How does empathetic leadership and accessible communications create vibrant cities? Join us in Tallinn in September to find out! 📍 "Women Changing Cities" Book event fienta.com/melissa-chri... 📍 Professional Workshop: Shifting to Urban Vitality fienta.com/melissa-chri... More details by the links

“The most important added value of greening is that it improves the quality of life. Greenery recognises no differences; greenery gives every resident of Rotterdam the same enjoyment, the same beauty and sense of lightness. Every tree is a beacon of peace in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.”🔚

5️⃣ Improving existing parks: In six parks, the plants, trees and surrounding area has been boosted to improve the vitality of the local environment. 6️⃣ Biodiversity and nurturing greenery: By planting a variety of flora and fauna, a total of 40 hectares of bee-friendly landscape has been established.

3️⃣ The approach for 15 squares: €4.56 million in co-financing has been made available for 'climate squares' intended to increase green and collect rainwater. 4️⃣ Green routes along the water: The quality of four nature-based connections have been improved through the city; making them more attractive.

1️⃣ Greenery close to home: Subsidies have helped realise 140 residents' projects at €10,000 each, 49 nature-based playgrounds at €80,000 each and 750 streets at €500 each. 2️⃣ Greenery in the communities: 50 climate-adaptive projects are complete, and 6.1 hectares of green roofs have been constructed.

In 2022, Rotterdam passed a visionary plan with an ambitious goal: create 20 hectares of new green space throughout the city by 2026. From street-side gardens to nature-based playgrounds, thousands of top-down and bottom-up projects of varying sizes have been realised within six organising tracks.🧵

If cities and regions are really interested in creating accessible, sustainable transport options, linking up quality walking and cycling networks with public transport in all its forms is the secret sauce to a more human-centered approach.

Until this Spring we have lived without a driver’s license since relocating to Delft for bureaucratic reasons and have honestly never needed one. The only reason I made the leap to get a Dutch license was to be able to drive in public transport deserts outside the Netherlands.

The system boasts over 1.1-million daily trips. With nearly half of all trips to the station made by cycling and 30% on foot the seamless connection of walking, cycling, and public transport is a clear case for investments benefit more people that the default default spending on space for driving.

Despite complaints about the cost, delays, or overcrowding, it’s undeniable that train travel in the Netherlands is key to creating a more accessible transportation choice for people throughout the country.

Montréal has been laying the foundations of a cycling network for decades that has become one of the best examples on the continent. That's why we're excited to be returning for a book launch event hosted by our friends at @velo.qc.ca. Register here (space limited): www.velo.qc.ca/en/event/con...

Cities in the Netherlands weren’t born this way. They achieved it through decades of political courage, community support, and a willingness to prioritise humans over traffic. ‘s-Hertogenbosch is proving that this important work is never finished—and that even great cities can keep getting better.🔚

A city centre should not function as a shortcut for motorists passing through. It should serve as the 'gezellige' living room of the city: a place where residents and tourists feel comfortable spending time, where children move freely, and where local businesses benefit from a vibrant public realm.

The continued expansion of their autoluwe binnenstad (‘low-car city centre’) policy is just one step in that ongoing journey. By reducing unnecessary through-traffic in the historic centre, the city is reclaiming its streets as places to meet, linger, shop, play, and simply enjoy being together.

One of the most pernicious myths about Dutch cities is they have always been designed for people, and are somehow finished with that process. In reality, places like Den Bosch spent decades accommodating growing volumes of motor traffic, often at the expense of public space, safety and liveability.🧵

Last night, our eldest graduated from Rotterdam Theatreschool, rolling up to the ceremony on the back of dad's bike. After everything we've experienced together, it was the most fittingly Dutch way to celebrate the end of one chapter and beginning of the next, as she moves to England for two years.

“Self-driving technology has the same discriminatory attitude toward non-automobile modes that need permission and beg for more space against a car-only street mentality. A mass consumer culture of self-driving would be just a replica of the same auto-oriented and dominated world we live in today."

“Many car owners assume they're fused to their machine, and don't need to walk anywhere. But even extreme users complete 20% of their trips by walking. This has profound implications. Even if a city claims to be vehicle-oriented, they still need to dedicate 20% of their mobility budget to walking."

Utrecht becoming the world’s best cycling city isn’t an accident of geography or nationality. It’s a product of vision and investment. Therefore the blueprint isn’t just Dutch. It can be applied anywhere. Culture doesn't create infrastructure. Infrastructure creates culture. youtu.be/MHFUBzE_EjQ

Because two members of our family were overseas on Father’s Day, we never found the moment to celebrate it together. Today, the kids gave Dad a gift they knew he would cherish: a ride through Rotterdam aboard the historic Number 10 tram. A belated Father’s Day, but all the more memorable for it. 🚋

Paardenveld sits within Utrecht's larger strategy of rebalancing its public realm; prioritising walking, cycling, green and social spaces over car storage. Each project starts with a question: what if a parking space became a tree, lawn or place for people? Here, it has been answered 36 times over.🔚

The project reflects two years of public engagement. In 2023, the municipality invited residents and businesses to join workshops, surveys, charettes and meetings. Children participated in "place games," sketching their ideal park, while community feedback informed the final design approved in 2024.

New walking and cycling paths now weave through the park, creating inviting routes for pedestrians and cyclists while encouraging visitors to linger. New benches, stone seating, a playground, and expanded terraces have turned what was once primarily a space to pass through into a place to pass time.

Thirty-six on-street parking spaces have been removed, freeing up space for 500 m² of asphalt to be replaced with greenery. The result is 2,100 m² of open lawn, 2,800 m² of planting beds, and 15 trees that provide shade, biodiversity, and resilience against increasingly intense summers and rainfall.

Officially reopened last month, Utrecht's Park Paardenveld has been reimagined as a climate-resilient, people-focused public space. While the park itself first emerged from the restoration of the Catharijnesingel, its redesign turns leftover urban space dominated by cars into a true community park.🧵

One of the privileges of bicycle diplomacy is seeing Dutch cities through other people’s eyes. Yesterday, Chris explored Amsterdam by duofiets with Mexican mobility leader Luis Álvarez-Icaza. Every transformation begins with a conversation. And sometimes, it takes place on a bicycle built for two.

We are thrilled to share that our book, ‘Women Changing Cities: Global Stories of Urban Transformation’, has been selected as one of the ten finalists for the 2026 Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities Book Award, chosen from 81 submissions from around the world. www.metropolis.org/news/what-ar...

In general, some of the most important infrastructure projects are among the least noticed. Underpasses may never become landmarks in their own right, but for the thousands who rely on them daily, they represent something more important: the freedom to travel quickly, comfortably, and with dignity.🔚

With attention to lighting, sightlines, aesthetics and wayfinding, a seemingly small intervention can have a disproportionate impact on ridership; visible in The Hague’s growing network—continuous, high-quality routes that connect residents with employment centres, schools and public transport hubs.

As the unsung heroes of the Dutch cycling ecosystem, underpasses address missing links that can otherwise undermine an entire route. They allow cyclists to bypass busy roads, railways, waterways or other barriers, while maintaining their momentum rather than stopping and waiting for traffic signals.