010 (PvdA) * Tineke Huizinga, 2010 ( ChristenUnie) *

Ella Vogelaar Catharina Pieternella "Ella" Vogelaar (23 December 1949 – 7 October 2019) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and trade union leader. Political career After graduating from the HBS in Zierikzee she attended the social academy ...

, 2007-2008 (PvdA); Minister without Portfolio for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration (resigned) * Eberhard van der Laan, 2008-2010 (PvdA); Minister without Portfolio for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration * Eimert van Middelkoop, 2010 (ChristenUnie); Minister without Portfolio for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration

External links

Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
{{Authority control Ministries disestablished in 2010 Netherlands, Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment Defunct environmental agencies 1947 establishments in the Netherlands Ministries disestablished in 2010 Defunct organisations based in the Netherlands