Healthy Urban Mobility, Creating a Better City for All: The case Merwede canal area

Description

The national government in the Netherlands faces the huge task of building nearly one million new homes by 2030. Goudappel mobility experts conducted a study for the national government to see what would be sensible choices from a mobility point of view in this building task. The study showed that urban densification in existing cities contributes to sustainable mobility, more use of active mobility (walking and cycling), better social inclusion and more efficient use of existing facilities. The Merwede Canal Area in Utrecht (fourth largest city in the Netherlands) is one of the intended building locations. It involves a transformation from low-grade industrial area to a high-density mixed urban district (final image 10,000 dwellings on a footprint of 0,7 square km). Goudappel was responsible for developing a mobility strategy to enable this urbanisation in the existing city.

During the presentation, Christiaan Kwantes of Goudappel will discuss the lessons that other cities can provide from the Merwede Canal Area case. This will include what it takes to enable a low car parking standard of 0.3 parking spaces per dwelling. What role mobility hubs play in this. What the planning requires in terms of cycling and walking infrastructure. What public transport solutions have been found. And he will elaborate on the final outcomes of the planning and do’s and don’ts for other cities. The presentation with a duration of 20 minutes acts as an international perspective on mobility concepts for new-build neighborhoods, therefore capable of being a Best Practice for foreign municipalities as well as mobility consultants.

Afterwards, the audience has time to get in conversation with Christiaan Kwantes.

Format: Presentation

Host: Totinia Hörner