Samenvatting

Legislation is seen both as a problem and a solution for the lengthy process of spatial decision-making. The new Environment and Planning Act aims to speed up and improve decision-making on spatial projects. That sounds promising as an answer to the housing shortage. Can we indeed expect the Act to speed up housing projects? Will legal problems such as the protracted nitrogen crisis and appeals by opponents of new construction be prevented from now on? To answer these questions, this contribution first examines the (im)possibilities of using the instrument of legislation to tackle (spatial) problems. The subsequent analysis of accelerating measures in the Environment and Planning Act shows that a great deal of time is actually spent on activities that are not affected by legislative measures. High expectations of acceleration should therefore be tempered.