Today’s Solutions: August 05, 2026

The Netherlands is well-known for being the ultimate biking country, and, today, pedestrianized city centers are also the norm in many of the country’s urban areas.

Still, in the country’s major cities, vehicles still tend to dictate the design of most public spaces. In an effort to change that, Dutch architecture firm Marco Broekman has revealed plans for a new neighborhood where cars are shared amongst households in Utrecht – the country’s fourth-largest city.

Named Merwede, the 12,000-person neighborhood will feature 6,000 residential units, as well as public spaces, courtyards, and rooftops with a focus on pedestrians and cyclists, and with public transportation that connects to all parts of the Netherlands. A fleet of shared cars and bicycles will be available to everyone living there. Instead of one (or multiple) cars per household, filling the streets with congestion and parking spaces, Merwede will have one car for every three households.

This design for Merwede will transform what is currently a business park full of offices into a complete neighborhood. Each building block will have a courtyard garden and a new park will provide a walking area along the canal.

As part of the plan’s sustainability efforts, rooftops on the buildings will be dressed with greenery, accompanied by solar panels. Also, water from the nearby canal will be used in “the largest underground heat and storage facility in the Netherlands” to heat and cool the district.

The firm says it will be “almost energy-neutral,” and specialists are researching how the district can become circular as well. While more than this one neighborhood needs to adapt to the challenging trend of a fast-urbanizing world, the innovative design builds a comprehensive roadmap for other urban areas around the world to follow.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

3D-printed bone implants that release drugs as they heal

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Czech researchers at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague are building titanium joint implants with a ...

Read More

How inherited genetics shape the way cancer forms and evolves

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A study published in Nature provides the first experimental evidence that inherited genetics shape not just whether cancer ...

Read More

Americans are finally starting to embrace the bidet

Bidet sales are up in America! Editorial confession: We’ve been hoping to write something like that for a long time. If you don’t know ...

Read More

5 warm, creative ways to spark better conversations with your kids

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM It’s a familiar scene in many homes: you greet your child after school and ask, “How was your ...

Read More