Finding the right tools for the job: Instrument mixes for land use and transport integration in the Netherlands

Governments have widely established policy goals, which span the domains of land use and transport. Despite these integrated ambitions, government action often remains fragmented. This study adopts an instrumental perspective to encourage land-use and transport integration (LUTI). So far, the existing literature on this subject has adopted a single-instrument perspective and has been primarily focused on technical, rather than governance-oriented, instruments. Using a comprehensive analytical framework derived from combining policy integration and policy instrument theory, this in-depth multiple case study of the Dutch provinces of Friesland, Overijssel and North Brabant investigates how governments use a mix of policy instruments throughout the policy process to achieve LUTI in collaboration with municipalities. These instruments are compared based on how they structure interaction — i.e., the transfer of resources — across horizontal and vertical boundaries. The study finds that there is not one right tool to achieve LUTI. Instead, it is about finding the right mix of instruments, which, in line with LUTI goals, helps overcome government fragmentation by structuring interaction patterns across horizontal and vertical boundaries. Interestingly, each province adopts a unique mix of instruments that reflects a specific approach, typical to the case.