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This paper aims to compare and review alternative ways to adjust public ground leases.

Based on principles derived from a review of scientific literature, alternatives for the extension of leases are discussed based on the case of Amsterdam.

Many alternatives lead public ground-lease systems to produce results that are the opposite of what they are intended to be (as inspired by Henry George): new improvements result in higher rent, but additional location values do not result in higher rent. One exception is the lease-adjustment-at-property-transaction alternative, which may nevertheless result in fewer transactions.

Public leasehold systems are highly contested with regard to the extension of leases. Such systems are often aimed at capturing land-value gains. In practice, however, this tends to be more difficult than expected. Value capture by authorities, as intended by the system, results in counter-movements of lessees, who often gain public support to set lower leases. These political processes may even result in the termination of such public ground-lease systems. This paper reports on a search for possible solutions.

The comparison of various alternatives to ground-lease extension based on principles derived from literature is new, and it contributes insight into public ground-lease systems.

This paper aims to review the rescaling of integrated planning policies for the built environment by the transposition of European directives on air quality in The Netherlands.

This is a case study examining European and Dutch policies, legislation, case law and reports by various Dutch Courts of Auditors and assessment agencies.

The paper reveals how a combination of measures that prohibit practices and measures constituting new ways of working has facilitated environmental protection and integrated planning. The case shows that transposition matters. At first, the aim of transposing European environmental directives into an integrated national legal system resulted in an erosion of integrated planning as courts nullified new development decisions. In later instances, it resulted in the National Cooperation Programme on Air Quality (NSL), an integrated system, allowing the weighing and monitoring of all policies that affect air quality.

The findings of this study of Dutch air quality regulation may contribute to other studies into the rescaling of environmental governance in relation to interactions between central norm-setting and integrated local policies.

The case study shows a real working institutional system that relies on an interactive web tool that facilitates integrated planning decisions which respect environmental limit values. The problems faced and opportunities the system afforded are also discussed.

This paper increases understanding of the process of the transposition of European directives in relation to integrated policies for the built environment, with a specific emphasis on ambient air quality.