My posts related to habitat (living environment) can be grouped into six.
1. Humane cities and the doughnut principle
In searching for criteria for humane cities, Kate Raworth’s doughnut principle offered much help. The essence is that social and environmental sustainability must be guiding principles for economic policy in the 21st century and together direct economic behaviour. Kate Raworth describes a set of indicators for social and environmental sustainability. A humane city balances as many of these indicators as possible simultaneously. For example, it tends to be unhealthy, but when combined with poverty, residents suffer even more.
Urban design for complexity
July 21, 2022
Studying cities from a complexity perspective is about different interactions of people and possible patterns in the outcomes of these interactions. This post shows how the donut approach helps to define these interactions
Looking for a humane city
October 3, 2020
Bringing hope for a better live for more of the half of the global population requires less poverty and equality. Not for more smart cities.
Heading for a doughnut economy: A brief encounter
November 13, 2020
Next months, my posts deal with the prospects of bringing humane cities closer. These posts represent the most important findings of my e-book Humane cities. Always humane. Smart if helpful, updates and supplements included. The English version of this book can be downloaded for free here and the Dutch version here. The model for a doughnut economy has beenā¦
Collectorās item: Printed version e-book available (in Dutch only)
March 3, 2021
Op verzoek heb ik enkele tientallen hardcopyās laten drukken van mijn e-boek Steden van de toekomst. Humaan als keuze. Smart waar dat helpt. Maak hiervoor ā¬20 over op IBAN NL35 INGB 000 167 5550 tnv H. van den Bosch onder vermelding van je adres. Ik stuur het boek dan per kerende post. I have severalā¦
Cities are unhealthy places, but poverty makes it worse.
October 14, 2020
Humane cities will focus on providing adequate care and for all its citizens, accompanied by healthy living conditions, shelter, work and income.
2. Improving the living environment
In over 25 posts, I have listed the main criteria for a good living environment. This often involves bridging opposing views and interests.Ā
New series: 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities.
August 18, 2023
This article is the introduction to the series 25 building blocks for better streets, neighbourhoods and cities, which you can read every Tuesday and Friday starting next week.
1. Lively streets and squares
August 21, 2023
This article is the first in the series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities
2. Human dimension
August 25, 2023
This article is part of the series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Read how design, departing from the human dimension contributes to the quality of the urban environment. Follow the link below to find an overview of all articles.
3. Attractive streetscape
August 29, 2023
This article is part of the series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Read how design, starting from the physical aspects of the streetscape en -pattern contributes to the quality of the urban environment.
4. Informative plinths
September 1, 2023
This article is part of the series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Read how design, starting from street-level view contributes to the quality of the urban environment.
5. Integration of high-rises
September 6, 2023
This article is part of the series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Read how the design of high-rises might comply with the quality of the urban environment. High-rises are under scrutiny in two respects. First, its necessity or desirability. Secondly, their integration in the urban fabric. This post is about the latter.ā¦
6. Weighted density
September 18, 2023
This article is part of the series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Read density (of inhabitants, activities or buildings) influence the quality of the urban environment. There is widespread agreement to use the available space more thoughtful than during the last decades. In the Nationale Omgevingsvisie (NOVI), the Dutch government has unambiguouslyā¦
7. Polycentricity
September 22, 2023
This is the 7th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. The question is whether a distribution of services over the whole area contributes to the quality of the urban environment. The central parts of cities like Siena, Amsterdam and Barcelona are overrun by visitors and tourists. Partly because Airbnb hasā¦
8. Accessibility
September 24, 2023
This is the 8th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. The question is whether motorized traffic must be banned from central parts of the city to improve the quality of the urban environment. Most cities face a choice when it comes to accessibility of their central parts: Whether they renovate the roadā¦
9. Road safety
September 25, 2023
Vision Zero street This is the 9th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities.Casualties in traffic are main threats to the quality of the living environment. āVision zeroā might change this. Any human activity that annually causes 1.35 million deaths worldwide, more than 20 million serious injuries, damage of $1,600ā¦
10. Health
September 26, 2023
Most important causes of death worldwide (Source: The Lancelet, le Monde) This is the 10th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. In this post, I mainly focus on health problems which are directly related to the quality of the living environment Are cities healthy places? According to the WHOās Globalā¦
11. Nature inclusivity
September 29, 2023
This is the 11th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. In this post, I wonder whether nature itself can tackle the environmental problems that humans have caused. Ecosystem services According to environmental scientists, ecosystems are providers of services. They are divided into production services (such as clean drinking water, wood, and biomass), regulatingā¦
12. Water management
October 3, 2023
This is the 12th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. This post deals with the question of how nature itself can help to deal with excessive rainfall and subsequently flooding of brooks and rivers, although these disasters are partially human-made. Until now, flooding has mainly been combated with technical measuresā¦
13. Social safety
October 6, 2023
This is the 13th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. This post discusses the way cities can secure public space, distinguishing symptom control and a more fundamental approach. Scope of crime According to the World Health Organization, the risk of being confronted with physical violence significantly detracts from the qualityā¦
14. Liveability
October 10, 2023
The average development of the liveability per household in residential neighborhoods in the Netherlands from 2014 (source: Leefbaarheid in Nederland, 2020) This is the 14th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. This post discusses how to improve the liveability of neighbourhoods. Liveability is defined as the extent to which the living environmentā¦
15. Affordable housing
October 13, 2023
This is the 15th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. This post is about one of the most serious threats to the quality of the living environment, namely the scarcity of housing, which is also unaffordable for many. In many countries, adequate housing has become scarcer and too expensive forā¦
17. A sociable inclusive neighborhood
October 20, 2023
This is the 17th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. This post is about the contributions of sociability and inclusivity to the quality of the living environment. Almost everyone who is going to move looks forward with some trepidation to who the neighbors will be. This post is about similaritiesā¦
18 Space for playing and sporting in a green environment
October 24, 2023
This is the 18th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. This message is about the limited possibilities for children to play in a green environment because of the sacrifices that are made to offer space for cars and private gardens Almost all residential areas in the Netherlands offer too littleā¦
19. Safe living environment
October 27, 2023
This is the 19th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. This post is about increasing the independent mobility of children and the elderly, which is limited due to the dangers that traffic entails. For safety reasons, most urban children under the age of ten are taken to school. The sameā¦
20. Facilities within walking and cycling distance
October 31, 2023
This is the 20th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Its topic is to enable citizens having daily necessities in a walking and bicycling distance. During the pandemic, lockdowns prevented people from leaving their homes or moving over a longer distance. Many citizens rediscovered their own neighbourhood. They visited theā¦
21. Work, also in the neighbourhood
November 3, 2023
This is the 21th episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Its topic is the combination of living and working in the same neighbourhood. This idea is currently high on the agenda of many city councils. Benefits for the quality of the living environment If there is also employment in orā¦
22. Nature never far away
November 8, 2023
This is the 22st episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Its topic is the way how the quality of the living environment benefits from reducing the contrast between urban and rural areas. Photos from space show a sharp contrast between city and countryside. Urban areas are predominantly gray; rural areasā¦
23. Governance
November 9, 2023
This is the 23st episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Its topic is the way how the quality of the living environment benefits from good governance. In 1339 Ambrogio Lorenzetti completed his famous series of six paintings in the town hall of the Italian city of Siena: The Allegory ofā¦
24. Participation
November 16, 2023
This is the 24st episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Its topic is the way how involving citizens in policy, beyond the elected representatives, strengthens democracy and enhances the quality of the living environment, as experienced by citizens. Strengthening local democracy Democratization is a decision-making process that identifies the willā¦
25. Happiness
November 16, 2023
This is the 25st and last episode of a series 25 building blocks to create better streets, neighbourhoods, and cities. Its topic is happiness. Happiness is both a building block for the quality of the living environment and at the same time it is partially shaped by it. This is what this post is about. A municipality withā¦
The Netherlands: country of cars and cows
November 21, 2023
Last months, 25 facets of the quality of streets, neighbourhoods and cities have been discussed on this spot. But what are the next steps? How urgent is improvement of the quality of the living environment actually? I fear that the quality of the living environment has been going in the wrong direction for at leastā¦
3. 15-minute city
The 15-minute city is an example of how a city can gain liveability through the joint application of a set of criteria. For example, more local amenities can reduce the need for residents of a city district for frequent and travel over large distance.
1. The 15-minute city: from vague memory to future reality
January 9, 2024
Without changes to the transport system in which they operate, the advent of autonomous cars will not significantly improve the quality of life in our cities. This has been discussed in previous contributions. This change includes prioritizing investment in developing high-quality public transport and autonomous minibuses to cover the first and last mile. However, thisā¦
2. The 15-minute city: from metaphor to planning concept
January 16, 2024
Planning a 15-minutes city requires the choice of which facilities have to be available within a certain walking or bicycle distance (< 15 minutes). This choice results in the spatial outlook of the city.
3. How do higher density and better quality of life go together?
January 22, 2024
High density and quality of life go together when the disadvantages of density are removed. Car traffic is one of these disadvantages.
4. The ā15-minute principleā also applies to rural areas
April 8, 2024
Due to a long stay in the hospital, I was unable to post. I cannot guarantee continuity in the near future, but I will do my bestā¦ In my previous post, I emphasised that urban densification should be coordinated with other claims on space. These are: expanding blue-green infrastructure and the desire to combine livingā¦
5. The global distribution of the 15-minute city idea
April 14, 2024
A previous post made it clear that a 15-minute city ideally consists of a 5-minute walking zone, a 15-minute walking zone, also a 5-minute cycling zone and a the 15-minute cycling zone. These three types of neighbourhoods and districts should be developed in conjunction, with employment accessibility also playing an important role. In the plansā¦
6. Will the 15-minute city cause the US suburbs to disappear?
April 22, 2024
Urbanization in the US is undergoing major changes. The image of a central city surrounded by sprawling suburbs therefore needs to be updated. The question is what place does the 15-minute city have in it? That is what this somewhat longer post is about From the 1950s, residents of US cities began moving en masseā¦
7. The 15-minutes city and to what residents care about
May 1, 2024
To what extent does the 15-minute city match the ideal images of residents, many of whom are used to using the car?
4. Mobility
Traffic is one of the most controversial aspects of designing a humane city. On the road to a humane city, measures that reduce the need to travel long distances play a primary role. These are more important than measures to reduce car traffic.
It has long been thought that āself-drivingā cars will help improve mobility while maintaining a healthy living environment. Apart from the many technical and organisational problems facing the introduction of āself-drivingā cars, large-scale introduction can only increase congestion.
1. āSelf-drivingā cars: a dream and a nightmare scenario
November 24, 2023
How far are we from large-scale use of āself-drivingā cars. This and subsequent posts deal with this question. In answering it, I will focus on the potential contribution of self-driving cars to the quality of the living environment. Nowadays, the development of self-driving cars has faded a bit into the background. There is a reasonā¦
2. The impact of the availability of āself -drivingā cars on travel behavior
November 28, 2023
If autonomous cars can transport us affordably, do we no longer want to own our own car? Are we switching en masse from public transport, do we leave our bikes unused, or do we walk less? Do we drive alone, or do we share the car with other passengers? Will autonomous cars share he roadā¦
3. Why we should stop talking about self-driving cars
December 1, 2023
The term āself-driving carā is used for a wide variety of technical support systems for car drivers. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has distinguished six types. This classification is recognized worldwide. The six SAE levels of automotive automation At SAE level 0, a car has been equipped with various warning systems, such as unvoluntaryā¦
4. The automation of driving: two views
December 5, 2023
Currently, every car manufacturer plus hundreds of startups are working on developing artificial intelligence for driving automation. This should enable communication with the carās passengers, sensing and anticipating the behavior of other vehicles and road users, communicating with the cloud and planning a safe and fast journey. I will write later about the investments made toā¦
5. Driving without a driver has a price
December 8, 2023
In an autonomous car from SAE level 4, perception equipment ā the eyes and ears ā and software take over human brain functions. This requires accurate maps, laser, radar, lidar and cameras. The lidar, which means ādetect light and rangeā, works in conjunction with the carās cameras. This system pulses laser waves to map the distanceā¦
6. First driverless taxis on the road
December 12, 2023
Since mid-2022, Cruise and Waymo have been allowed to offer a ride-hailing service without a safety driver in San Francisco.So far, it has not been an unqualified success.
7. Automated cars; an uncertain future
December 15, 2023
In spite of optimist predictions a few years ago, no large-scale implementation of the higher SAE levels took place. This post refers to a growing group of insiders that doubt whether this wil happen ever.
8. When will robotaxiās become commonplace?
December 19, 2023
The number of ā so far small ā incidents involving robot taxis is increasing to such an extent that the cities where these taxis operate will take action
6. Resilience
Every city faces chronic and acute problems, such as the contingent threat of floods, forest fires and storms. Often, it is not possible to solve such problems adequately and it is necessary to develop resilience among the population and administration to deal with their consequences.
What is resilience
July 5, 2021
Next months, these posts deal with the challenges of Earthlings of bringing humane cities closer. These posts represent the most important findings of my e-book Humane cities. Always humane. Smart if helpful, updates and supplements included. The English version of this book can be downloaded for free here and the Dutch version here. Building dykes as flood protection isā¦
Resilience and prediction of hazards
August 4, 2021
Next months, these posts focus on the challenges of Earthlings of to bring humane cities closer. These posts represent the main findings of my e-book Humane cities. Always humane. Smart if helpful, updates and supplements included. The English version of this book can be downloaded for free here and the Dutch version here. In my last post, I elaboratedā¦
Music: Listen, Look and Enjoy 