I believe that these channels are predominantly aimed at Dutch people who like foreigners gawk at things that are so normal for them. I'm stuck in the rabbit hole. It's nice to feel good about your life though.
I’ve lived in the Netherlands my entire life, and seeing videos like this have made me appreciate what we have here so much more. You don’t know how good you have it until you realise how much worse it could be
Dutch people just love to be told we are amazing by foreigners. Here I am clicking on another video like this doing the same thing. We keep falling for it.
AND THE LOCALS DIDNT EVEN NOTICE??? Sir as a Houtenaar I can say we DO notice, and were proud to live here. Uncomparable to my time living in Palo Alto, CA. Just doing your groceries, going to sport facilities or meeting friends by bicycle instead of car is amazing.
I'm so glad i'm Dutch and not brainwashed thinking usa is the best country. Not to get me started with the infrastructure, how about us not having poisons in our food.
@@pimrutten3561 Socialism can kiss my ass. It fucks over societies. Censoring others is both fascist and socialist, it's the combo that gave rise to Hitler. GET OUT OF HERE WITH THAT. Thanks.
In the Netherlands, it is not bicycles that are central, but people are central. The government has been working for 50 years to reduce the number of traffic fatalities in the Netherlands.
@@Sullyville You say that, but wait till you try to walk normally in the city centre only to be loudly sped off by a byciclist who then death glares you like luigi in mario kart.
Nice video, I've lived in the Netherlands myself and the urban planning is truly great - but I just wanted to mention that it wasn't always this way. The NL was following similar patterns as the US back in the 70s - but due to the "Stop de Kindermoord" protests they were able to completely change this around; I also believe we can change the way we do things in the US as well although I'm sure it will be a slow process.
You are totally correct! Not Just Bikes talks about this a bit. Based on the rising number of traffic deaths in the US, I'm waiting for something similar to happen...hopefully it doesn't take many more people dying for us to design safe infrastructure.
@@Sullyville certainly! We'll nood some kind of critical mass - I guess that's where you and other educators play such an important role (like StrongTowns etc...); a lot of suburban (and even urban) americans don't really understand what the effects are of our car dependent society. People might feel lonely and isolated but are unable to pin point why this is just because they have never been presented with an alternative way of living.
@@itsliam4905 Yes, for sure. I actually founded my local Strong Towns group in Santa Barbara, and we're slowly educating our neighbors and elected officials--and I'm learning a lot about the local political process as well.
The “Stop de Kindermoord” protests were not even the most important factor. More important were money and politics. Cities did not have the money to do major traffic projects in the 1950s to 1970s, and the housing shortage was still so great that habitable homes could not be torn down. In the 1970s, the oil crisis came along with a wave of newly educated civil engineers and urban planners who came up with alternative and affordable plans. Because the auto lobby was never very strong and was also further weakened by the oil crisis, politicians took up those bicycle-friendly plans. To save face, they said it was about the children.
As an old reluctant Dutch convert to car driving, living in US suburbia, I am happy to see young Americans pick up this torch. Thank you so much. Maybe we Dutch are not quite as crazy as some Americans have long tried to make me to believe.
@@maxx0r050 I was mainly slowing down because as someone new to the city, I would get to branching bike paths and not be sure which way to go. In the US, I'm so used to being the only person on a bike path that this behavior doesn't matter--I forgot there were so many people behind me!
@@Sullyville I had the same experience when I first moved to Utrecht. I grew up in a village that was so small that it didn't even have traffic lights. Now 18 years later I'm afraid I'm one of those bicyclists that gets quite annoyed by tourists slowing bicycle traffic down 😅 The worst ones are the tourists in the old city center that suddenly, without looking, step in front of your bicycle to make a picture of some nice old building.
Yeah we sometimes see some impatience towards less experienced cyclists here. I’ve also experienced this while cycling with my six year old daughter, who just wasn’t that fast on the bike at the time. Me and a car driver exchanged a few insults after he honked at us because he had to slow down for a little bit. I’m not proud of this but if cars aren’t careful around kids on bikes, I get annoyed real quick.
Imagine all those people on bikes are driving. The more people you get onto a bike (or walking) the less congestion on the roads. So it even makes driving a lot more enjoyable.
Yes, this! I tell this to drivers in my city all the time. You should _want_ bike lanes everywhere, so more people get off the road, and its easier for you to drive. Fun fact, because cyclists take up less space than drivers, a bike lane can move ~7,500 people per hour, compared to a driving lane's ~700 on surface streets (Source: nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/introduction/why/designing-move-people/)
I also want to note how important building quality is when building higher density homes. I often read criticism from Americans who want to live in the suburbs, so they don’t have to hear their neighbours. I lived in student housing with hundreds of other university students, but would hardly hear it if there’s a party somewhere in the building. I played bass guitar, my neighbour practiced singing, but we never heard each other. In NL there aren’t many freestanding homes. Almost all houses in NL are townhouses, but because of the use of bricks and insulation you basically never hear your neighbours. You can still have a lot of privacy.
For sure. And the American suburbs aren't so quiet either. I can't tell you how many times I've been woken up on a weekend by a neighbor's leaf blower, or lawn mower, or kitchen remodel people who show up way too early. Not to mention large, arterial roads providing a steady hum of traffic noise in the background, even deep in the loops of a cul-de-sac neighborhood, as happens in LA. As Not Just Bikes says: "cities aren't loud, cars are."
I think most modern houses also have a "double bricked wall" so the sounds has a much harder time to go trough it. So yes the houses are under one roof but it basically makes it so you never hear your neighbour.
Wauw, thanks for visiting the Netherlands and do this video about Houten and the suburbs/vinexwijken. I am a neighbour of Houten. And the suburbs and city's are very well connected by bike paths. And even bikebridges like the one in between Houten en Nieuwegein at the Plofsluis. This bridge brought the riding time between the city's centers down with allmost 10/15 minutes one way. And now with a lot of traffic is going over this bridge everyday. It's only one of the new examples of making the bikeroutes better and quicker. Even the Fastbiking (like highways for cars) network is getting bigger en more connected. To bring travelling time down between city's and closeby towns.
Also, at 12:23, that guy has been living in The Netherlands for a couple of years now. And his reactions to public transport and urban planning here in The Netherlands are always very positive. His vlogs are really good! His channel is @Itz SKY btw.
Hi Sully! This vid was great. Please make more. Just so you know, our people can be overly critical. Moreso than just 'not sugarcoating things'- we love to complain. Don't let that deter you, this was legitimately very solid content.
American living in Netherlands i can say, we can have it all: bikability, walkability, public transit, AND cars. It makes you healthier and happier and leaves miles on your car for only when yiu need it.
Very jealous German here. Although we have better city conditions than the US, the Dutch urban design is much ahead. Balancing energies by effectively using space - the way to joy.
what you feel like they tell you live in the houses I hated my partner hates that everyone hates it the Netherlands themselves don't even like it is terrible you don't have privacy or an actual garden nothing can't wait til we move to Germany
“Vinex wijk” is actually a slang in the Netherlands, not hyped like in this video. Most people feel it’s over engineered. Can’t say much about the current town center but it used to be very boring. The town I live now has half the population but way more culture in the town center.
I am also fans of those (of course)! I guess its obvious where I get my inspiration. I actually had the guy behind City Beautiful as a college professor, and helped him write a few videos. That's where I got the confidence to start this channel. There's more coming!
@@maartenbosmans9585there are many on the Rondweg though. And they are very, very badly aligned. But for cyclists it is paradise, they have dedicated under- and overpasses everywhere.
Thanks so much, I'm a huge fan! I think we visited Houten the same week this summer...maybe we almost crossed paths. Of course, it took you no time at all to get your video out, but I'm new to this game so it only took me 5 months (:
Great video! I moved to Houten in 1998 and I loved it every minute! After living in Saint Louis, MO for some years I loved being back home. If you are here again come by for a drink in my garden!
The suburban areas of Almere have a very similar feel - wide tree lined park with separated cycle tracks and pedestrian paths - essentially an arterial road but not for cars. I agree that our current suburbs can be retrofitted to meet this with simple road layout changes - and that we also need zoning reform to allow for upsizing and commercial/mixed uses to be built closer within walking/cycling distance. Great video!
Nice video, you deserve more views! Houten is a good example of new urban design, but the same can be found all over the Netherlands. I really apprieciate the people that have made this possible.
Not really, I live close to Houten and when I went there for the first time I was just blow away by the greenery and all the bike lanes. It's almost like you're cycling trough one big park.
I live in Houten for 20 years now and it is a pleasent place to live and very safe to raise childeren. We are very used to it and when we travel to other countries it is always a shock to to see how inconvenient some places are for bikers and even pedestrians.
Thanks for watching! About a dozen of your neighbors have also checked out the video and left a comment. Seems that I have many friends in Houten now. Do you think I portrayed your town well? Anything I left out? Anything you would change about Houten if you could?
The roads in LA are so wide, you could make a 2 way street with grass in yhe middle where the Tram is going to drive. You could also make oneway streets with public transport on the other side etc.
They are indeed incredibly wide. Many are 100-120 ft. But because intersections constrain car through-put, many of these urban 6-lane roads don't carry more cars per hour than if they were 4 or even 2 lane roads. Build The Lanes made a video about this recently: ruclips.net/video/kqOxBZJ6c1g/видео.html
The hike pads are not only going through the whole subburb but are coneccted to bike pads all over the country. I was on vacation in that area and biked from one village to the next never leaving the bike pad . It is one big nation wide network.
You should go to Houten around the beginning of Spring. At a certain point all the blossoms will bloom in certain streets (where the colored houses are). It's EPIC!
I have been living in Houten for almost 15 years now and the best part is that I have actual choice of transportation. I can walk, cycle, use public transport or drive one of my cars. Cycling here is so safe that my children didn't need to be driven to school, their friends or music lessons: they just go on their own by bicycle, or walk to the railway station and hop on a train to Utrecht which runs 4 times per hour. But if I need to go somewhere by car, it is no problem, access to the A27 motorway is just 7 minutes. It's perfect.
I think that a large part of these well connected neighbourhoods is also that our average suburb house is much smaller than an american suburb home. That has many reasons, like lack of space, higher costs per square meter of building due to materials ( although not greener than american way of building because we use too much brick/concrete). If you want to achieve anything like this in america, you either need smaller communities measured in residents or smaller communities measured in space (house size)
You bring up interesting points. I've also read that the average size of a new American home has bloated over time, getting larger and larger even as families get smaller and smaller.
The great thing about Houten is that it's kind of round. So you can bike and walk through the middle very quickly, while you also have a nice ring road around the town. The ring road means there are almost no streams of cars crossing each other, which makes going by car still really fast. Except for the ring road, Houten basically needs no traffic lights, while still having a relatively higher density than most Dutch suburbs.
insert here: You know, I live in Groningen. The perfect example, not of the 15-minute town, but the 15-minute city (for Dutch standards). I find myself in the position that, I do know my city by heart, whenever I have to commute it by bike. But as soon as I have to drive it by car, I am completely lost and I don't know how to explain the road we need to take. My dad, he grew up here. Whenever I give him directions, we hit roadblocks. Dutch cities and towns, nowadays are designed like cartwheels, if you will. And I think that is what you mean in the video with the Vinex-way of designing cities. Please America, do adopt this. You will f^%$ng love it . It will make your lives so much worry-free and danger-free. You will be glad to bike around and regret that car. Buy yourself a nice pair of headphones and you will have your freedom. Enjoy it the European way. It will cost you less and give you more. You guys and girls love that.
I live in Utrecht and I do almost everything by bicycle. Grocery shopping for a week (yes it can be done), my commute to the city centre, visiting friends. Not because I am particularly fond of bicycling, but because its the easiest and quickest way to get around. The past few weeks I had to take public transport instead, because I cant ride my bike due to an injury. My commute has more than doubled. Even though we have very good public transport. Cant wait until I am able to ride my bike again. Hopefully around Christmas.
Unexpected perhaps for fanatical drivers in the USA. Because there are viable alternatives for the car, walking, biking, public transport, the Netherlands are awarded the best country in the world for drivers!
Yep. Turns out when cyclists and pedestrians aren't squeezed onto the road space with you, driving is a lot nicer. Not to mention how the high bike, ped, and transit mode share means there are just fewer cars on the road overall, even in populated areas.
Depends what you consider best for drivers. If you want to drive for fun the Netherlands is very dull. No good roads. Low speed limits. No twists and turns. Go to italy or france instead.
@@Googlium no good roads lol. Did you visit belgium on accident and called it the netherlands? If you want to go fast the autobahn in Germany is the place to be, and easily reachable from the Netherlands too
Just a thing I have been thinking of while watching your video. I see most videos like these where the focus is on trying to convince Americans about bikes, public transport, walking. Would it be an idea to do more videos on Dutch car traffic and roads? I think naysaying American car enthusiasts can also be convinced by how smooth a drive can be in The Netherlands compared to the congested hell holes some of your US cities are.
The channle @buildthelanes does a great job of this. He actually lives in the NL and practices traffic engineering there, so he can answer lots of country-specific questions, and gather footage. I live all the way in California so I can't pop outside to film a Dutch bike lane. But I hope to return soon!
@@Sullyville I've seen his work and love it! I just wish more channels showed the car traffic too to help convince car drivers. But I understand your point, Cali to the Netherlands is quite a long way. Hope you'll get back there some day too!
Videos like this make me appreciate living in The Netherlands more. It may be really boring in terms of landscape, at least the urban planning is pretty damn great.
That's cool! Glad I talked about your area in a way that the locals like. Would you say Houten is noticeably different/better in its bike infrastructure and layout than other parts of the country, or does it just get a lot of hype?
Thanks! Incredible how many Houteners are watching this. Would you say I did a good job portraying your town? Do you think most residents know they live in a highly innovative and unique place? Too bad I didn't know all you guys when I was there this summer. I suppose I'll have to visit again and get a proper tour from the locals!
I'm not sure about the average inhabitant, I'm pretty aware of urban planning and met quite a few people in that community (like BicycleDutch, Chris Bruntlett and American Fietser) so I'm not really the average Houtenaar.
I live in one of the Dutch Vinex neighborhoods and was a member of the city council when it was approved some 30 years ago. Mistakes were made. Arguably the biggest mistake is the lack of commercial dual use. Too little space was allocated for businesses in the planning and local red tape made most entrepreneurs quickly seek alternatives elsewhere. Consequently there are too few small businesses, which makes the neighborhood boring and an economic liability for the municipality in the long run - with increasing costs for maintenance, and falling tax revenue in return for the city. Another mistake was the lack of proper infrastructure too and from the Vinex suburb to the city centers. It is a bit of a nightmare to get in and out of these suburbs during rush hours. The planned bicycle highways leave a lot to be desired and still haven't been completely built out after all these years. Over the years austerity measures have seen public transport gutted to levels that today pretty much nothing goes after 21.00 hours. The main lesson is that any neighborhood - even a Dutch Vinex wijk - needs constant adjustments and funding to keep it a living community. The biggest enemy of progress in my town is the bureaucracy that is stuck in 30 year old zoning laws and is unable to come up with flexible solutions. All this is making an already dire housing shortage here, and everywhere else in Netherlands, even worse.
This is all super fascinating. As an American, basically every town in the Netherlands looks, feels, and operates at levels we can only dream of. For instance, you mention no transit after 21.00--here, lots of places have no transit at all! But of course, as you say, there is always room for improvement. I totally agree with you that one thing missing from Vinex is more mixed-use structures and small shops. This idea is sort of the last illusive peice we need to put back into our neighborhoods to revive the vibrant urban form humans created for most of history. Separating land uses was an American idea that's only a century old--hopefully we can move away from it. In Berkeley, CA, ACUs (accessory commerical units) may be allowed soon. This means entrepreneurs will be able to open up small businesses in their front rooms, garages, or front yards. Also, I'm curious when you say that bicycle highways leave a lot to be desired. What specifically do you think is lacking?
Heyo, lil tip If you have cuts between takes of your talking cam like at 5:46~ put some random clips of houses or something else over it that might fit what you're talking about ^^ For the rest, nice vid
It's interesting that Dutch bycycle infrastructure has been famous for decades, but as a Dutchy my experience is that it is still improving every year. Especially the safety has improved with the fully separated bike roads have taken off. What's happening more recently is that many cities are reducing the speed limit for cars from 50km/hr (~30mph) to 30 km/hr (~18mph) on most roads. The city of Nijmegen is planning on only having a few 50km/hr roads left in a few years with most roads being 30km/hr. Also rail infrastructure is very dense, but not just because the cities are dense: My ~8000 inhabitant little town has a railway station that gets me to Amsterdam (literally the other side of the country, 1h45min by car) in 1h30min or to Schiphol (main airport with built in railway station, 1h45min by car except then I still have to park somewhere) in 1h45min, both with only one transfer of around 5 minutes.
I am stunned that US bike advocates fail to understand that the problem in the US is not technical, financial or knowledge. The problem is cultural, as long as people in the US don't love a bike like they love their firearms the number of bike lanes will stay below the number of shooting ranges in the Netherlands.
Culture doesn't just come from nowhere, it comes from economic and physical conditions. If everything is far away and roads are built for cars people will drive more than they bike. If traffic is bad, but there are free bike lanes, more people will bike. The conditions create the culture.
@@XandateOfHeaven If I had to make a definition of culture it would be: Culture = a collective set of habits ingrained through history of a distinguishable group of people. The US sprawl is caused by the US culture but is not the culture within itself. My point is that you can not forcefully change culture. Culture can change but that takes many decades or centuries.
It actually doesn't take as long as you might think. This has been written about before (check out the recent Not Just Bikes Video), but in the 1960's planning in the Netherlands was car-centric. In most places, cycling mode share was 10-15% at most. Enough children died in traffic accidents that a movement was started to create safe bike infrastructure. Fast-forward to today, and some cities like Utrecht have over 80% of people cycling. It only took 1 generation!
I first visited Houten in 2022 on a study tour of the cycling infrastructure. Everybody was very impressed and gushed about the place to our Houten guide, but later I overheard one of the younger people in the group (a 30 year old) saying to one of his friends, 'yeah, this would be a nice place to *retire* to.' It kind of summed up my feelings about it a little bit too. Sure, it's a nice suburb, and undoubtedly a good model for other more car dependent suburbs to aspire to, but it's still a suburb. I found it sleepy. This is why I live in Utrecht, because I want a bit of buzz (but not too much!). Houten feels like a town that has grown up around the bicycle, whereas Utrecht feels like a town (city) that has grown up around walking. It makes a lot of difference. It's my pet peeve with modern architecture & planning - we seem to have forgotten how to build walkable, intimate cities. Any time you see an attempt at creating a city center in a new suburban development (e.g. like at Leidsche Rijn), it invariably ends up being sterile. Meanwhile, the population in cities continues to rise, and the original, walkable parts of the city gradually get overrun by overtourism, while people who want to live in the city get priced out, because demand for city is increasing but supply isn't.
I totally get what you're saying, and I go back and forth on this. I'm from a small town, and grew up on a very quiet street a short walk from a wild-canyon park with a creek and groves of oak trees. Sometimes I'd pass 1 or two people there, but its mostly just the sounds of nature. When I visit the town's main street, I'm likely to run into someone I went to high school with or know for other reasons. I like the small town vibe. At the same time, the walkable centers of Dutch cities like Utrecht can give you this feeling without being too overwhelming or loud (like LA). Though there isn't nature super close by. Regardless of personal preferences, my main point in this video was having the average American consumer in mind. I agree that Houten is a bit boring--but lots of Americans like boring. They like the endless suburbs of Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta. My pitch is that you can still live in a boring suburb while also living in a 15-minute city, and harldy ever need to drive. In an ideal world, we'd build more walkable city centers as well so people could really have a choice.
In the end, you did make it seem like people want to live in Houten because it's more special with it's design, but it's mostly due to the fact it's very well connected to Utrecht, which itself is one of the largest cities. But it is also a hub to go anywhere. So Houten itself is like a town but very connected to the major cities. Which is the reason people want to live there. The whole design elements with bike paths etc, it may be one of the better ones, but most of these elements describe 99% of towns and small cities here.
I grew up here! I can still remember the first time I crossed a car road in my life, I was 11 years old, it was during a bicycle exam. To me, crossing a car road was a scary thought. I have now gotten a bit more accustomed to it, but I can't imagine trying to bike around LA.
Wow, cool. Someone else just commented this yesterday. I guess that means it was your neighbor? Ask him next time you see him. I think everyone in Houten who uses RUclips has viewed this video haha.
I grew up in such a Vinex neighborhood. It was lovely. My parents still live there and it's still very pleasant - a good place for both young families and old folks. Perhaps a tad boring for others, but boredom is underrated anyway;)
Very nice to see a video featuring the city I live in just randomly popup in my feed. Cycling and bike lanes are very common in the Netherlands and it is a very common to commute by bike in most cities. But a city completely designed around cycling is still unique in the Netherlands. Like you say, cycling is the easiest way to get around as there are no direct car routes within Houten. By car you have to first go to the ring road and drive to get to different part of Houten. So most of the time driving takes longer. It is also true there are no traffic lights for bikes within Houten, which is also pretty unique for the Netherlands. We also have a good train connection to the 4th biggest city in the Netherlands that also the biggest train station in the Netherlands so traveling by train is also very convenient. It also features plenty of parks and sporting facilities, it is clean and safe. Is it all perfect? Not really. while living in (south) Houten is great, it is very suburban so if you enjoy a quiet and green place to live it is great But there isn't much happening, the old city center is now dead as lots of stores left the city after the lockdown periods during covid. Luckily a 10 minute train takes you to Utrecht where there a plenty of restaurants and shops, but that does mean Houten is pretty much reduced to a sleep city as most offices also left the city (but it is not uncommon to work majority of your time from home). It is also very expensive to live here and it becoming more of a privilege. The newly build houses are very nice, but very expensive so out of reach for a lot of people. This also seems to be by design and happens in a lot of other places in the Netherlands. Houses are mostly build for the (fairly) rich and there a very little houses left that middle class can afford. Not strange that we now have a lot of expats living in Houten as well, they can afford to buy a very nice house here. For a starter it is pretty much impossible to get a house in Houten right now. This is true for most of the Netherlands but Houten is pretty popular and you pay (a lot) more for a house here.
L.A. Is a perfect place to transform into a 15 minute city. It has a perfect climate, mostly perfect flat geography and the roads have plenty of space to build separate cycle paths. Shops could turn a part of their car parking lot into a (cargo-)bike parking so people can buy their groceries and take them home by bike.
I agree! There is so much room here and the weather is great. I cycle to work everyday, and the weather isn't the problem--mixing with poorly-behaved drivers is! That's why I'm working with a group called Livable Communities Initiative to advocate for 15-minute cities in LA. Mainly zoning changes and more bike infrastrtcure.
Btw, technically bike paths ARE multi-use, as you are technically legally allowed walk in the berm of them (which includes "the side of the road" in many cases)
The only negative aspect is; you can cut/paste the streets to many other towns and would'nt notice the difference. I chose Almere to live out the rest of my life (I'm 63), precisely because it is developed much the same as Houten. When I no longer need to travel to Amsterdam for work, I'll get rid of my tiny car.
What the usa can easily do is allow shops and supermarkets in the middle of a suburb. A cheap solution. A supermarket does not need space for parking. Just change 7 houses into shops, simple and effective also reducing food deserts
You have a good point. Simply changing the zoning code to allow more mixed-use deep in suburban residential-only neighborhoods would be a huge step toward improving walkability. It would also be going back to how humans built cities for most of history.
When I talk about this subject here (UK) someone will inevitably say, What about disabled people? Well, I know people can use adapted cycles, or mobility scooters on the cycle paths, but it’d be good to have a video focussing on how people with disabilities live in a cycling focused area.
What about disabled people? These video's give sometimes the impression that dutch people hate cars. This is not true, almost everybody has a car over here, so there is no difference for disabled people. There is enough parking near the houses, so also disabled people can live without problem in a cycling focused area. I even think they like it because there are also a lot of walkpaths and parks where everyone can enjoy the quite neighborhood.
Yes, I agree. Its not about hating cars, but about not allowing car infrastructure to take precedent over all other forms of transportation. Like I mention in the video, the rates of car ownership even in Houten are not that different from a typical suburb (though less than in most American places). Most people have access to a parking spot if they choose to use it. However, other forms of transportation, like biking and walking, are treated just as legitimately, with dedicated paths. As one Dutch engineer I spoke to told me, "Its not about treating cars poorly, but about treating all modes equally and giving them their own dedicated spaces."
Not only Houten in the Netherlands is like this. I think all towns, villages and city's in the Netherlands have perfect infrastructure for bikes and public transportation. I can say that because i am Dutch ;)
I used to live there. Great Place. Everything really is easier by bike. I you go by car, you háve to go via the round way. You cannot hop from quarter to quarter so no shortcuts possible. You need to go to the next little district? You drive via the round way, or just walk 5 minutes. Now I live in another Vinex-wijk and let me tell you, I really miss the biking infrastructure of Houten and it's superb bike paths!
So would you say that Houten is designed particularly special for bikes compared to other towns in the Netherlands? I ask because other commenters are telling me that Houten is similar to other towns there.
@Sullyville I don't know of any towns similarly designed for bikers. Houten is worldwide reknowned for it. I think you have to have been there, lived there, to see how special it is in it's bikefriendly and walkingfriendly infrastructure.
Watching this after just comming back from the supermarket I walked to, in fact I don't even own a car, there is no need. Sure sometimes it would be nice to have one, but most of the time I really don't need one.
Its worth while to mention that a lot of places in the netherlands were at some point car focused or atleast just bad when it came to the infrastructure. However we adjusted it all to what it is today, that image of Utrecht that was shown is a good example. Basically what this means is that having it already build in a shit manner is not an argument against fixing it, especially since European cities are way denser with less road space that US cities, but we still managed to shrink roads down and fit save bike lanes and walking infrastructure.
As a Dutchie, the sad thing is that right after the succes of the Vinex program the goverment decided urban planning wasn't necessary anymore and axed the entire department. For freedom!
Yikes, that's too bad. Though I saw something recently about "adding one more block" to various villages in the countryside to expand housing. It seems like the urban planning is still pretty good. Did other things get axed?
dude every place that isn't called Amsterdam in the Netherlands is more or less like houten 😅, the moste city's and villages are made to be efficient and that everyone who lives there can easily reach some kind of shopping center within 10 or 5 minutes, and that also applies to public transport and all kinds of other facilities, and it doesn't matter whether you If you live in a village or a big city, that's how things work here. Now you also see that bicycle highways are being built everywhere, which, together with public transport, should relieve car traffic, which also has an indirect and direct impact on health.
Sounds pretty ideal...you guys have it figured out! And props to you for realizing that bike highways and transit relieve traffic, not exacerbate it as so many Americans seem to think.
The USA is not made by the people who live there. But by the BIG CORPORATES CARS,FOOD, HEALTHCARE. That's what the USA keeps turning! All about the money! Greetings from Bunschoten-Spakenburg the Netherlands. A small farmers and fishing village in the province of Utrecht near Amersfoort.
The e-bike is a particularly great innovation, especially in hilly California where I live. They also “shrink” distances in already car-centric places compared to “acoustic” bikes.
Funnily enough, Dutch people still complain about vinex neighbourhoods. Their designs are usually pretty great, but a lot of people think they're usually quite ugly. Because of the size of the plan there needed to be some serious economic considerations, so they tried to make the houses as cheap as possible. This resulted in a lot of houses that most people think are quite ugly.
I can understand this. When compared to the antique centers of Utrecht, for example, the architecture of Vinex looks bland. But then again, compared to Soviet Blocks or Midwestern American suburbia, its really not too bad! Plus the greenery and canals go a long way to improving the vibe. But as someone from Santa Barbara, which has a strict architectural code for new buildings, I do have a special dislike of developers cutting costs and creating lackluster structures.
The funny thing is, that the houses being ugly has nothing to do with the fact that they are vinex locations. It was a period that a lot of houses where being build, fast and as cheap as possible. With the current lack of housing, we might see something like that again.
Most begin and lot more ugly than they end up. Trees and greenery need time to grow, people actually living in it for a while makes it look more lively and intimate. Freshly finished neighbourhoods in autumn gloomy greyness are just depressing.
It is a good thing that you call it "the modern Houten" several times. Houten originates from 1811. Born and living in nearby Utrecht myself (only the best city in the Netherlands if I say so myself) but a regular visitor of Houten when doing my daily cycling. I am somewhat old and umemployed so to stay fit and "young" I cycle a good 50km (31 miles) a day. Would that even be possible where you live? 5:25 For Americans unfamiliar with bikes, especially Dutch bikes.. That ringlike thing is a model of a frame lock, AXA is THE locck brand in the Netherlands and 90% of the bikes will have a lock similar to this as first option. Besides this lock, often a chain mechanism is used as well. Rule of thumb in the Netherlands is that your lock(s) is (are) more expensive than your bike. Colorcoded Red Cyclepaths: Outside the cities, yeah that is probably a safe assumption, Red roads are either cyclepaths (only bikes and e-bikes and mopeds) or cyclestreets (where cars are allowed as "guest users). However, within cities red asphalt might be used for Public transport lanes (Busses, Taxis, Emergency vehicles) so if you see a red lane in the middle of the street... that is NOT a cyclepath. also, when driving a car in the Netherlands. One Way streets are in general only one way for cars and in most cases 2 way for cyclists so be prepared when driving into a one way street to have cyclists coming your way anyways, don't get mad as they are allowed. It seems I was subscriber 669 ..... nice
Thank you! Yes, that would be very possible where I live. The question is how much danger you'd be willing to put up with. The good things: * We have year-round great weather. The average temperature for pretty much every month is 70 with low humidity. It hardly ever rains. * There are many miles of separated bike paths, particularly along beaches. These are for recreational use, rather than practicallly connecting neighborhoods to work areas. * We are building more. There is a missing link in the "California Coastal Trail" that is being built as we speak. Soon, one will be able to bike 16 un-interrupted miles along the Pacific Ocean across multiple cities and parks. Drawbacks: * We have hills here! Not just little ones. Right behind Santa Barbara are mountians that reach 4,000 ft but their peaks are only 3-4 miles from the beach. The majority of the elevation gain happens in the last mile where there are cliffs, but the whole city slopes toward the ocean and there are smaller hills everywhere. Some see this as a good thing and use the hills for excersize. I know a few men in their late 50's who bike up Gibraltar Rd to La Cumbre Peak from the ocean every Sunday--a 4,000 ft elevation gain! But this obviously isn't for everyone. * The main drawback is a lack of separated, safe bike paths. Sure, you can bike on any street but most children, women, and men don't want to risk getting hit by a car. We are slowly improving, but most peoples' homes are not within easy distance of a bike path. This means bike mode share hovers around 10%--the percentage of people willing to mix with cars, especially at intersections. This means that many people actually drive to the beach paths to ride a bike!
The rules and laws are not just for Houten. In Groningen the bicycle revolution started and in Utrecht more is cycled. In Delft it is very VERY quiet. These laws are Dutch laws and mean that every road must always be safe for cars, public transport, cyclists and pedestrians. National legislation.
Underrated video, at least we know about round corners and not Logan Sargeant the sh*t out of it and only have blocks looking like Wyoming. Its why we have Sir Maximum Verstappen, we know about roads and infrastructure
Ok, this video made me feel proud to be living in NL, however I cannot help but wonder that this kind of urban planning is only possible to a certain scale, I imagine the footprint of LA being a multitude bigger then Houten is. Converting LA to a 15 min city would be physically impossible by bike?
Zoning laws in the US prohibit the creation of suburbs focused on people rather than cars. It is forbidden to have economic activities in a suburb. All economic activities are moved to an economic zone. So even a little bike repair shop or a bakery is not allowed. To have a large city like LA being created the Houten way would be to have suburbs created for people, each having intersperse economic activities like Houten. These suburbs then connected by public transport and limited roads. Very difficult to a die hard American to understand. This guys understood it but not all will
You are correct that all of LA can't become a 15-miute city, or bikeable, even if it did have Dutch-style bike infrastructure. This is because it is simply too physically large. However, in an ideal world, travelling across the city would be done by rapid transit, like subways and grade-separated trains. This is far more efficient that car travel in terms of space needed, infrastructure costs, and speed. Peoples' individual neighborhoods would be 15-minute cities. Once home, one shouldn't have to travel more that 15-minute for groceries, a park, shops, or schools. However, this is often the case in LA. The parking lot of that Ralph's is so big because its the only market for miles. Neighborhoods nearby are zoned residential-only, meaning many people are not within walking distance of a market. They are forced to drive to one, so the market has to accommodate their cars (both because of minimum parking requirements and they want customers). So the short answer is, in a well-planned city: bikes/walking for short distances, rapid transit for long ones. Cars/trucks are only really necessary for deliveries/industrial uses, or in the countryside. People can rent cars if they want to go camping in the wilderness.
Yes, you're right about how onerous zoning is in the US. Luckily, some cities are trying to undue this strict zoning. Berkeley, CA may be the first big city to allow "ACU's" -- Accessory Commercial Units. Think corner stores, salons, or bakeries and bike repair shops, as you mentioned. These would be allowed in fronts of homes or storefronts built in front yards. Pretty standard practice for most of human history, but of course in the US we have to give it a 3-letter acronym.
I believe that these channels are predominantly aimed at Dutch people who like foreigners gawk at things that are so normal for them. I'm stuck in the rabbit hole. It's nice to feel good about your life though.
I’ve lived in the Netherlands my entire life, and seeing videos like this have made me appreciate what we have here so much more. You don’t know how good you have it until you realise how much worse it could be
@@wolfy7977 Indeed, Dutch people watching English spoken videos about how great their country is, rather embarrassing.
this is completely and absolutely true.
You definitely get a new appreciation for the seemingly smallest things :)
Dutch people just love to be told we are amazing by foreigners. Here I am clicking on another video like this doing the same thing. We keep falling for it.
AND THE LOCALS DIDNT EVEN NOTICE??? Sir as a Houtenaar I can say we DO notice, and were proud to live here. Uncomparable to my time living in Palo Alto, CA. Just doing your groceries, going to sport facilities or meeting friends by bicycle instead of car is amazing.
Urban bike rides is what I missed the most while not living in the Netherlands.
I'm so glad i'm Dutch and not brainwashed thinking usa is the best country. Not to get me started with the infrastructure, how about us not having poisons in our food.
@@Kami69247maybe also remove a bit of that poison out of your reaction. No need to go so hard.
@@pimrutten3561Nope. Not euphemizing the truth. FREEDOM OF SPEECH !! Fuck yea!
@@pimrutten3561 Socialism can kiss my ass. It fucks over societies. Censoring others is both fascist and socialist, it's the combo that gave rise to Hitler. GET OUT OF HERE WITH THAT. Thanks.
In the Netherlands, it is not bicycles that are central, but people are central.
The government has been working for 50 years to reduce the number of traffic fatalities in the Netherlands.
easy to do when you live in a homogeneous ethnostate
Except in delft. Where bikes rule us all with a iron fist.
That is the home of the Dutch Cycling Embassy.
I'd rather be ruled by bikes, which would have a hard time killing me, than by cars!
@@Sullyville You say that, but wait till you try to walk normally in the city centre only to be loudly sped off by a byciclist who then death glares you like luigi in mario kart.
I make little marks on my bicycle for every casualty I cause. Up till now I have zero.
5:20 "to Utrecht within 10 minutes to the North, and Grlmaldestn to the South" took me OUT! LOLOL
To be fair, Geldermalsen would be difficult to pronounce I assume...
Nice video, I've lived in the Netherlands myself and the urban planning is truly great - but I just wanted to mention that it wasn't always this way. The NL was following similar patterns as the US back in the 70s - but due to the "Stop de Kindermoord" protests they were able to completely change this around; I also believe we can change the way we do things in the US as well although I'm sure it will be a slow process.
You are totally correct! Not Just Bikes talks about this a bit. Based on the rising number of traffic deaths in the US, I'm waiting for something similar to happen...hopefully it doesn't take many more people dying for us to design safe infrastructure.
@@Sullyville certainly! We'll nood some kind of critical mass - I guess that's where you and other educators play such an important role (like StrongTowns etc...); a lot of suburban (and even urban) americans don't really understand what the effects are of our car dependent society. People might feel lonely and isolated but are unable to pin point why this is just because they have never been presented with an alternative way of living.
@@itsliam4905 Yes, for sure. I actually founded my local Strong Towns group in Santa Barbara, and we're slowly educating our neighbors and elected officials--and I'm learning a lot about the local political process as well.
@@Sullyville that's awesome! Local involvement is so important!
The “Stop de Kindermoord” protests were not even the most important factor. More important were money and politics. Cities did not have the money to do major traffic projects in the 1950s to 1970s, and the housing shortage was still so great that habitable homes could not be torn down. In the 1970s, the oil crisis came along with a wave of newly educated civil engineers and urban planners who came up with alternative and affordable plans. Because the auto lobby was never very strong and was also further weakened by the oil crisis, politicians took up those bicycle-friendly plans. To save face, they said it was about the children.
As an old reluctant Dutch convert to car driving, living in US suburbia, I am happy to see young Americans pick up this torch. Thank you so much. Maybe we Dutch are not quite as crazy as some Americans have long tried to make me to believe.
I don't think you guys are crazy. Except when I was on cycle paths in Amsterdam and slowed down--and got yelled at!
@@SullyvilleTHEN DONT SLOW DOWN PANNEKOEK!
(Everyone is getting yelled at in Amsterdam, it's not the best of examples)
@@maxx0r050 I was mainly slowing down because as someone new to the city, I would get to branching bike paths and not be sure which way to go.
In the US, I'm so used to being the only person on a bike path that this behavior doesn't matter--I forgot there were so many people behind me!
@@Sullyville I had the same experience when I first moved to Utrecht. I grew up in a village that was so small that it didn't even have traffic lights.
Now 18 years later I'm afraid I'm one of those bicyclists that gets quite annoyed by tourists slowing bicycle traffic down 😅
The worst ones are the tourists in the old city center that suddenly, without looking, step in front of your bicycle to make a picture of some nice old building.
Yeah we sometimes see some impatience towards less experienced cyclists here. I’ve also experienced this while cycling with my six year old daughter, who just wasn’t that fast on the bike at the time. Me and a car driver exchanged a few insults after he honked at us because he had to slow down for a little bit. I’m not proud of this but if cars aren’t careful around kids on bikes, I get annoyed real quick.
Such a good video!! Congrats!
Thanks!
Imagine all those people on bikes are driving. The more people you get onto a bike (or walking) the less congestion on the roads. So it even makes driving a lot more enjoyable.
Yes, this! I tell this to drivers in my city all the time. You should _want_ bike lanes everywhere, so more people get off the road, and its easier for you to drive.
Fun fact, because cyclists take up less space than drivers, a bike lane can move ~7,500 people per hour, compared to a driving lane's ~700 on surface streets (Source: nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/introduction/why/designing-move-people/)
And make them happy and excersize same time🎉
I also want to note how important building quality is when building higher density homes. I often read criticism from Americans who want to live in the suburbs, so they don’t have to hear their neighbours. I lived in student housing with hundreds of other university students, but would hardly hear it if there’s a party somewhere in the building. I played bass guitar, my neighbour practiced singing, but we never heard each other.
In NL there aren’t many freestanding homes. Almost all houses in NL are townhouses, but because of the use of bricks and insulation you basically never hear your neighbours. You can still have a lot of privacy.
For sure. And the American suburbs aren't so quiet either. I can't tell you how many times I've been woken up on a weekend by a neighbor's leaf blower, or lawn mower, or kitchen remodel people who show up way too early.
Not to mention large, arterial roads providing a steady hum of traffic noise in the background, even deep in the loops of a cul-de-sac neighborhood, as happens in LA.
As Not Just Bikes says: "cities aren't loud, cars are."
@@Sullyvillesteady hum of traffic sprinkled with the occasional “car enthusiasts” determined to floor their loud car at every opportunity
Suburban homes in the US cost a lot and are still made of paper, it's hilarious
I think most modern houses also have a "double bricked wall" so the sounds has a much harder time to go trough it. So yes the houses are under one roof but it basically makes it so you never hear your neighbour.
@@ojassarup258 They don't remember what a brick is. I think that is because every old city center has been bulldozed for highways.
Wauw, thanks for visiting the Netherlands and do this video about Houten and the suburbs/vinexwijken. I am a neighbour of Houten. And the suburbs and city's are very well connected by bike paths. And even bikebridges like the one in between Houten en Nieuwegein at the Plofsluis. This bridge brought the riding time between the city's centers down with allmost 10/15 minutes one way. And now with a lot of traffic is going over this bridge everyday. It's only one of the new examples of making the bikeroutes better and quicker. Even the Fastbiking (like highways for cars) network is getting bigger en more connected. To bring travelling time down between city's and closeby towns.
Also, at 12:23, that guy has been living in The Netherlands for a couple of years now. And his reactions to public transport and urban planning here in The Netherlands are always very positive. His vlogs are really good! His channel is @Itz SKY btw.
Hi Sully! This vid was great. Please make more. Just so you know, our people can be overly critical. Moreso than just 'not sugarcoating things'- we love to complain. Don't let that deter you, this was legitimately very solid content.
Thanks! I'm amazed how many views this is getting, and I am inspired to make more. I have lots of video ideas, I just have to find the time!
American living in Netherlands i can say, we can have it all: bikability, walkability, public transit, AND cars. It makes you healthier and happier and leaves miles on your car for only when yiu need it.
Exactly so. Got 3 bikes and a car. The latter is used in moderation.
Very jealous German here. Although we have better city conditions than the US, the Dutch urban design is much ahead. Balancing energies by effectively using space - the way to joy.
what you feel like they tell you live in the houses I hated my partner hates that everyone hates it the Netherlands themselves don't even like it is terrible you don't have privacy or an actual garden nothing can't wait til we move to Germany
@@NikiHuszarI have no clue what you are trying to say here.
@@maxdehaas6776 idk, something about row-housing if I had to guess.
@@NikiHuszar Je hebt geen idee waar je over praat, doei
“Vinex wijk” is actually a slang in the Netherlands, not hyped like in this video. Most people feel it’s over engineered.
Can’t say much about the current town center but it used to be very boring. The town I live now has half the population but way more culture in the town center.
As a fan of RUclips channels like Not Just Bikes and City Beautiful, I am really happy to have found your channel. Keep up the good work!
I am also fans of those (of course)! I guess its obvious where I get my inspiration.
I actually had the guy behind City Beautiful as a college professor, and helped him write a few videos. That's where I got the confidence to start this channel.
There's more coming!
Can confirm.
Fun fact: there’s not a single traffic light for cyclists in Houten (within the ‘rondweg’)
Ehm, within the rondweg there isn't a traffic light for any more of transport.
@@maartenbosmans9585there are many on the Rondweg though. And they are very, very badly aligned. But for cyclists it is paradise, they have dedicated under- and overpasses everywhere.
i have no idea how this video doesn't have 10000x more views. really good video!
Probably because its my second video ever. It was hard to make, but I learned a lot; more is on the way!
@@Sullyville And now I have no idea why this video has 80k views and this channel only 1k subcribers.
YEEESSS Houten! I absolutely love that place. Great video!
Thanks so much, I'm a huge fan!
I think we visited Houten the same week this summer...maybe we almost crossed paths.
Of course, it took you no time at all to get your video out, but I'm new to this game so it only took me 5 months (:
@@Sullyville Welcome to the club ;) Keep it up.
Great video! I moved to Houten in 1998 and I loved it every minute! After living in Saint Louis, MO for some years I loved being back home. If you are here again come by for a drink in my garden!
I will definitely take you up on that offer!
Its a long way from California, but I hope to visit again soon.
The suburban areas of Almere have a very similar feel - wide tree lined park with separated cycle tracks and pedestrian paths - essentially an arterial road but not for cars. I agree that our current suburbs can be retrofitted to meet this with simple road layout changes - and that we also need zoning reform to allow for upsizing and commercial/mixed uses to be built closer within walking/cycling distance. Great video!
I live in Houston and u had me exited for a second talking about Houten 😂
So sorry to disappoint...
But hey, you can always advocate to make Houston better! It can only go uphill from here...
TBH, Houten and Houston have basically the same urbanization
Nice video, you deserve more views! Houten is a good example of new urban design, but the same can be found all over the Netherlands. I really apprieciate the people that have made this possible.
Thanks! I hope to get more views as I make more content. Expect to see more Dutch stories, urbanism, cool history, and even some adventures.
Not really, I live close to Houten and when I went there for the first time I was just blow away by the greenery and all the bike lanes. It's almost like you're cycling trough one big park.
He, thanks. It's always nice to see your own town in this light ;-)
I live in Houten for 20 years now and it is a pleasent place to live and very safe to raise childeren. We are very used to it and when we travel to other countries it is always a shock to to see how inconvenient some places are for bikers and even pedestrians.
Thanks for watching! About a dozen of your neighbors have also checked out the video and left a comment. Seems that I have many friends in Houten now.
Do you think I portrayed your town well? Anything I left out? Anything you would change about Houten if you could?
rly surprised you have only about 300 subscribers man this is actually top tier
Well, it is my second video ever. Glad you liked it!
As someone who saw a bunch if videos abiut houten, you're one of the few who pronounces it right :)
Glad to hear that. It was really a guess.
I've been told my pronunciation of "Geldermalsen" wasn't as spot on (:
The roads in LA are so wide, you could make a 2 way street with grass in yhe middle where the Tram is going to drive. You could also make oneway streets with public transport on the other side etc.
They are indeed incredibly wide. Many are 100-120 ft. But because intersections constrain car through-put, many of these urban 6-lane roads don't carry more cars per hour than if they were 4 or even 2 lane roads. Build The Lanes made a video about this recently: ruclips.net/video/kqOxBZJ6c1g/видео.html
The hike pads are not only going through the whole subburb but are coneccted to bike pads all over the country. I was on vacation in that area and biked from one village to the next never leaving the bike pad . It is one big nation wide network.
You should go to Houten around the beginning of Spring. At a certain point all the blossoms will bloom in certain streets (where the colored houses are). It's EPIC!
I have been living in Houten for almost 15 years now and the best part is that I have actual choice of transportation. I can walk, cycle, use public transport or drive one of my cars. Cycling here is so safe that my children didn't need to be driven to school, their friends or music lessons: they just go on their own by bicycle, or walk to the railway station and hop on a train to Utrecht which runs 4 times per hour. But if I need to go somewhere by car, it is no problem, access to the A27 motorway is just 7 minutes. It's perfect.
I think that a large part of these well connected neighbourhoods is also that our average suburb house is much smaller than an american suburb home. That has many reasons, like lack of space, higher costs per square meter of building due to materials ( although not greener than american way of building because we use too much brick/concrete). If you want to achieve anything like this in america, you either need smaller communities measured in residents or smaller communities measured in space (house size)
You bring up interesting points. I've also read that the average size of a new American home has bloated over time, getting larger and larger even as families get smaller and smaller.
The great thing about Houten is that it's kind of round. So you can bike and walk through the middle very quickly, while you also have a nice ring road around the town. The ring road means there are almost no streams of cars crossing each other, which makes going by car still really fast. Except for the ring road, Houten basically needs no traffic lights, while still having a relatively higher density than most Dutch suburbs.
Thanks for starting an Urban Planning channel! I just subscribed to support. Thanks for visiting Holland
Thanks for the thanks! There is more on the way!
I was just in Houten 2 days ago for the Dutch National Transportation Expo
insert here: You know, I live in Groningen. The perfect example, not of the 15-minute town, but the 15-minute city (for Dutch standards). I find myself in the position that, I do know my city by heart, whenever I have to commute it by bike. But as soon as I have to drive it by car, I am completely lost and I don't know how to explain the road we need to take. My dad, he grew up here. Whenever I give him directions, we hit roadblocks. Dutch cities and towns, nowadays are designed like cartwheels, if you will. And I think that is what you mean in the video with the Vinex-way of designing cities.
Please America, do adopt this. You will f^%$ng love it . It will make your lives so much worry-free and danger-free. You will be glad to bike around and regret that car. Buy yourself a nice pair of headphones and you will have your freedom. Enjoy it the European way. It will cost you less and give you more. You guys and girls love that.
Damn mad underrated channel
Thanks so much! It took a while to make this video (cough 4 months), but I think I'm getting the hang of it. There's more on the way.
@@Sullyville Good luck I just subscribed so will be excited to see your future videos
4:55 if you're wondering what happened, the province got resized and acquired some acreage from South Holland which is mostly farm land :)
I live in Utrecht and I do almost everything by bicycle. Grocery shopping for a week (yes it can be done), my commute to the city centre, visiting friends. Not because I am particularly fond of bicycling, but because its the easiest and quickest way to get around.
The past few weeks I had to take public transport instead, because I cant ride my bike due to an injury. My commute has more than doubled. Even though we have very good public transport. Cant wait until I am able to ride my bike again. Hopefully around Christmas.
Unexpected perhaps for fanatical drivers in the USA. Because there are viable alternatives for the car, walking, biking, public transport, the Netherlands are awarded the best country in the world for drivers!
Yep. Turns out when cyclists and pedestrians aren't squeezed onto the road space with you, driving is a lot nicer.
Not to mention how the high bike, ped, and transit mode share means there are just fewer cars on the road overall, even in populated areas.
Depends what you consider best for drivers. If you want to drive for fun the Netherlands is very dull. No good roads. Low speed limits. No twists and turns. Go to italy or france instead.
@@Googlium no good roads lol. Did you visit belgium on accident and called it the netherlands? If you want to go fast the autobahn in Germany is the place to be, and easily reachable from the Netherlands too
@@WotskiWotski I live in the Netherlands it has the most boring roads in Europe. Only Denmark might be worse.
@@Googlium Well, Zuid Limburg does have some interesting roads with plenty of twists and turns. 😉
Just a thing I have been thinking of while watching your video. I see most videos like these where the focus is on trying to convince Americans about bikes, public transport, walking. Would it be an idea to do more videos on Dutch car traffic and roads? I think naysaying American car enthusiasts can also be convinced by how smooth a drive can be in The Netherlands compared to the congested hell holes some of your US cities are.
The channle @buildthelanes does a great job of this. He actually lives in the NL and practices traffic engineering there, so he can answer lots of country-specific questions, and gather footage.
I live all the way in California so I can't pop outside to film a Dutch bike lane. But I hope to return soon!
@@Sullyville I've seen his work and love it! I just wish more channels showed the car traffic too to help convince car drivers. But I understand your point, Cali to the Netherlands is quite a long way. Hope you'll get back there some day too!
Videos like this make me appreciate living in The Netherlands more. It may be really boring in terms of landscape, at least the urban planning is pretty damn great.
The massive amount of grass in Houten should be convincing enough that you won't want wide roads, you want proper breathing space.
Nice video! I live in the village next to Houten and I can really relate to what you said
That's cool! Glad I talked about your area in a way that the locals like.
Would you say Houten is noticeably different/better in its bike infrastructure and layout than other parts of the country, or does it just get a lot of hype?
You filmed my house in the dutch part😭😂
Always great to see and outsider's perspective on my little town. Makes me appreciate living here all the more.
Thanks! Incredible how many Houteners are watching this. Would you say I did a good job portraying your town? Do you think most residents know they live in a highly innovative and unique place?
Too bad I didn't know all you guys when I was there this summer. I suppose I'll have to visit again and get a proper tour from the locals!
I'm not sure about the average inhabitant, I'm pretty aware of urban planning and met quite a few people in that community (like BicycleDutch, Chris Bruntlett and American Fietser) so I'm not really the average Houtenaar.
I live in one of the Dutch Vinex neighborhoods and was a member of the city council when it was approved some 30 years ago. Mistakes were made.
Arguably the biggest mistake is the lack of commercial dual use. Too little space was allocated for businesses in the planning and local red tape made most entrepreneurs quickly seek alternatives elsewhere. Consequently there are too few small businesses, which makes the neighborhood boring and an economic liability for the municipality in the long run - with increasing costs for maintenance, and falling tax revenue in return for the city.
Another mistake was the lack of proper infrastructure too and from the Vinex suburb to the city centers. It is a bit of a nightmare to get in and out of these suburbs during rush hours. The planned bicycle highways leave a lot to be desired and still haven't been completely built out after all these years. Over the years austerity measures have seen public transport gutted to levels that today pretty much nothing goes after 21.00 hours.
The main lesson is that any neighborhood - even a Dutch Vinex wijk - needs constant adjustments and funding to keep it a living community. The biggest enemy of progress in my town is the bureaucracy that is stuck in 30 year old zoning laws and is unable to come up with flexible solutions. All this is making an already dire housing shortage here, and everywhere else in Netherlands, even worse.
This is all super fascinating.
As an American, basically every town in the Netherlands looks, feels, and operates at levels we can only dream of. For instance, you mention no transit after 21.00--here, lots of places have no transit at all!
But of course, as you say, there is always room for improvement. I totally agree with you that one thing missing from Vinex is more mixed-use structures and small shops. This idea is sort of the last illusive peice we need to put back into our neighborhoods to revive the vibrant urban form humans created for most of history.
Separating land uses was an American idea that's only a century old--hopefully we can move away from it. In Berkeley, CA, ACUs (accessory commerical units) may be allowed soon. This means entrepreneurs will be able to open up small businesses in their front rooms, garages, or front yards.
Also, I'm curious when you say that bicycle highways leave a lot to be desired. What specifically do you think is lacking?
Heyo, lil tip
If you have cuts between takes of your talking cam like at 5:46~ put some random clips of houses or something else over it that might fit what you're talking about ^^
For the rest, nice vid
It's interesting that Dutch bycycle infrastructure has been famous for decades, but as a Dutchy my experience is that it is still improving every year. Especially the safety has improved with the fully separated bike roads have taken off.
What's happening more recently is that many cities are reducing the speed limit for cars from 50km/hr (~30mph) to 30 km/hr (~18mph) on most roads. The city of Nijmegen is planning on only having a few 50km/hr roads left in a few years with most roads being 30km/hr.
Also rail infrastructure is very dense, but not just because the cities are dense: My ~8000 inhabitant little town has a railway station that gets me to Amsterdam (literally the other side of the country, 1h45min by car) in 1h30min or to Schiphol (main airport with built in railway station, 1h45min by car except then I still have to park somewhere) in 1h45min, both with only one transfer of around 5 minutes.
I am stunned that US bike advocates fail to understand that the problem in the US is not technical, financial or knowledge.
The problem is cultural, as long as people in the US don't love a bike like they love their firearms the number of bike lanes will stay below the number of shooting ranges in the Netherlands.
You can shoot from a bike.
@@dinandbrocker8452 Cargo bike drive-by shooting?
Culture doesn't just come from nowhere, it comes from economic and physical conditions. If everything is far away and roads are built for cars people will drive more than they bike. If traffic is bad, but there are free bike lanes, more people will bike. The conditions create the culture.
@@XandateOfHeaven If I had to make a definition of culture it would be: Culture = a collective set of habits ingrained through history of a distinguishable group of people.
The US sprawl is caused by the US culture but is not the culture within itself.
My point is that you can not forcefully change culture. Culture can change but that takes many decades or centuries.
It actually doesn't take as long as you might think.
This has been written about before (check out the recent Not Just Bikes Video), but in the 1960's planning in the Netherlands was car-centric. In most places, cycling mode share was 10-15% at most.
Enough children died in traffic accidents that a movement was started to create safe bike infrastructure. Fast-forward to today, and some cities like Utrecht have over 80% of people cycling. It only took 1 generation!
I first visited Houten in 2022 on a study tour of the cycling infrastructure. Everybody was very impressed and gushed about the place to our Houten guide, but later I overheard one of the younger people in the group (a 30 year old) saying to one of his friends, 'yeah, this would be a nice place to *retire* to.'
It kind of summed up my feelings about it a little bit too. Sure, it's a nice suburb, and undoubtedly a good model for other more car dependent suburbs to aspire to, but it's still a suburb. I found it sleepy. This is why I live in Utrecht, because I want a bit of buzz (but not too much!). Houten feels like a town that has grown up around the bicycle, whereas Utrecht feels like a town (city) that has grown up around walking. It makes a lot of difference.
It's my pet peeve with modern architecture & planning - we seem to have forgotten how to build walkable, intimate cities. Any time you see an attempt at creating a city center in a new suburban development (e.g. like at Leidsche Rijn), it invariably ends up being sterile. Meanwhile, the population in cities continues to rise, and the original, walkable parts of the city gradually get overrun by overtourism, while people who want to live in the city get priced out, because demand for city is increasing but supply isn't.
I totally get what you're saying, and I go back and forth on this.
I'm from a small town, and grew up on a very quiet street a short walk from a wild-canyon park with a creek and groves of oak trees. Sometimes I'd pass 1 or two people there, but its mostly just the sounds of nature. When I visit the town's main street, I'm likely to run into someone I went to high school with or know for other reasons. I like the small town vibe.
At the same time, the walkable centers of Dutch cities like Utrecht can give you this feeling without being too overwhelming or loud (like LA). Though there isn't nature super close by.
Regardless of personal preferences, my main point in this video was having the average American consumer in mind. I agree that Houten is a bit boring--but lots of Americans like boring. They like the endless suburbs of Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta. My pitch is that you can still live in a boring suburb while also living in a 15-minute city, and harldy ever need to drive.
In an ideal world, we'd build more walkable city centers as well so people could really have a choice.
In the end, you did make it seem like people want to live in Houten because it's more special with it's design, but it's mostly due to the fact it's very well connected to Utrecht, which itself is one of the largest cities. But it is also a hub to go anywhere. So Houten itself is like a town but very connected to the major cities. Which is the reason people want to live there. The whole design elements with bike paths etc, it may be one of the better ones, but most of these elements describe 99% of towns and small cities here.
Love this vid!
I grew up here! I can still remember the first time I crossed a car road in my life, I was 11 years old, it was during a bicycle exam. To me, crossing a car road was a scary thought. I have now gotten a bit more accustomed to it, but I can't imagine trying to bike around LA.
Cars cost you money and make you fat. Bikes save you money and run on fat ;)
Great catchphrase.
This is such an extremely Dutch way of thinking about it 😂😂😂
Lmao, you sat right in front of my house
Wow, cool. Someone else just commented this yesterday. I guess that means it was your neighbor?
Ask him next time you see him.
I think everyone in Houten who uses RUclips has viewed this video haha.
I grew up in such a Vinex neighborhood. It was lovely. My parents still live there and it's still very pleasant - a good place for both young families and old folks. Perhaps a tad boring for others, but boredom is underrated anyway;)
Very nice to see a video featuring the city I live in just randomly popup in my feed. Cycling and bike lanes are very common in the Netherlands and it is a very common to commute by bike in most cities. But a city completely designed around cycling is still unique in the Netherlands. Like you say, cycling is the easiest way to get around as there are no direct car routes within Houten. By car you have to first go to the ring road and drive to get to different part of Houten. So most of the time driving takes longer. It is also true there are no traffic lights for bikes within Houten, which is also pretty unique for the Netherlands. We also have a good train connection to the 4th biggest city in the Netherlands that also the biggest train station in the Netherlands so traveling by train is also very convenient. It also features plenty of parks and sporting facilities, it is clean and safe.
Is it all perfect? Not really. while living in (south) Houten is great, it is very suburban so if you enjoy a quiet and green place to live it is great But there isn't much happening, the old city center is now dead as lots of stores left the city after the lockdown periods during covid. Luckily a 10 minute train takes you to Utrecht where there a plenty of restaurants and shops, but that does mean Houten is pretty much reduced to a sleep city as most offices also left the city (but it is not uncommon to work majority of your time from home). It is also very expensive to live here and it becoming more of a privilege. The newly build houses are very nice, but very expensive so out of reach for a lot of people. This also seems to be by design and happens in a lot of other places in the Netherlands. Houses are mostly build for the (fairly) rich and there a very little houses left that middle class can afford. Not strange that we now have a lot of expats living in Houten as well, they can afford to buy a very nice house here. For a starter it is pretty much impossible to get a house in Houten right now. This is true for most of the Netherlands but Houten is pretty popular and you pay (a lot) more for a house here.
Wish we could more of this in the US
Me too! Its possible with political will and advocacy.
Car-free historic city centers are also so lovely
Nice job, John (Sully, too.)
Couldn't have done it without you
L.A. Is a perfect place to transform into a 15 minute city. It has a perfect climate, mostly perfect flat geography and the roads have plenty of space to build separate cycle paths. Shops could turn a part of their car parking lot into a (cargo-)bike parking so people can buy their groceries and take them home by bike.
I agree!
There is so much room here and the weather is great. I cycle to work everyday, and the weather isn't the problem--mixing with poorly-behaved drivers is!
That's why I'm working with a group called Livable Communities Initiative to advocate for 15-minute cities in LA. Mainly zoning changes and more bike infrastrtcure.
Btw, technically bike paths ARE multi-use, as you are technically legally allowed walk in the berm of them (which includes "the side of the road" in many cases)
The only negative aspect is; you can cut/paste the streets to many other towns and would'nt notice the difference. I chose Almere to live out the rest of my life (I'm 63), precisely because it is developed much the same as Houten.
When I no longer need to travel to Amsterdam for work, I'll get rid of my tiny car.
What the usa can easily do is allow shops and supermarkets in the middle of a suburb. A cheap solution. A supermarket does not need space for parking. Just change 7 houses into shops, simple and effective also reducing food deserts
You have a good point. Simply changing the zoning code to allow more mixed-use deep in suburban residential-only neighborhoods would be a huge step toward improving walkability.
It would also be going back to how humans built cities for most of history.
hahaha fun fact. We build the largest bike storage in Utrecht.... and now its full XD. 12.000 bikes or so
That's awesome. Hope to see that in more places one day.
10/10 thumbnail
Thanks! Not sure which one you saw cause I'm testing out multiple.
When I talk about this subject here (UK) someone will inevitably say, What about disabled people? Well, I know people can use adapted cycles, or mobility scooters on the cycle paths, but it’d be good to have a video focussing on how people with disabilities live in a cycling focused area.
What about disabled people? These video's give sometimes the impression that dutch people hate cars. This is not true, almost everybody has a car over here, so there is no difference for disabled people. There is enough parking near the houses, so also disabled people can live without problem in a cycling focused area. I even think they like it because there are also a lot of walkpaths and parks where everyone can enjoy the quite neighborhood.
Yes, I agree.
Its not about hating cars, but about not allowing car infrastructure to take precedent over all other forms of transportation.
Like I mention in the video, the rates of car ownership even in Houten are not that different from a typical suburb (though less than in most American places). Most people have access to a parking spot if they choose to use it.
However, other forms of transportation, like biking and walking, are treated just as legitimately, with dedicated paths. As one Dutch engineer I spoke to told me, "Its not about treating cars poorly, but about treating all modes equally and giving them their own dedicated spaces."
Not only Houten in the Netherlands is like this. I think all towns, villages and city's in the Netherlands have perfect infrastructure for bikes and public transportation. I can say that because i am Dutch ;)
Yes, it's replicable, at least in other parts of the Netherlands. The city of Almere (founded around 1975) has taken these concepts to the next level.
I used to live there. Great Place. Everything really is easier by bike. I you go by car, you háve to go via the round way. You cannot hop from quarter to quarter so no shortcuts possible. You need to go to the next little district? You drive via the round way, or just walk 5 minutes.
Now I live in another Vinex-wijk and let me tell you, I really miss the biking infrastructure of Houten and it's superb bike paths!
So would you say that Houten is designed particularly special for bikes compared to other towns in the Netherlands?
I ask because other commenters are telling me that Houten is similar to other towns there.
@Sullyville I don't know of any towns similarly designed for bikers. Houten is worldwide reknowned for it. I think you have to have been there, lived there, to see how special it is in it's bikefriendly and walkingfriendly infrastructure.
Watching this after just comming back from the supermarket I walked to, in fact I don't even own a car, there is no need. Sure sometimes it would be nice to have one, but most of the time I really don't need one.
This account only has 1k subs??? the vids are way to well made, it feels like a big channel
in the netherlands we dont have the luxury of space
so we had to create space u can go up or down
Its worth while to mention that a lot of places in the netherlands were at some point car focused or atleast just bad when it came to the infrastructure. However we adjusted it all to what it is today, that image of Utrecht that was shown is a good example.
Basically what this means is that having it already build in a shit manner is not an argument against fixing it, especially since European cities are way denser with less road space that US cities, but we still managed to shrink roads down and fit save bike lanes and walking infrastructure.
As a Dutchie, the sad thing is that right after the succes of the Vinex program the goverment decided urban planning wasn't necessary anymore and axed the entire department. For freedom!
Yikes, that's too bad. Though I saw something recently about "adding one more block" to various villages in the countryside to expand housing. It seems like the urban planning is still pretty good. Did other things get axed?
dude every place that isn't called Amsterdam in the Netherlands is more or less like houten 😅, the moste city's and villages are made to be efficient and that everyone who lives there can easily reach some kind of shopping center within 10 or 5 minutes, and that also applies to public transport and all kinds of other facilities, and it doesn't matter whether you If you live in a village or a big city, that's how things work here. Now you also see that bicycle highways are being built everywhere, which, together with public transport, should relieve car traffic, which also has an indirect and direct impact on health.
Sounds pretty ideal...you guys have it figured out!
And props to you for realizing that bike highways and transit relieve traffic, not exacerbate it as so many Americans seem to think.
It’s all part of the evolution of the “Vinex wijk”. However luckily not everything is like Houten. It hardly has history and is far from affordable.
The USA is not made by the people who live there. But by the BIG CORPORATES
CARS,FOOD, HEALTHCARE. That's what the USA keeps turning! All about the money!
Greetings from Bunschoten-Spakenburg the Netherlands.
A small farmers and fishing village in the province of Utrecht near Amersfoort.
It's Trum that's needs Ilone?
For his money! And Minister of nothing?
I live in the Netherlands, and I have never been in America and this feels normal for mee
Fricking cool to see Houten here in this video. I live there 🙂
Electric bikes, mopeds, and bakfiets, make these networks a dream!
The e-bike is a particularly great innovation, especially in hilly California where I live. They also “shrink” distances in already car-centric places compared to “acoustic” bikes.
Funnily enough, Dutch people still complain about vinex neighbourhoods. Their designs are usually pretty great, but a lot of people think they're usually quite ugly. Because of the size of the plan there needed to be some serious economic considerations, so they tried to make the houses as cheap as possible. This resulted in a lot of houses that most people think are quite ugly.
I can understand this. When compared to the antique centers of Utrecht, for example, the architecture of Vinex looks bland. But then again, compared to Soviet Blocks or Midwestern American suburbia, its really not too bad! Plus the greenery and canals go a long way to improving the vibe.
But as someone from Santa Barbara, which has a strict architectural code for new buildings, I do have a special dislike of developers cutting costs and creating lackluster structures.
The funny thing is, that the houses being ugly has nothing to do with the fact that they are vinex locations. It was a period that a lot of houses where being build, fast and as cheap as possible. With the current lack of housing, we might see something like that again.
Most begin and lot more ugly than they end up. Trees and greenery need time to grow, people actually living in it for a while makes it look more lively and intimate. Freshly finished neighbourhoods in autumn gloomy greyness are just depressing.
Visit Davis, California, which is the most bicycle friendly city in the U.S.
I def want to. Went there as a kid, but hardly remember the place. They have the highest bike mode share in the US, at over 20%.
You understand us dutchies❤
I MISS THIS DREAM. Only 4 years Bob it's only 4 years
W video
Greetings from the Netherlands!
In our household of two people, we have 1 car and 5 bikes 😂.
This is in many cities and towns in the Netherlands.
Yeahhhh my hometown. Houten let's goooooo.
The 15 minute city is now a whole conspiracy thing xD
It is a good thing that you call it "the modern Houten" several times. Houten originates from 1811. Born and living in nearby Utrecht myself (only the best city in the Netherlands if I say so myself) but a regular visitor of Houten when doing my daily cycling. I am somewhat old and umemployed so to stay fit and "young" I cycle a good 50km (31 miles) a day. Would that even be possible where you live?
5:25 For Americans unfamiliar with bikes, especially Dutch bikes.. That ringlike thing is a model of a frame lock, AXA is THE locck brand in the Netherlands and 90% of the bikes will have a lock similar to this as first option. Besides this lock, often a chain mechanism is used as well. Rule of thumb in the Netherlands is that your lock(s) is (are) more expensive than your bike.
Colorcoded Red Cyclepaths: Outside the cities, yeah that is probably a safe assumption, Red roads are either cyclepaths (only bikes and e-bikes and mopeds) or cyclestreets (where cars are allowed as "guest users). However, within cities red asphalt might be used for Public transport lanes (Busses, Taxis, Emergency vehicles) so if you see a red lane in the middle of the street... that is NOT a cyclepath.
also, when driving a car in the Netherlands. One Way streets are in general only one way for cars and in most cases 2 way for cyclists so be prepared when driving into a one way street to have cyclists coming your way anyways, don't get mad as they are allowed.
It seems I was subscriber 669 ..... nice
Thank you!
Yes, that would be very possible where I live. The question is how much danger you'd be willing to put up with.
The good things:
* We have year-round great weather. The average temperature for pretty much every month is 70 with low humidity. It hardly ever rains.
* There are many miles of separated bike paths, particularly along beaches. These are for recreational use, rather than practicallly connecting neighborhoods to work areas.
* We are building more. There is a missing link in the "California Coastal Trail" that is being built as we speak. Soon, one will be able to bike 16 un-interrupted miles along the Pacific Ocean across multiple cities and parks.
Drawbacks:
* We have hills here! Not just little ones. Right behind Santa Barbara are mountians that reach 4,000 ft but their peaks are only 3-4 miles from the beach. The majority of the elevation gain happens in the last mile where there are cliffs, but the whole city slopes toward the ocean and there are smaller hills everywhere.
Some see this as a good thing and use the hills for excersize. I know a few men in their late 50's who bike up Gibraltar Rd to La Cumbre Peak from the ocean every Sunday--a 4,000 ft elevation gain! But this obviously isn't for everyone.
* The main drawback is a lack of separated, safe bike paths. Sure, you can bike on any street but most children, women, and men don't want to risk getting hit by a car. We are slowly improving, but most peoples' homes are not within easy distance of a bike path. This means bike mode share hovers around 10%--the percentage of people willing to mix with cars, especially at intersections.
This means that many people actually drive to the beach paths to ride a bike!
As someone living in Houten ya genuinely don't notice that much untill someone from a less well developed road network and they're completely shocked
"Less developed" is definitely the right word for it...
The rules and laws are not just for Houten. In Groningen the bicycle revolution started and in Utrecht more is cycled. In Delft it is very VERY quiet. These laws are Dutch laws and mean that every road must always be safe for cars, public transport, cyclists and pedestrians. National legislation.
missed opertunity you should have visited almere
Hopefully this will grow again in the netherlands with the new enviromental rules and all the new electric bikes ...
Combineer mode is perfectly fine, if that is put on Roads that already exist, just don't let Cars on there.
This is awesome
Underrated video, at least we know about round corners and not Logan Sargeant the sh*t out of it and only have blocks looking like Wyoming. Its why we have Sir Maximum Verstappen, we know about roads and infrastructure
After several years of preaching this message, that the USA doesn’t learn, is at this point just sad.
Bikes and cars are always separated, where you live??? Zimbabwe???
Ok, this video made me feel proud to be living in NL, however I cannot help but wonder that this kind of urban planning is only possible to a certain scale, I imagine the footprint of LA being a multitude bigger then Houten is. Converting LA to a 15 min city would be physically impossible by bike?
Zoning laws in the US prohibit the creation of suburbs focused on people rather than cars. It is forbidden to have economic activities in a suburb. All economic activities are moved to an economic zone.
So even a little bike repair shop or a bakery is not allowed.
To have a large city like LA being created the Houten way would be to have suburbs created for people, each having intersperse economic activities like Houten. These suburbs then connected by public transport and limited roads.
Very difficult to a die hard American to understand. This guys understood it but not all will
You are correct that all of LA can't become a 15-miute city, or bikeable, even if it did have Dutch-style bike infrastructure. This is because it is simply too physically large.
However, in an ideal world, travelling across the city would be done by rapid transit, like subways and grade-separated trains. This is far more efficient that car travel in terms of space needed, infrastructure costs, and speed.
Peoples' individual neighborhoods would be 15-minute cities. Once home, one shouldn't have to travel more that 15-minute for groceries, a park, shops, or schools. However, this is often the case in LA.
The parking lot of that Ralph's is so big because its the only market for miles. Neighborhoods nearby are zoned residential-only, meaning many people are not within walking distance of a market. They are forced to drive to one, so the market has to accommodate their cars (both because of minimum parking requirements and they want customers).
So the short answer is, in a well-planned city: bikes/walking for short distances, rapid transit for long ones. Cars/trucks are only really necessary for deliveries/industrial uses, or in the countryside. People can rent cars if they want to go camping in the wilderness.
Yes, you're right about how onerous zoning is in the US.
Luckily, some cities are trying to undue this strict zoning. Berkeley, CA may be the first big city to allow "ACU's" -- Accessory Commercial Units. Think corner stores, salons, or bakeries and bike repair shops, as you mentioned. These would be allowed in fronts of homes or storefronts built in front yards.
Pretty standard practice for most of human history, but of course in the US we have to give it a 3-letter acronym.