Houten, NL: The "Complete Community" Suburb?

After taking a train ride a third of the way across Holland eastward, a few stations past Utrecht Centraal, we arrived in a small 50,000 person 'suburb' known as Houten. Houten exhibits the features of a 'complete community' , with around 5,000-10,000 of the working age population commuting and about the other half remain in Houten as working age adults- mixed age community. The neighborhood provides the very amenities Americans and Canadians might expect for their family-friendly suburb, with higher density housing and more mixed-use commercial development. In addition, within a ten-minute train ride (or 5 miles), one can conveniently reach the center of Utrecht.

Urban Form

Cauliflower Model of Neighborhood Design

Unlike the American suburb bounded by the superblock, Houten consists of a cauliflower neighborhood design and represents the ideal example for self-containment. Car traffic circles around the neighborhood, while a bike path forms an access route directly through the neighborhood north to south, perpendicular to the train route which runs west to east. The main train station forms a higher density, commercial development. The bike path that intersects this center transitions into medium density residential areas, around 40 dwelling units/ acre, well above the 'sustainable community' density targets outlined in Canada (around 33 du/acre). Smaller walking paths and sidewalks form a complex grid pattern within the circle. According to a City Lab article on the neighborhood, non-car travel dominates with approximately 66% of commuting being made multi-modally by car, bike, or transit. No wonder it seemed as though more cars were parked than driven! In fact, the park ones looked like they had barely ever been driven.

Unlike the American model of suburban development, in which commercial trip development and cul de sacs block connectivity, Houten sets an example by enabling permeability and connectivity through small archways in commercial midrise buildings, narrow pedestrian walkways, tunnels, and stairwells/ramps. Architecturally and landscape design wise, these also form interesting blocks and paths. For cyclists and pedestrians, that means there is rarely a dull moment while out and about in this neighborhood.

Along the main bike route access road, car traffic is occassionally prohibited

Stairwells are equipped with cycle ramps to enable cyclists' mobility 

Green and Stormwater Management Features

Landscape architects, behold: Houten's streets and sidewalks are the creme de la creme for managing stormwater in the most natural methods possible. Most sidewalks contain permeable pavements, through crevices, so that rainwater can seep through the cracks, removing most pollutants. In addition, natural infiltration prevents fish kill, as stormwater does not move rapidly and at high temperatures through the conventional storm drainage system. It also ensures the rainwater ends up in groundwater systems. Many streets lack curbs. Rain-gardens border them. This way, water that does not infiltrate through the pavement cracks can feed into the nearby vegetation. Rather than using asphalt as the primary pavement material, grass and gravel are popular materials, enabling better infiltration.

The neighborhood, while more compact than the American suburb, is well-endowed in green open space. Unlike many of the suburban parks in North America, many of the children and parents in this neighborhood actually frequent the various patches of open space. In addition, the open space  is more than just a bland field of grass. It contains a small basketball court, a sand pit for soccer games, and a miniature playground. On all sides, it is surrounded by multi-family row housing. Eyes on the street clearly enable its surveillance. 

The residential streets are bordered by abundant green space. 

 permeable pavements and curb-less streets enable best infiltration practices 

Housing Types, Architectural Features, and Transit 

A labeled mixed use building containing 'workspaces", "lounge and food" , housing and a bank. 

Closer to the train station, commercial development consists of mixed-use midrise housing of around four or five stories. Some buildings consisted of labeled multiple uses, such as a restaurant, shops, and housing. Multi-functionality has evolved as an important trend in Dutch planning practice in response to land scarcity in the Randstad area, an agglomeration of four cities (Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht). 

Throughout the rest of the neighborhood, more row and duplex housing, in addition to a few semi-detached homes, creates residential neighborhood density. The residential neighborhoods are connected to the city not only by bike but also by bus. The bus station is equipped with a good electronic signage post, resembling the higher-tech transit system improvements at Maple Ridge, BC, a newer community in Metro Vancouver.

Bike routes are demarcated through color-coding

Electronic Schedule Display at a Houten bus stop

Signage exists at every major intersection to provide orientation 

Although our group of Canadian civil engineering and planning students appreciated the efforts of Houten, we all wondered if these ideas could be transferred to North American communities. Given the rarity of such a neighborhood in North America, a neighborhood with these Dutch design elements would appeal to many people, especially families. This, in turn, would hike up the housing prices. In a place as unaffordable as Vancouver, how can such communities be designed or existing suburbs retrofitted so as to remain inclusive? When bringing these ideas over to our continent, we should keep affordability in mind.  

Read more on the Houten case study and sustainable suburban communities here

A History of Urbanism in Rotterdam

As first-time visitors to Rotterdam, the southernmost port city forming the Netherland's major metropolitan region, what better way to become acquainted with how the city deals with its transportation and land use issues, than to hear from two of Rotterdam's 'plangineers' and professors at the Rotterdam Hoge School. I use this as their job title because of the institution's progressive interdisciplinary curriculum in which civil engineering, planning, and architecture are well  engouh integrated to be taught alongside each other in one lecture.

Rotterdam: A "Brief" History 

70% of Holland is below sea level (shocking, right?). But the Dutch are also notoriously known for having one of the oldest water management regimes-- in fact, it's the oldest of all governance systems in the country-- to deal with this issue. The cities we see along the delta region today were those settlements that managed to drain the silted areas by building dams, hold back seawater through dykes, and gain wealth by trade along the waterways. Rotterdam, among others, succeeded and managed to overtake nearby Delft in trade power as well, mostly due to its strategic location in a less sedimented area.

Rotterdam was shaped historically by a number of planning decisions. Many of these are regarding the city's sanitary condition and grey infrastructure, but also its connectivity with the rest of the region and within the city. Making the decision to build train lines connecting to the north (Amsterdam and the Hague), the east (to Utrecht), and the south (to Antwerp, Belgium), as well as building a train line in the middle of the city, ensure full connectivity to other major economic hubs in nearby and connectivity within the city's bounds. It ensured development would occur in all areas of the city. Bridges also formed a major foundation, in order to avoid one part of the city being solely commercial, and the other side solely residential.  Mixed use land patterns was important to ensure the skyscraper areas did not succumb to the suburban involution, a problem that affects downtown areas of Vancouver today.

Over time, Rotterdam's land use changed from long and narrow meadow blocks, which were eventually subdivided into housing lots still visible today. The urban fabric has changed and been influenced by a number of architectural influences, including classicists- which is why we still see some brick row houses also found in Amsterdam, as well as modernists (like Haussmann) who appreciate grandiose Parisian boulevards, and high rises. One professor called the architecture in the city "eclectic", while another more critical professor believed it to be rather "chaotic".

What differentiates Rotterdam from the other delta cities in the Netherlands is its larger scale, a shift that took place both before and after its destruction in the Second World War.  Rotterdam plays on a global platform, with an outward looking planning approach, visible by its more prominent architecture - a landscape I'd regard as les modest and European and more international (explained by the various international architects whose high-rises dot its skyline).

Image Source: http://www.kunsthal.nl/

In addition, Rotterdam underwent a post-modernist movement, with focus equally being paid to quality of life. Rotterdam still has soft infrastructure in the form of greenspace and emphasizes art in public space as an important amenity, as much as transit infrastructure and connectivity. It boasts an impressive, although industrial, landscape, unlike any other in the Netherlands. In constructing Rotterdam's landscape, planning and engineering process is equally important. For instance, when developers and architects compete to establish a construction project in Rotterdam, planners outweigh both monetary and non-monetary benefits. They do not only consider the costs (bottom line) of the project, but also the social benefit of the project. It is not necessary the lowest cost project that wins the project opportunity. If the benefits are environmental or aesthetic or social, the project has good chances; for instance, if the project promises to hire contract workers from low-education background, extra points will be rewarded for the project's potential non-monetary social benefit.

While definitely understated, Rotterdam is the very cool sister city of Amsterdam and may overtake Amsterdam in popularity in the near future. 

A Celebratory and Critical Assessment and Traffic and Urban Transformation Policies in the Hague

Today, we took the hour bike ride from Delft to Den Haag (The Hague), one of the four major metropolitan centres, including Amsterdam and Schiphol, comprising the Netherlands' major agglomeration. This agglomeration is the fourth largest in Europe. Once there, the municipality's  traffic policy department gave us and overview of its transformative policies before enthusiastically embarking with us on a walking tour for a more on the ground experience to witness the transformations to this area since the 1970s

Once a parking lot, this space has been handed over to the public realm and Mother Earth

Historical Traffic Policy and Change

Admirably, The Hague's officials applied a proactive approach when dealing with the disruptive culmination of events including the 1973 oil crisis, a devastating increase in death from traffic-related incidents, and congestion on roadways. To break the habit, officials applied a 'build it and they will come' approach by installing bike lanes and storage facilities, halting plans to build more freeways, and devise other innovative solutions to increase connectivity, including introducing train and light rail systems, park and ride programs, and creating daily bike rental programs.

In addition, they placed parking facilities underground, and transformed parking lots into public spaces which are now used for  public seating areas, art installations, and cafes for local businesses. Based on the tour guide's explanation, it appears that the Hague's officials ensured sufficient and iterative decision making based on multi-stakeholder consultation. They admitted that one failure while building a bike lane resulted from neglecting to consulting the businesses owners, and rather only seeking the opinion of cyclist community.

All that glitters is not gold... 

Having a planning background, I fall into the habit of gathering various social groups' perspectives on an urban development issue. While the traffic policy officials were excited to show us the positive changes from their plans, where I remain skeptical with the Hague's urban policies is its slightly neoliberal approach. For instance, our tour guides mentioned that public land is up for grabs to sell and convert to a train station expansion. Beyond this, I felt hesitant about the number of urban megaprojects in the central area. Moreover, the architecture mimicked the modernism hailed in the 1950s (a bit too Le Corbusier for my taste).

An immigrant neighborhood bordering the downtown Hague seemed to lack proper bike lane facilities. While millions of euros are feeding into these downtown infrastructural improvements, I wonder if these peripheral areas get the proper attention they need. It wouldn't be the first time UMP get all the funding (Vancouver is particularly guilty!). Furthermore, with all the changes occurring in the core, are these residents at risk of displacement? Are their voices heard?

While the Dutch remain proud of their bicycle utopia, after experiencing a week of cycling in Delft and the Hague, and previously another week in Amsterdam, I am still a bit critical of their system.   During the tour, we discovered a newly opened underground storage facility with capacity for 400 bikes that was already full. While biking is definitely one way to encourage sustainable communities, I'm not sure I'm all that ready to "go Dutch". Perhaps we ought to look more to multi-modal solutions to enable flexibility and fairness in traffic for urban quality of life.

Neighborhood Design around Delft: Visits to Oost Tanthof and Delfgauw

Today we had the chance to get acquainted with Dutch urban form at a neighborhood scale while visiting Oost Tanthof and Delfgauw, residential areas of Delft, by bike. The Oost Tanthof neighborhood dates back to the 1980s, while Delfgauw, an area developed in the 90s which continues to functionally serve the Delft municipality. The latter consists of a higher-income demographic and more modern architecture. Unlike most of the residential areas of the United States and Canada, these Duch neighborhoods do not privilege sprawling development and autocentrism. Oost Tanthof enables circulation throughout the neighborhood and connectivity to the rest of Delft by supporting multi-modal mobility through walking, cycling, and bus transit. Delfgauw displays half automobile/ half bicycle infrastructure.

Lack of side friction in a typical American residential street encourages speeding. In addition, few sidewalks and bike paths and few services/ places within close proximity to go limit walking or cycling. 

 Tanthof applies the slow streets concept through speed bumps and the narrowing of streets, also known as 'road dieting'

Tanthof resembles the village-like built environment upheld by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and works as an admirable example of a 'walkable, sustainable community'. Notice through the photos how much attention is paid to diversity of housing types, mixed- use development, greenery, and modest density to accomodate families and senior citizens alike. Schools, shops, and recreational facilities exist within close proximity (1-10 minute walking distance) from homes. Although the central shopping strip did not contain much variety, with only a Jumbo supermarket, bakery, and hair dresser in sight, to name a few, it surely fulfills the basic needs for those living nearby. For more choices, residents can easily bike to central Delft.

Clearly, planners tried fitting in multi-family housing into as small land parcels as possible, without overwhelming the area with density and threatening its tranquil, residential character. Blocks are kept short and permeable through narrow walkways between housing developments. Traffic calming techniques are also applied through small speed bumps and road narrowing. Roads rarely impede connectivity, as leveled walkways connect buildings to each other-- for instance, at a school and an apartment building.

 Duplexes enable land use efficiency but the private entrances and backyards resemble those of a detached home. Privacy and density increases are reconciled by enabling a bit of room for backyard space with good access to natural green space. 

Shopping trips can be made most conveniently by bike, as few car parking spots are available and travel distances are kept to a minimum.

Narrow walkways enable pedestrian flexibility across the neighborhood and adhere to human scale 

The Emerald development in Delfgauw harbors more modern housing and a shopping mall-like center, with a few essential stores, like a bakery, large grocery store, hair salon, and some other specialty shops. The community felt less mixed use, as the shopping center was centralized, perhaps explaining why the neighborhood lacked some vibrancy. Nonetheless, the neighborhood still ensures walkability and bikability. Although the parking lot size and form resembled that of a typical American supermarket's, Emerald's lot could be accessed by bikes through ramps and contained sufficient bike racks.


The development contains a range of housing typologies. Some blocks had large enough lots for semi-detached duplexes and row housing with room for parking in front and back gardens. These 'houses' had their own entrances and could be accessed from both the front from the street and back from a narrow walking path. In this sense, it resembled a hybrid of an American suburb with the density of an old English suburb. Apartment complexes also existed nearby. The mixed demographic mirrors the diverse housing types: children, older couples, and young teenagers and students all frequented the streets of this neighborhood. In terms of traffic patterns, this neighborhood, although slightly less bike friendly and more car friendly, felt safe to cycle around and drivers were always cautious and yielded to us as we crossed roads on our bikes. Thank the speed bumps and narrow streets, which slow vehicle speeds, as well as Dutch laws which hold drivers fully accountable for any accidents.

For more information on cycling and traffic culture in the Netherlands, read here

The Emerald shopping center parking lot resembles that of an expansive American parking lot, with the exception of bicycle transport accommodation

The Emerald's mid rise development with rather green frontages and car parking offset further from homes to make room for a sidewalk at the entrance.