Interview Caroline van Brakel on environmental vision

March 2021
 

"The environmental vision outlines the real added value of Nuenen"

Earlier this month, the College of Mayor and Aldermen approved the draft environmental vision for the municipality of Nuenen. "With compliments," said responsible Alderman Caroline van Brakel. "There is a complete vision that forms the common thread for what Nuenen will look like in the future. A vision that was created together with the residents of Nuenen. That is very important." But what does this vision now mean for Nuenen? 

First some background: on Jan. 1, 2022, the Omgevingswet is expected to take effect. This law requires municipalities to draw up an environmental vision for the future of the municipality. That means a single policy for the municipality's physical environment and how its quality can be improved. For example, the vision provides insight into spatial planning (how do we see housing, business parks and nature, for example), the design of the public area (how do we deal with greenery, play and exercise and climate adaptation) and the environment. National themes such as sustainability, energy transition, climate adaptation and health are also discussed.

Broad view of Nuenen's future

"But it's not just about the legal obligation," adds Alderman Van Brakel. "We find it especially important to take a broad view of Nuenen's future; to establish our core qualities. Especially to be able to profile ourselves in the region and in response to the challenges that are coming our way." During the participation process, residents, business owners and other involved parties clearly brought Nuenen's core qualities to the fore: village-like, cozy, green and quiet. "Also very clearly emerged throughout the process the central message that Nuenen residents want us to take with us: keep Nuenen the way it is. That may not seem exciting. You might even translate it as 'stagnation is decline.' But the opposite is true. It means much more about preserving the good. But it also presents great challenges. Go figure: the call for new housing is enormous. But how do we keep Nuenen village-like and green at the same time? That's exciting. But we are ready for it. Keep those challenges coming!" 

Qualities and tasks

The environmental vision for Nuenen outlines the lines along which Nuenen can remain village-like, pleasant, green, quiet and healthy in the long term. And how we will deal with the various challenges such as sustainability, health and climate, housing and mobility, individualization and loneliness. "In this vision the qualities and challenges come together. It does not provide ready-made answers. It provides the basis for new plans and creates the frameworks for new initiatives. The vision will also have to evolve over time. It is not a static document. We will have to see each time how the vision fits within the context of the moment. But beyond that, making the environmental vision has also made a lot clear. And I am also very happy about that. Suddenly we are aware of how beautiful and special our municipality is. What we can be proud of. What we want to be, but also what we don't want to be. Take Van Gogh as an example. We are proud of that, it provides opportunities and we very much want to give his heritage a place. But it must not become overpowering. We don't want masses of tourists through the streets. That just doesn't fit. The environmental vision indicates what our added value is. For ourselves, but also for the region. Because we should not forget that. We will also have to take into account the interests of our neighboring municipalities. We would like to play a role in the region. Hence Nuenen's position in Brainport has also been included as a task in the vision."

From and for Nuenen

"The environmental vision is truly a vision of and for Nuenen. In the run-up, numerous residents, entrepreneurs, associations, interest groups, experts and partners were involved. They also named the core qualities. The vision also invites people to work together on the living environment. It creates the framework for initiatives. And these can also come from the community. Gladly even. Because there is still enough work to do. The environmental vision is important. And I am proud of that. It gives us together a good breeding ground to bring Nuenen from A to Better. I look forward to that with confidence."

Together with Nuenen residents

The Omgevingswet assumes that the municipality, together with its residents and entrepreneurs, is responsible for the physical environment. With this in mind, the draft environmental vision was created together with residents, entrepreneurs, associations, interest groups, experts and partners.
Discussions were held with all these parties on three occasions. In the first two rounds, more than 500 residents of Nuenen were interviewed, surveyed and interviewed about how they see Nuenen (the core qualities), their wishes, ambitions, concerns and dilemmas. In the final round, an online survey about the core qualities was used to collect more than 1,500 responses. 

Want to know more about the environmental vision? Or see the draft?

The draft environmental vision will be available for inspection until April 15. The draft environmental vision and all background information on the vision and its creation can be found on the website www.nuenen.nl/omgevingsvisie