An ecological neighborhood right around the corner!

When I first started to look into the subject of environmental and sustainable development in the Netherlands, I stumbled upon an ecological neighborhood that was part of the city I live in. It took until this past week, however, for me to get a tour from one of the residents. The neighborhood consists of over 200 houses, some offices, an organic farm/store that doubles as an activity center for people with disabilities, a school and much more.

The neighborhood was established in the mid-90s around a water catchment area. The farming land that originally surrounded the water catchment area became available for housing construction but because of the vulnerability of the area, the city government was looking into ways to build on the land without jeopardizing the catchment area.

At the same time a group of people was looking for an area to create a neighborhood where the relationship between people and their natural environment would be paramount, where houses would be built as environmentally-friendly as possible (according to the latest techniques), and where people would be living and working together in an environmentally sustainable way.

The initiators felt that because of the continuous search for economies of scale leading to ever-larger cost-reducing housing projects, profit was the dominating power at the expense of people and the planet. The relationship between people and their natural environment was disappearing leading to all types of social and environmental problems. Sustainability to this group had both an environmental and social/community aspect.

The two groups found each other and Lanxmeer was born.

What struck me most during the tour was the manner in which the green spaces (including private gardens) had been developed. Everyone has a private garden, but no fences! These private gardens then roll over into green areas that the residents maintain together with their neighbors and then there are public spaces that the residents maintain together with the city government.

For me, as a Dutch person, especially the lack of fences (and thus privacy) was striking and I actually very much liked the idea (I know, we have very large, curtainless windows but, yes, at the same time, we fence ourselves in). Since I have been living in the US, and while now living in a small city where people actually greet each other, I can appreciate that inclusion aspect much more. In Lanxmeer ecological living goes hand in hand with a sense of community and a feeling of responsibility for the public good.

From an ecological perspective, the residents use environmentally-friendly products so that (grey) water from cleaning dishes and bathing/showering can either be reused for other purposes or treated naturally.  There is a central heating  and cooling system for most of the neighborhood. Geothermal heat is pumped up in one spot and then distributed to the houses underground. The houses are very well insulated (of course) and have floor and wall-heating. Other houses (see picture below) have been built within a glass house. As a result, the houses are heated naturally for 9 months out of the year.

It is a architectural very colorful (not very Dutch standard, more Scandinavian), spacious, just very welcoming neighborhood. On the community side, people participate in different committees in order to run the different maintenance, environmental and community projects, including for example the yearly apple picking (there is an organic orchard in the water catchment area). The school has only 30 children ranging in age between 6 and 12 years old. That means six different ages in one class (with two teachers) which is not very common in the Netherlands. Small-scale and local are founding principles.

At the organic city farm, which is part of Lanxmeer, one (also when you are living outside Lanxmeer) can buy organic fruits and vegetables, most of which have been grown on the adjacent farmland (some are imported from elsewhere in the Netherlands or Europe). The city farm doubles as activity center for people with disabilities. They assist with all types of farming and maintenance activities around the farm and store. The farm also provides educational activities to schools in the city and thus tries to reconnect children to nature and their natural environment.

I was absolutely inspired, love the concept, and of course ... I'd love to live there. And then you can all come and visit me and see for yourself!

Have a great week and, for my DC people, see you soon!
Rose