With environmental concerns mounting, many countries are taking strides towards a greener future. Among them, the Netherlands stands out with its innovative and practical approaches. Let’s take a closer look at how the Dutch are leading the way in sustainable living and how we can learn from their example.
Did you know all bulbs (including tulips) are toxic to pets?
Embracing Bicycle Culture
People in The Netherlands cycle more than anyone else on earth (it’s flat!) So many cycle, the only real issue is there’s a lot of bike theft, as most people don’t bother to invest in locks. You’re more at risk of having your bike stolen in The Netherlands, than being involved in a traffic accident, as there are more bikes than people.
The Dutch have perfected their cycling infrastructure, making it safe and feasible for everyone. Imagine dedicated bike lanes weaving through both urban and rural areas, offering a smooth ride with minimal traffic stress. Parking facilities abound, accommodating the millions of bikes parked daily. It’s not just a transport system; it’s a network built on practicality and health.
Cycling pumps the heart, tones the muscles, and clears the mind. For the Dutch, it’s a daily routine that offers both physical and mental rewards. Just think of the fresh air and the freedom a bike ride provides.
Every pedal stroke makes a difference. By choosing bicycles over cars, the Dutch significantly cut down on carbon emissions. It’s a small change with a big impact. Cars guzzle fuel; bikes, on the other hand, foster a cleaner, greener Earth.
Ghent is Almost Car-Free
The city of Ghent is completely traffic-free in the centre for certain times of the day. You can drive (people in The Netherlands rarely ‘ban’ anything). But the system is designed so that you have to use ring roads to get in and out of the city.
So it’s actually so much of a faff, that most people choose to use public transport, and walk when they reach the centre. This is good town planning, thinking of pedestrians first over cars.
At all time of the day, roads are open to emergency services. And before 11am and after 6pm, streets are also open to public transport, refuse collectors, doctors and taxis (plus electric and cargo bikes).
But during the day, it’s people and ambulances/fire engines/police cars only. People with bikes are also allowed, as long as they push their bikes by hand.
This city of around 100,000 people now has over 2 bikes per household, almost 20% less air pollution than other cities, hardly any traffic jams on outer roads (note to M25), obviously far fewer traffic accidents and ‘the noisy opposition’ quietened down long ago.
People Enjoy Life on ‘living streets’
Woonefs are Dutch culture. Otherwise called ‘living streets’, this keeps roads legally open to cars, but they have to slow down as people put boulders etc to force them to slow down, then people without gardens use the area between houses as an area for children to play and people to socialise.
The Emmen area was designed in the 70s, and today around 2 million people in the country live in such areas. The principle is that car drivers are ‘guests’. Life is about quality with ‘street furniture’ so that you would never have cars screaming down streets in villages. As a result, most ‘boy racers’ never go near such areas.
Wonderful Public Transport and Walkable Cities
Amsterdam is one of our nearest cities, and although the landscape and climate is fairly similar to East of England (lots of fens, boggy flat land, windmills etc) the lifestyle is a lot different. Tourists often think of windmills, Anne Frank’s house, canals, bicycles and the red light district, when thinking of the capital city of The Netherlands. However there is a lot more to learn, and besides.
This is real ‘cafe culture’ and although today people own more bikes than anywhere, it’s not so long ago that the city of Amsterdam (like Copenhagen) was gridlocked with traffic, only recently have both cities used innovative town planning to replace cars with bikes and walking.
People are notoriously polite and friendly (apparently in this city, if you die without next of kin, a local poet will write an ode to your life and read it out as your eulogy).
The public transport system here (including the main train station that links to the airport) is superb. But although there are many walking and cycling paths, the amount of bikes means there is a lot of bike theft, and many bikes end up disappearing (or even been thrown) into the local canals.
However many people prefer to walk, and there are over 40 parks to enjoy, all beautifully kept and no hills, as it’s Holland! Outdoor culture and walkability is key here. Many streets give over their front door areas to walkers, making cars guests only (many highways are now closed off to cars and the nearby city of Ghent is more or less car-free, requiring motorists to drive through ring roads to reach the perimeters). Some areas don’t let cars in but do let emergency vehicles through (along with with one taxi firm for emergency trips).
Dutch Children are Happiest on Earth
Dutch children are the happiest on earth. It’s official. Not only is it rare for Dutch children to have temper tantrums, but it’s safe for children to bike to school, and interestingly, they have fantastic education records, yet homework does not exist for children under 10.
Government laws are good (the average workweek is 29 hours) and the liberal attitude (a bit like Scandinavia) means that in the cases of separation or divorce, the needs of the child are put first (so shared time and happy times, over bitter custody battles).
Children also get more sleep (the outdoor biking life is more conducive to getting shut-eye than letting children play on iPads or Xboxes all day with no exercise).
