Governing structures for airport regions: Learning from the rise and fall of the 'Bestuursforum' in the Schiphol airport region

The spatial and economic impact of airport hubs on their regions has grown in the last decades. As a result, regional planners have started to integrate the governance of airport regions into their core work. The spatial developments around Schiphol Airport have been governed by a joint initiative of local actors for several decades. In this in-depth case study, we use the multi-level perspective from transition studies to draw lessons on the governance of airport regions. Our findings uncovered the rise (1980s-1990s) and the fall (2000s-2010s) of a strong governance structure: the Governance Forum Schiphol (Bestuursforum Schiphol). At its height it was able to navigate through a complex playing field of overlapping and competing governance structures. Its initial strength, the establishment of a real estate development company which enabled the implementation of its regional planning vision, also turned out to be its weakness. In the first decades of its existence, this connection with real estate development made it a central arena to which other emerging governance arrangements, addressing other issues, could connect. In the long run, it prevented the Governance Forum to adjust to changes at the landscape level and other governance arrangements emerged addressing similar issues. Currently, the platform is to be disassembled. The paper draws lessons for and raises questions on the future development of government structures for airport regions.