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

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 Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

and the housing of national government agencies. It was merged with the

Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management The Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (Dutch: ''Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat''; V&W) was a Dutch ministry responsible for water management, public and private transport and infrastructure. It is now part of the Min ...

into the new Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment 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 became more important. The high level of

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

in the densely populated 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 ...

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 is an agency of this ministry.

Ministers

First Lubbers cabinet The First Lubbers cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 4 November 1982 until 14 July 1986. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-liberal People's Party ...

* Pieter Winsemius, 1982-1986 ( VVD) ** 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 Studies ...

, 1986-1989 (VVD) **State secretary:

Enneüs Heerma Enneüs "Inne" Heerma (23 December 1944 – 1 March 1999) was a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and management consultant. Heerma applied at the Free University Amsterdam in July 1963 majoring in Political scie ...

(CDA) Third Lubbers cabinet *

Hans Alders Johannes Gerardus Maria "Hans" Alders (born 17 December 1952) is a retired Dutch politician Labour Party (PvdA) and businessman. He is the Chairman of the Supervisory board of rail transport company ProRail ProRail () is a Dutch government ...

, 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 reco ...

* Margreeth de Boer, 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 social ...

* Jan Pronk, 1998-2002 (PvdA) **State secretary:

Johan Remkes Johannes Wijnandus "Johan" Remkes (born 15 June 1951) is a Dutch politician and nonprofit director who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2002 to 2003 under Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. He is a member of the People's ...

(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 ...

* Henk Kamp, 2002-2003 (VVD) **State secretary:

Pieter van Geel Petrus Leonardus Bastiaan Antonius "Pieter" van Geel (born 8 April 1951) is a retired Dutch politician Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and urban planner. He was State Secretary of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment from 2002 ...

(CDA) Second Balkenende cabinet * Sybilla Dekker, 2003-2006 (VVD) **State secretary: Pieter van Geel (CDA) Third Balkenende cabinet *Sybilla Dekker, 2006 (VVD), resigned *Pieter Winsemius, 2006–2007 **State secretary: Pieter van Geel (CDA) Fourth Balkenende cabinet * Jacqueline Cramer, 2007-2010 (PvdA) *

Tineke Huizinga Johanna Catharina "Tineke" Huizinga-Heringa (born 16 February 1960) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Union (CU) party. Huizinga grew up in Amersfoort; both of her parents were teachers. After attending gymnasium, she began to study law ...

, 2010 (

ChristenUnie The Christian Union ( nl, ChristenUnie, CU) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining more progressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues while holding more socially ...

) * Ella Vogelaar, 2007-2008 (PvdA);

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration (resigned) *

Eberhard van der Laan Eberhard Edzard van der Laan (; 28 June 1955 – 5 October 2017) was a Dutch politician who served as Minister for Housing, Communities and Integration from 2008 to 2010 and Mayor of Amsterdam from 2010 until his death in 2017. He was a member ...

, 2008-2010 (PvdA);

for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration *

Eimert van Middelkoop Eimert van Middelkoop (; born 14 February 1949) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Union (CU) party and teacher. He is the chairman of the Institute for Multiparty Democracy since 20 January 2018. Early life After high school, van ...

, 2010 (ChristenUnie);

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