Prof.mr.dr. M.N. Boeve
Professor Environmental and Planning Law
Department Management in the Built Environment
On 1 September 2022, Marlon Boeve took up the position of Professor of Environmental and Planning Law in Area Development. She carries out research on the impact of environmental and planning law in practice.
The Netherlands is struggling with major issues in the areas of mobility, housing construction, sustainability and climate. These great challenges result in multiple interests coming together in area development. Environmental and planning law are therefore in the spotlight. The planned Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet) – which will combine and amend more than twenty acts that relate to our physical living environment- is therefore also an important subject of her research.
Environmental and Planning Law and Environment and Planning Act
Her research focuses on the legal and administrative evaluation of environmental and planning law in area developments. Naturally, the agenda will then also include the Environment and Planning Act, which is expected, for now, to come into force on 1 January 2024. The Environment and Planning Act aims to facilitate a coherent and area-specific approach. For example, the Environment and Planning Act will give local authorities more administrative room to manoeuvre and give citizens and businesses a more proactive role in spatial development. In addition, the national government increasingly wants to take control in spatial planning, while the Netherlands faces considerable challenges with regard to sustainability and housing construction. For Environmental Law in Area Development, it is a highly dynamic field of research.
Cross connections and complexity
Law does not stand alone, Boeve asserts. A multidisciplinary approach is important, especially in research on area development. “Interaction with other fields is necessary to identify good legal questions and to prevent law from lagging behind events and hindering innovations.”
According to Boeve, environmental law is complex, and not just because it encompasses many different areas: spatial planning, the environment, water and nature conservation. There are tiered regulations, involving different authorities, with the national government, the provincial authority, the water authority and the municipal authority all playing a role. Moreover, a significant part of national environmental law is based on European legislation. This includes standards for water quality and air quality or the protection of specific flora and fauna. This must be taken into account in Dutch area developments, Boeve says.
Experience
Marlon Boeve specialised in environmental and spatial planning law. Both disciplines fall under environmental and planning law, the domain of all legislation and regulations concerning the physical living environment. Boeve completed her doctorate in environmental and planning law for the compact city and is co-author and editor of the standard legal work Omgevingsrecht (‘Environmental and Planning Law’). and is co-author and editor of the standard legal work Omgevingsrecht (‘Environmental and Planning Law’). Among other organisations, she has worked for the Centre for Environmental Law (UvA) and continues to work part-time at the Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law of Utrecht University, where her focus includes the legal issues around the development of a circular economy.
More information
Education, publications and secondary employment
Funding chair:
- Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK)
- Technische Universiteit Delft
Boeve is appointed and assigned by TU Delft. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations financially facilitates the position of Professor of Environmental and Planning Law in Area Development at TU Delft. There is a collaboration with the Foundation for Area Development Knowledge (SKG).
