Nationale Omgevingsvisie (NOVI – National Strategy on Spatial Planning and the Environment)
Core idea
Integrated national environmental-and-spatial vision under the Environment Act.
Why it matters
Merged spatial planning and environmental policy into one long-term national strategy.
Description
The Nationale Omgevingsvisie, or NOVI, was established in 2020 as the national strategy on spatial planning and the living environment, published in the State Gazette in September 2020. Forming the national environmental vision under the new Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet), it set out a long-term, integrated view of the Netherlands' development around four priority tasks: sustainable economic growth potential, space for climate adaptation and the energy transition, strong and liveable cities and regions, and a future-proof rural area. Its guiding principle was that interventions in the living environment should be combined rather than pursued in isolation, with the strategy self-binding for central government and intended to guide provincial and municipal visions.
Significance
The NOVI integrated spatial planning with environmental, climate and infrastructure policy into a single national framework, marking a shift from the earlier sectoral Nota tradition towards holistic management of the living environment. As the national vision under the Environment Act, it set the contemporary agenda for reconciling housing, energy transition, climate adaptation and landscape across the Netherlands.
What shaped it
- Sustainable development (Brundtland) (1987)
- Urban resilience (2013)
- SDG 11 — Sustainable Cities (2015)
- Paris Climate Agreement (2015)
Sources
- https://iplo.nl/regelgeving/instrumenten/omgevingsvisie/nationale-omgevingsvisie/
- https://www.cultureelerfgoed.nl/onderwerpen/o/omgevingswet/omgevingsvisie/nationale-omgevingsvis