Last updated: November 2021
'Proeftuin Erasmusveld' is a new and sustainable urban residential area in The Hague. It will be a new nature-inclusive, energy-efficient, car-free neighbourhood that is created for plants, animals and people promoting healthy living (1). As of November 2020, The building of the neighbourhood with its unique houses and buildings is still in progress (1). Currently, the area is an 'experimental area' for all kinds of sustainability initiatives that may be used for the realization of the neighbourhood, including self-sufficient 'tiny houses' and urban farmland (1,2). The ambition for Erasmusveld is to become a leading sustainable neighbourhood with a sustainable water system, the use of sustainable energy and a vegetable garden with high connectedness between citizens (4).
Source: https://www.proeftuinerasmusveld.nl/nieuws
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
- Green corridors and green belts
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
- Blue infrastructure
- Lakes/ponds
- Green areas for water management
- Sustainable urban drainage systems
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Climate change mitigation
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Environmental quality
- Waste management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Effective management
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social cohesion
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Real estate development
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Other
Project objectives
1. Develop a sustainable, climate-resilient and climate-neutral neighbourhood with a large community (3).
2. Improve and maintain the quality of the local environment and ecology of the area, as it is an important connecting zone (4)
3. As a sustainable feature, the neighbourhood is to have sustainable stormwater storage by means of a sustainable water system that will be built in which water is infiltrated, grey areas are restricted and water basins are created. Additional stormwater retention possibilities are being explored. (4)
4. Promotion of shared economy through initiatives such as sharing cars and bicycles (6).
5. Promotion of social cohesion in the form of creating collective spaces that citizens can design themselves and can create a community vegetable garden. (2,4)
6. As a sustainability feature, having the neighbourhood primary rely on sustainable energy resources, such as solar energy and geothermal energy (3,4).
Implementation activities
First phase(2016-2018):
- Creation of an urban farmland on which vegetables are grown and 5 'tiny houses' which are sustainable self-sufficient houses of 50m2 meant as pilot, organizing activities to inspire people, exchange knowledge and inform future citizens (1).
Second phase (2018-):
-Building of buildings with 350 flats with water-saving measures and solar panels (6), maintaining high citizen involvement in planning, designing, implementing and maintenance (3)
- Creating ecological river banks and green corridors (3)
- Creating collective spaces that citizens can design themselves (6)
- Reuse of materials of the allotment complex that is currently located in the area (1)
- Creating a community garden in which citizens can grow vegetables together (1)
- Promoting shared economy (1,6),
- creating a water system by means of infiltration and natural purification of water, restriction of grey areas, creating water basins, exploring water storing possibility underneath sport fields and possibility of a peripheral sewage system (4)
November 1, 2019: Start of the sale of the Erasmus Field Test Garden
Autumn 2020: Start construction of the Erasmusveld Experimental Garden
Spring 2022: Completion of the Erasmusveld Experimental Garden
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement sustainable urban drainage infrastructure (e.g. to make space for water)
Climate change mitigation:
- Invest in public transport/bicycle infrastructure as a means to prevent car use
- Raise public awareness of behaviours, lifestyle and cultural changes with mitigation potential
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Private sector/corporate actor/company
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The municipality of The Hague planned to develop a new neighbourhood in the Erasmusveld-Leywegzone area. (5). The project 'Proeftuin Erasmusveld' was specifically initiated by the municipality of The Hague and project developer BDP (1). The municipality exploits the ground and organizes meetings with stakeholders (1,3). BDP is responsible for the actual development of the sustainable neighbourhood and has challenged designers to propose a design for the neighbourhood. The winning design is from a partnership between architects (marco.broekman, Workshop Architecten and LINT Landscape Architecture). A coalition 'Platform Erasmusveld' is created consisting of the municipality of The Hague and four project developers: Van Mierlo, Varese, ABB and BDP who finance the project and form ideas (4). The urban farmland is created by Stichting Lokaal Voedsel Den Haag (NGO), Woonpioniers (company) and urban farmer (Suzanne Monnier). Also (future) citizens are involved in all stages. (2).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The Masterplan Erasmusveld-Leywegzone 2008 by the municipality in which the planning guidance for the urban development of this area was outlined. (5). This led to the more specific 'Uitvoeringskader Erasmusveld' (Implementation Framework Erasmusveld) in 2011 which already specifies that the neighbourhood should be a sustainable neighbourhood and the development plans of the different areas in Erasmusveld are specified. (3).)
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Corporate investment
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Reduced emissions
- Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
- Environmental quality
- Improved waste management
- Green space and habitat
- Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Proeftuin Erasmusveld (n.d.) Proeftuin Erasmusveld. Accessed on November 10, 2020 Source link
2. De Kleine Toekomst (2017). Proeftuin Erasmusveld: gezond, stads en samen. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
3. Gemeente Den Haag (2016) Stand van Zaken Erasmusveld. The Hague: municipality of The Hague. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
4. Municipality of The Hague. (2016). Manifest Duurzaam Erasmusveld. The Hague. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
5. Gemeente Den Haag. (2008) Voorstel van het college inzake Masterplan Erasmusveld-Leywegzone. The Hague: municipality of The Hague. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
6. Omroep West. (2017). Plannen voor Proeftuin Erasmus. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
7. Gemeente Den Haag. (2016). Bijlage 1: Actualisatie Stedelijke Groene Hoofdstructuur. Den Haag: Municipality of The Hague. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
2. De Kleine Toekomst (2017). Proeftuin Erasmusveld: gezond, stads en samen. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
3. Gemeente Den Haag (2016) Stand van Zaken Erasmusveld. The Hague: municipality of The Hague. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
4. Municipality of The Hague. (2016). Manifest Duurzaam Erasmusveld. The Hague. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
5. Gemeente Den Haag. (2008) Voorstel van het college inzake Masterplan Erasmusveld-Leywegzone. The Hague: municipality of The Hague. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
6. Omroep West. (2017). Plannen voor Proeftuin Erasmus. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link
7. Gemeente Den Haag. (2016). Bijlage 1: Actualisatie Stedelijke Groene Hoofdstructuur. Den Haag: Municipality of The Hague. Accessed on November 10, 2020, Source link