Regional development and leisure in Fryslân: A complex adaptive systems perspective through evolutionary economic geography

Introduction In September 2013 a European jury chose Leeuwarden, the capital of the Dutch province of Fryslân, as European Capital of Culture for 2018 (Joustra 2013). This title might have come as a surprise to some, given the competition of larger and better-known Dutch cities such as The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven; nevertheless, the designation of Leeuwarden matches the development in the north of the Netherlands, where regional development is increasingly focused on creating an environment in which people enjoy being. The route towards 2018 consists of a programme that specifically aims at making the area ‘optimally attractive’ (Stichting Kulturele Haadstêd 2015, 2018). This is part of the development that Hermans and De Roo (2006) call a ‘leisure economy’. The rationale is that rural or peripheral areas such as Fryslân cannot compete with the core economic areas in Europe. However, the peripheral location and lower population density do result in qualities that are important for leisure, such as green spaces, waterscapes and tranquillity. Leisure, in this context, is seen not just as an economic activity, but also as relating to well-being, identity and status, and even a state of mind or attitude, for instance a feeling of freedom (cf. Gospodini 2001; Walmsley 2003; Greenwood Parr and Lashua 2004). Particularly for areas in the face of population decline, as is the case for many rural regions in the EU (see Haartsen and Venhorst 2010; Provincie Fryslân 2013: 8), focusing on leisure development can generate social, cultural and political advantages, which go far beyond economic benefits (e.g. Stebbins 1982; Parra 2010a).