Overview

Amersfoort, a prosperous historic town near Utrecht with a population of around 135,000, has developed three new settlements on its outskirts to provide over 20,000 new homes. The aim was to stay 'small, beautiful and modest', while taking advantage of the government's Ten Year Vinex housing programme. Amersfoort is now designated as 'one of the greenest cities in Europe'.

Amersfoort has won international acclaim as a sustainable city, for a number of reasons:

• Amersfoort City Council was determined that the city would retain its character and community whilst still fitting in with national policy, and worked hard to achieve this

• The new developments of Vathorst, Kattenbroek and Nieuwland aimed to set new standards in exemplary design, whilst maintaining high standards of social and environmental sustainability.

• The centre has been made car free, with local services and public transport links within walking distance of every new home.

• The municipality felt strongly that the new areas should be for everyone, “with no separation of poorer and richer households as had happened in Amersfoort in the past”.

» Background

Background

How did the project come about?

In 1981 Amersfoort was designated a Growth City by the national government, leading to significant increase in the hospitality and trade sectors, the development of a number of business areas and the building of a new station. The population was predicted to increase from 130,000 in 1981 to 160,000 by 2016. Amersfoort therefore needed to grow, but without losing its character or encroaching into the countryside.

The VINEX Housing Programme

In 1990/1 the Dutch government issued its “VINEX” report on spatial planning, which proposed the building of455,000 new houses between 1996 to 2005. Of these, 285,000 houses were to be built around cities in suburbs, with the stipulation that they should:

• be compact in order to preserve the countryside

• be close to existing cities to keep car travel to a minimum

• be developed around existing or new public transport

• be close to shops and employment opportunities

The national government provided financial incentives to local and regional authorities, including 3.2 billion euros for transport and traffic investment.

Amersfoort municipality developed their three new settlements to exceed the government's standards wherever possible, and to create thriving places to live, work and invest.

Delivering the Concept

While the schemes in Vathorst, Kattenbroek and Nieuwland are all different, they have commonalities with other projects in the Netherlands:

Connectivity

Cars are banned from the city centre and are restricted in the new developments, to reduce car dependency. High quality cycle and footpaths intersect all neighbourhoods. To encourage the use of public transport there is a maximum walking distance of 400m to bus stops from every house.

Cycle paths in Vathorst

Environment

The city has set itself a target of 10% below the rate set by the Government for emissions and energy consumption. The developments make use of durable materials and energy resources, including district heating by means of an incinerator, solar panels, efficient use of space (clustering of amenities) and high-quality architecture. Rain water is retained on site. Underground waste storage is an innovative Dutch practice that encourages recycling.

Theming and character

Every section of the development has its own atmosphere reflected in architecture, density, scenery and structure. The original landscapes including ditches, old lanes and farm tracks are incorporated into the new environments. Kattenbroek has attracted international attention for its themed residential areas and Nieuwland has experimented in how solar panelling can be attractively integrated into architecture.

» The Impact

Overview «

The Impact

Community and the Public Realm

One of the outstanding achievements of Vathorst was to ensure that infrastructure was developed in step with housing, so that all the necessary facilities to support a new community were in place as soon as people begin to move in. Temporary buildings were used to house facilities such as shops, crèches, schools and a health care centre while the permanent facilities were being built. The development includes football courts, tennis courts, a skateboard park and a swimming pool.

Vathorst canal side housing (Source URBED)

Communal areas play an important social function in the new settlements. Car reduction has given ownership of the streets back to local residents and promotes walking and social interaction. See-through fences give a sense of open (but private) space and help provide a green aspect in spite of density. Wild areas have been planned to encourage biodiversity. Neighbourhood wardens and 'super caretakers' help maintain the public realm to high standards, making these settlements very appealing places to live.

To ensure a mixed and fair community, 70% of the homes are allocated to owner occupation and 30% to rental, but with designs that are indistinguishable.

What makes this project special?

The city of Amersfoort demonstrates the benefits of a city council taking the lead and adopting a proactive approach for the benefit of the local community.

Once Vathorst has been completed by 2014, these three critically acclaimed new developments will provide nearly 21,000 new houses. Sustainability for communities and the environment is knitted into the fabric of the settlements, making them very desirable places to live.

» Good Practice

Background «

Good Practice

What can be learned from this project?

The VINEX programme provides a number of valuable lessons to other eco-town initiatives:

• Good coordination between different levels of government to facilitate a smooth start, through regional panels of politicians and officials

• Partnership working: negotiating with private developers on the sale of plots, and setting up multi-disciplinary project teams that cross professional boundaries

Vathorst waterside housing (Source URBED)

• Visioning: selecting masterplanners through carefully run competitions with briefs set by the municipality

• Environment: using Quality Panels of design experts to set environmental goals and monitor the material used

• Explotation of existing landscape features, such as trees, water and old buildings, to give each new suburb a unique character

• Building for variety and theming helps sell houses, promotes community pride, and strengthens existing cities.

In Vathorst they say "make water your friend not your enermy" (Source URBED)

• Adopting policies whereby the car is banned from areas that are easily accessible by other means.

• Encouraging the use of alternative means of transport by investing in new routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

• Developing services alongside housing to ensure that sustainability is built in from the start.

» Reference

The Impact «

Reference

External links

Amersfoort website
Vathorst website
Vathorst information PDF

Good Practice «