Rijkswaterstaat: Climate-neutral and Circular Procurement

A previous post made it clear that a 15-minute city ideally consists of a 5-minute walking zone, a 15-minute walking zone, also a 5-minute cycling zone and a the 15-minute cycling zone. These three types of neighbourhoods and districts should be developed in conjunction, with employment accessibility also playing an important role.
 
In the plans for 15-minute cities in many places around the world, these types of zones intertwine, and often it is not even clear which type of zone is meant.  In Paris too, I miss clear choices in this regard.
 
The city of Melbourne aims to give a local lifestyle a dominant place among all residents. Therefore, everyone should live within at most 10 minutes' walking distance to and from all daily amenities.  For this reason, it is referred to as a 20-minute city, whereas in most examples of a 15-minute city, such as Paris, it is only about <strong>the round trip</strong>. The policy in Melbourne has received strong support from the health sector, which highlights the negative effects of traffic and air pollution.
 
In Vancouver, there is talk of a 5-minute city. The idea is for neighbourhoods to become more distinct parts of the city. Each neighbourhood should have several locally owned shops as well as public facilities such as parks, schools, community centres, childcare and libraries. High on the agenda is the push for greater diversity of residents and housing types. Especially in inner-city neighbourhoods, this is accompanied by high densities and high-rise buildings. Confronting this idea with reality yields a pattern of about 120 such geographical units (see map above).
 
Many other cities picked up the idea of the 15-minute city.  Among them: Barcelona, London, Milan, Ottawa, Detroit and Portland. The organisation of world cities C40 (now consisting of 96 cities) elevated the idea to the main policy goal in the post-Covid period.
 
All these cities advocate a reversal of mainstream urbanisation policies. In recent decades, many billions have been invested in building roads with the aim of improving accessibility. This means increasing the distance you can travel in a given time. As a result, facilities were scaled up and concentrated in increasingly distant places. This in turn led to increased congestion that negated improvements in accessibility. The response was further expansion of the road network.  This phenomenon is known as the 'mobility trap' or the Marchetti constant.
 
Instead of increasing accessibility, the 15-minute city aims to expand the number of urban functions you can access within a certain amount of time. This includes employment opportunities. The possibility of working from home has reduced the relevance of the distance between home and workplace. In contrast, the importance of a pleasant living environment has increased. A modified version of the 15-minute city, the 'walkable city' then throws high hopes. That, among other things, is the subject of my next post.

Wij de 3D Makers Zone, Bouwlab R&Do, MAAK Haarlem en Gemeente Haarlem zijn de initiatiefnemers van het C-district in Haarlem en nodigen je uit om samen met ons te bouwen aan een innovatieve, digitale en circulaire regio. Het C-district is volop in ontwikkeling. Om deze ontwikkeling vorm te geven, richten we ons op een concreet evenement waarin we al in 2024 samen kunnen werken: C The Future.

En dat doen we graag samen met jou. C The Future is hét tweedaagse evenement waar technologie, digitalisering, circulariteit, leren en innovatie samenkomen.

Hier kunnen bedrijven, onderwijsinstellingen en bewoners uit de regio kennismaken met de nieuwste toepassingen en producten. Je kunt in contact komen met de nieuwste technologieën en deelnemen aan het Skills-ontwikkelingsprogramma van de Smart Makers Academie, waar nieuwe makers, techneuten en pioniers worden opgeleid. Ontdek welke ontwikkelingen, mogelijkheden en innovaties relevant zijn voor de directe omgeving, de stad en de regio. Samen dragen we bij aan de ontwikkeling van kennis en werkgelegenheid, en een duurzame economie door bedrijven te betrekken bij de regionale uitdagingen en hun eigen bestaansrecht.

We richten dit evenement in op basis van de vijf landelijke transitieagenda’s voor een circulaire economie:

• Bouw
• Biomassa en voedsel
• Maakindustrie
• Kunststoffen
• Consumptiegoederen

Innovatie, vaardigheden en digitalisering vormen de rode draad.
 
Vrijdag 4 oktober is gericht op de bedrijven (klein, midden- en grootbedrijf), overheden en kennisinstellingen.

Zaterdag 5 oktober is bedoeld voor inwoners uit de regio die de rol van leerling, werknemer en consument vervullen.

Schrijf je nu in via onze website en neem deel!

Due to a long stay in the hospital, I was unable to post my columns. I also cannot guarantee their continuity in the near future, but I will do my best... 

In my previous post, I emphasised that urban densification should be coordinated with other claims on space. These are: expanding blue-green infrastructure and the desire to combine living and working. I am also thinking of urban horticulture. It is therefore unlikely that all the necessary housing in the Netherlands - mentioned is a number of one million housing units - can be realised in the existing built-up area. Expansion into rural areas is then inevitable and makes it possible to improve the quality of these rural areas. Densification of the many villages and small towns in our country enable to approach them from the '15-minute principle' as well. Villages should thereby become large enough to support at least a small supermarket, primary school and health centre, but also to accommodate small businesses. A fast and frequent public transport-connection to a city, to other villages and to a railway station in the vicinity is important.
 
A thorny issue is the quality of nature in the rural area. Unfortunately, it is in bad shape. A considerable part of the rural area consists of grass plots with large-scale agro-industrial use and arable land on which cattle feed is grown. Half of the Netherlands is for cows, which, incidentally, are mostly in stalls. Restoring nature in the area that is predominantly characterised by large-scale livestock farming, is an essential task for the coming decades.
 
The development of sufficiently dense built-up areas both in cities and villages and the development of new nature around and within those cities and villages is a beckoning prospect. This can be done by applying the idea of 'scheggen' in and around medium-sized and large cities. These are green zones that penetrate deep into the urban area. New residential and work locations can then join the already built-up area, preferably along existing railway lines and (fast) bus connections. These neighbourhoods can be built in their entirety with movement on foot and by bicycle as a starting point. The centre is a small densely built-up central part, where the desired amenities can be found.
 
In terms of nature development, depending on the possibilities of the soil, I am thinking of the development of forest and heath areas and lush grasslands, combined with extensive livestock farming, small-scale cultivation of agricultural and horticultural products for the benefit of nearby city, water features with a sponge function with partly recreational use, and a network of footpaths and cycle paths. Picture above: nature development and stream restoration (Photo: Bob Luijks) 

Below you can link to my free downloadable e-book: 25 Building blocks to create better streets, neighborhoods and cities