Ruimtetekort

Ruimtetekort, literally space shortage, is a term used in urban planning and related disciplines to describe the lack of available physical space to meet current and anticipated needs. It can apply to housing, commercial real estate, industrial land, public services, storage, or general open space within a city, region, or facility. While the specific meaning varies by context, the common element is that demand for space outstrips supply, leading to higher prices, congestion, and planning constraints.

Causes include population growth and urbanization, geographic limitations, long or opaque planning processes, restrictive zoning, speculative land use, inadequate brownfield redevelopment, and infrastructure bottlenecks.

Implications include rising housing costs and rents, crowded neighborhoods, longer commutes, pressure on schools and hospitals, reduced green space, and environmental or social trade-offs. Measurement often relies on indicators such as housing vacancy, housing affordability, dwelling units per hectare, floor area ratio, vacancy rates in commercial real estate, and per-capita available open space.

Policy responses emphasize supply-side measures (releasing land, upzoning, increasing density through urban infill and vertical development, brownfield redevelopment), streamlined permitting, and targeted subsidies. Demand-side tools may include affordability programs, infrastructure investments to unlock new areas, and partnerships with private developers. Effective management of ruimtetekort often requires integrated spatial planning, data-driven forecasting, and stakeholder engagement to balance livability, economic vitality, and sustainability.

Because it is a broad concept rather than a single standardized metric, the term appears mainly in Dutch- and Norwegian-speaking planning discourse and is used to frame discussions about housing affordability, urban form, and regional competitiveness.