The government is working hard to make nature more accessible to walkers and cyclists, but policy objectives will probably not be met. There is not enough green space and it is poorly accessible.

The Randstad (the major urban agglomeration in the west of the Netherlands) is particularly short of recreational green space. The aim of government policy is to create an additional 16,000 hectares of public green space by 2013 – but this is less than half the amount needed to satisfy demand.

The 31 biggest towns and cities in the Netherlands have agreed on a guideline standard of 75 m2 green space per dwelling, but not every local authority will achieve this target. In some places in the west of the country the amount of green space around the cities is even shrinking. The level of provision in the east of the country is generally up to standard. In five eastern cities the amount of green space is increasing.

In more than half of the 31 biggest municipalities in the Netherlands the amount of green space per dwelling (within 500 metres) is below the guideline standard of 75 m2. The situation improved between 1996 and 2003, particularly outside the Randstad, but in many Randstad municipalities the amount of green space has remained constant or is even declining. (Source: Statistics Netherlands, 2003 and 2006)

This situation is reflected in the opportunities people see for walking or cycling in the neighbourhood of their own homes. One in five people have no suitable route available within 10 kilometres, and one in ten within a distance of 15 kilometres. Improvements to problem sections in the walking and cycling routes are running behind schedule. Current agreements will only resolve 15% of the problem areas in the footpath network and 5% of the problem areas in the cycle network.

Photo: Laurens Hitman