Sustainable Community Systems in the Netherlands: First Impressions from Delft

I attended a Critical Mass communal bike ride a few years ago. The event called "Go Dutch" ended with volunteers handing out t-shirts with the slogan "Get in touch with your inner Dutch". This all makes sense after visiting Holland, especially for the second time. The Netherlands boasts one of the most advanced cycling, water transport, and rail infrastructure systems, worthy of admiration by European municipalities and world cities alike.

Upon entering the Netherlands this time around, I was surprised by the proximity between cities. In fact, these cities make up an urban agglomeration comparable to Paris and other major European metropoles. Amsterdam, the Hague, Delft, Leiden, and Rotterdam can all be reached within an hour and half train ride of each other. When I went to Delft, what stood out most for me was how human-scale the neighborhood is; biking and walking comprise the dominant forms of transport.  As a planning and urbanism student, I noticed how the small scale architecture fits well with the small scale (although expansiveness) of the road network, but I wonder how much had to be adapted to the cycling. Each municipality is connected to others through the waterways and rapid bus and cycling transportation infrastructure.

One of my primary interests in the field of planning is gender mainstreaming within urban landscapes through design. Many cities, especially North American ones, do not consider the needs of women and children, especially with regards to safety and well being. Through Holland's bike system, engaging in risky behavior like riding a bike on a busy road full of cars isn't necessary. Thus, Delft's infrastructure does not limit women and children's mobility in the city. In addition, other safety considerations are taken into account, for example, the strong surveillance of bike parking facilities and separated bike paths (differentiable by pavement surface type and color). Delft offers a sound model of feminist planning in practice. 

Below are some highlights from today's bike tour of Delft: 

An advisory path that enables cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles to share the road, but cyclists are still given preference. This ensures that cyclists remain the dominant form of transport and  These road networks are part of a larger regional network across the northern-eastern Netherlands and Germany. 

A woonerf, the Dutch word for "living street" creates a car-free residential zone and fosters a pleasant neighborhood experience. It is quiet, surrounded by greenery, and safe for play and recreational activities for families and individuals from all age backgrounds. At the same time, it is accessible to commercial use areas and transportation hubs like the Delft Central Station. 

A well-designed covered bicycle parking facility at the Delft Central station ensures that bikes can be parked safely and conveniently. It alleviates messy bike parking and cluttering of bikes on the streets, which would otherwise inconvenience other cyclists and pedestrian. Electronic monitoring helps keep track of how many bike parking spaces are available. To save space, bikes can be 'parked' on two levels. The facility is video-monitored and well-lit to ensure "eyes on the street".