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Underground Challenges and Shared Solutions: Lessons from Amsterdam for District Heating in Haarlemmermeer

How do you install district heating in villages with narrow streets and limited underground space? This was the central question during a recent deepdive session hosted in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. The session brought together experts from the City of Amsterdam, local officials and experts from Haarlemmermeer, and Arcadis to explore practical solutions to the physical challenges of implementing district heating in dense and complex infrastructure environments.
From complexity to coordination
Amsterdam has years of experience addressing similar challenges in dense urban areas where underground infrastructure is already under pressure. Experts from the City of Amsterdam were invited to share their approach, which combines long-term planning, integrated design processes, and flexibility in applying standards.
Some key principles they shared:
- Planning 15 years ahead: Amsterdam actively involves all utility providers to map out future plans and co-create underground infrastructure layouts.
- Using standard ways of working in the underground (WIOR) and a standardised scheme for subsurface infrastructure planning: These frameworks help assess available underground space and guide decisions when concessions are necessary.
- Embracing alternative methods: Stacking pipelines instead of placing them side-by-side, drilling under roads, or clustering transport cables in walls or consolidated zones are all viable options.
Sometimes, this requires deviating from standard spacing requirements. Such exceptions are only made with strong justification and agreement at the decision-making level.
A fresh look at Haarlemmermeer’s challenges
Participants from Haarlemmermeer acknowledged that they face several pressing issues. With limited space in the underground and a lack of an integrated planning framework, it is difficult to make informed, long-term decisions. Three villages in the municipality are particularly challenging due to their narrow streets and aging infrastructure.
Key challenges included:
- Underestimating the space needed for district heating infrastructure (including expansion loops, communication lines, and insulation).
- Rigid adherence to guidelines, which may not always be feasible locally.
- A missing coordinating role to oversee all the different parties operating in the underground to facilitate collaboration.
Shared lessons, shared responsibility
The session made clear that while every context is different, the challenges of underground infrastructure for district heating are shared across municipalities. The city of Amsterdam is a bit further ahead than Haarlemmermeer, and their expertise was already tremendously helpful. The Amsterdam case shows that smart, flexible planning—backed by clear coordination of all parties active in the underground —can lead to effective, long-term solutions.
Now the task for Haarlemmermeer is to translate these insights into concrete next steps. As one participant concluded, “We need to move from awareness to action.”
Would you like to learn more about this topic? Please contact Noor at noor@amsterdaminchange.com.
Edge AI Handson Special @SensemakersAMS

This Wednesday we'll be tinkering in the Makerspace of the OBA again, you can work on your own projects but you can also join the free workshop where you can learn to run an AI model locally on your smartphone or microcontroller and teach it to do keyword spotting or object recognition.
Looking forward to seeing you! We spreken trouwens ook Nederlands!
Remote Sensing (Satellites), Vrijheidscollege

Dimitri Tokmetzis (1975) is a historian and investigative journalist. He leads the data team of Follow The Money and wrote the books Je hebt wel iets te verbergen (2016) and De digitale Schaduw (2012). He is currently very much involved in remote sensing, which allows you to obtain information about a person, animal or thing without making physical contact. In his Freedom Lecture he discusses power and freedom in a time when the sky is full of satellites.
The intention is to end the evening with an interactive debate based on the lecture!
Send an email to SensemakersAMS@protonmail.com if you want to join!
ViaVan is de gemakkelijke en slimme manier om in regio Amsterdam te reizen. ViaVan is een on-demand gedeelde rittendienst die passagiers die dezelfde kant op moeten ophaalt en naar hun bestemming brengt. Op die manier houdt ViaVan ritten flexibel en slechts een klein beetje duurder dan openbaar vervoer!
Hoe werkt ViaVan?
Boek een rit via de app op je telefoon
Word opgehaald bij een virtuele bushalte
Deel je rit met anderen die dezelfde kant op gaan
Bespaar geld en verminder uitstoot en verkeersopstoppingen!
Reisproef tip
Doe je mee aan de Reisproef? Met de speciale Reisproef ViaPass krijg je voor slechts €22,50 tot 4 gratis ritten per dag! Kijk hier voor meer informatie: https://www.viavan.com/reisproef-viapass/
Happy riding!
Autodelen in Amsterdam is nog nooit zo eenvoudig geweest dankzij car2go. Registreren, valideren en rijden. Met car2go is er altijd een auto in de buurt als je er eentje nodig hebt.
Registreer online
Registreer je op de website van car2go met je persoonlijke gegevens, zoals adres- en betalingsgegevens, om gebruik te maken van carsharing in Amsterdam.
Download de app
Gewoon even je rijbewijs scannen met de app. Daar kunnen we je rijbewijs en adres direct controleren, waarna je meteen gebruik kunt maken van carsharing met car2go.
https://youtu.be/8XF_FfNUxOo