Integrating Cultural Heritage in Urban Planning: An interpretative analysis of Utrecht’s long-term spatial vision: the Ruimtelijke Strategie Utrecht 2040

This thesis examines how cultural and archaeological heritage is conceptualized and mobilized within long-term urban planning, using the Ruimtelijke Strategie Utrecht 2040 (RSU 2040) as an analytical case. Rather than treating the RSU 2040 as an object of study in itself, the thesis approaches it as a strategic planning document through which broader tensions between heritage and urban development become visible. The research addresses a central paradox in contemporary planning practice: while heritage is acknowledged as a spatial quality and cultural value within strategic visions, it often remains weakly translated into operational, regulatory, and implementation-oriented planning frameworks. The study is situated within the current context in Dutch and European spatial planning, including the relatively recent move toward integrated, area-based approaches and the increasing emphasis on participation and long-term visioning. Against this background, the thesis asks how heritage is...Show moreThis thesis examines how cultural and archaeological heritage is conceptualized and mobilized within long-term urban planning, using the Ruimtelijke Strategie Utrecht 2040 (RSU 2040) as an analytical case. Rather than treating the RSU 2040 as an object of study in itself, the thesis approaches it as a strategic planning document through which broader tensions between heritage and urban development become visible. The research addresses a central paradox in contemporary planning practice: while heritage is acknowledged as a spatial quality and cultural value within strategic visions, it often remains weakly translated into operational, regulatory, and implementation-oriented planning frameworks. The study is situated within the current context in Dutch and European spatial planning, including the relatively recent move toward integrated, area-based approaches and the increasing emphasis on participation and long-term visioning. Against this background, the thesis asks how heritage is framed, valued, and made actionable within the RSU 2040, and what this reveals about the role of heritage in guiding future urban transformation. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative and interpretative approach. It combines discourse analysis of the RSU 2040 with an analysis of public participation documents associated with the plan’s development. In addition, a semi-structured interview with a municipal professional involved in heritage-related urban development provides an institutional perspective on the relationship between strategic intentions and planning practice. Together, these materials allow the thesis to examine both how heritage is articulated in policy discourse and how it is perceived and negotiated in practice. The analysis distinguishes between different logics of heritage protection and engagement, notably between legally grounded, regulatory forms of protection and more implicit, narrative-based or design-oriented approaches. It shows that within the RSU 2040, heritage is predominantly mobilized as an identity marker, a source of spatial quality, and a narrative resource that contributes to the city’s recognizability and continuity. At the same time, explicit references to legal instruments, regulatory constraints, or implementation mechanisms remain limited and are largely deferred to other policy documents and planning instruments outside the vision itself. The theoretical framework draws on heritage-as-process perspectives and landscape biography scholarship, understanding heritage as a dynamic, historically layered, and socially negotiated practice rather than a static object of preservation. From this perspective, heritage is not something static only to be protected, but also a resource through which past, present, and future are continuously related within the planning process. The findings suggest that while the RSU 2040 successfully integrates heritage into its strategic narrative, it simultaneously externalises responsibility for its concrete operationalization. This configuration reflects broader challenges in contemporary spatial planning, where strategic visions emphasize integration and flexibility, yet risk weakening the practical anchoring of heritage considerations. The thesis concludes by reflecting on the implications of this dynamic for spatial planning in Utrecht and the Netherlands more broadly, and argues for the potential of the Gebiedsbiografie as a governance tool capable of strengthening the operational articulation of heritage by linking historical understanding, spatial design, and participatory planning practice. By treating the RSU 2040 as an analytical window rather than as an object of evaluation in itself, the thesis reflects on broader implications for heritage articulation within Dutch spatial planning.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

Integrating Cultural Heritage in Urban Planning: An interpretative analysis of Utrecht’s long-term spatial vision: the Ruimtelijke Strategie Utrecht 2040