Rural proofing challenges, claims and controversy: The case of the Netherlands

In pursuing its Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas, the European Union actively promotes rural proofing as a tool for developing rural areas. At the same time, academics have identified, over several years and through examinations of rural proofing practices, procedural and fundamental problems that call its effectiveness into question. In doing so, most studies have focused on the usual ex-ante model, in which policymakers check, during policy development and before implementation (ex-ante), which consequences generic policies may (unintentionally) have for rural areas. So far, little attention has been paid to how rural proofing could be organised differently to support rural areas' future. This paper aims to do that: it contributes to the rural proofing debate by exploring whether and how rural proofing may promote rural development, and how it may fit into the current model of multi-level rural governance. The paper is based on a case study from the Netherlands that explores the added value of rural proofing in the new National Housing Policy Initiative. The empirical data include results from analysing the policy initiative, as well as a workshop and interviews with local policymakers discussing what they consider necessary to address rural housing needs. We conclude that the potential of rural proofing depends on policymakers’ ability to move beyond ex-ante and single-domain approaches, and to engage in rural proofing as a multi-level, two-way process of dialogue and collaboration that aligns national and local interests in place-based policies.