In the footsteps of the quantitative revolution? Performing spatial science in the Netherlands

Abstract

This chapter investigates the conundrum of inadvertently characterizing Dutch spatial science as ‘lagging’. It focuses on an extensive literature review, archival sources, and interviews and correspondence with involved Dutch geographers between September 2019 and December 2020. Pre-1960s innovations in Dutch human geography were driven by the discipline’s engagement in spatial planning. In 1946, George Zeegers gives a lecture where he pleads to reform the educational program to make geographers ready for a career in planning. Mass planning in post-war reconstruction meant a high demand for speedy survey work. During the mid-1960s, Dutch geography is increasingly in dialogue with the anglophone literature in geography and regional science, and authors like Peter Haggett are actively debated in student circles. The aforementioned narrative essentially tells a story of continuity and change.