Groene Hart

The Green Heart region faces significant pressure from surrounding urban areas, which house over 7 million people. The need for new housing, energy production, and economic development competes with the region's natural preservation. This creates a tension between the desire to preserve the region’s open landscape and develop it to support the growing urban demand. Moreover, balancing the needs of the 700,000 people living within the Green Heart with its environmental goals is a constant challenge.

In addition, the region is dealing with the consequences of climate change, soil subsidence, and a decline in biodiversity. Peatland oxidation leads to unwanted CO2 emissions, which exacerbate soil subsidence, impacting buildings and raising flood risks. While attempts to mitigate these effects by increasing groundwater levels may reduce peat oxidation, they come with significant consequences for the existing agricultural functions in the area.

Despite the challenges, the Green Heart holds opportunities for sustainable transformation. There is a strong desire to maintain the region's unique spatial qualities and open landscape characteristics. A transformation that balances development with preservation could offer a model for sustainable urban-rural integration. The region’s agricultural landscapes, wetlands, and nature reserves offer valuable resources for enhancing biodiversity and implementing climate-resilient practices.

Incorporating innovative land management practices, such as agroecology and water management, could help mitigate the environmental impacts of urbanization while enhancing the region’s agricultural functions and ecological health. Addressing the pressures of urbanization and climate change in a holistic and sustainable way could turn these challenges into opportunities for the Green Heart’s future.

• In this pilot the researchers collaborate with the Governmental Platform Green Heart (Bestuurlijk Platform Groene Hart). This platform consists of the 3 Provinces, 5 Water authorities, the Dutch National Government, and all 56 Municipalities that are part the Green Heart.
• Within the platform the partners collaborate on spatial development, planning and design to inform policy development by these partners. Long term strategies are developed that towards the development of an attractive, sustainable, vital and valuable Green Heart. These strategies accelerate and support the needed transformation of this region.
• This pilot delivers a fundamental knowledge base on water, soil and subsurface for the development of these long term spatial strategies. Hereby addressing and incorporating these natural aspects in the policies and plans for preservation ánd development of the Green Heart. With SPADES the pilot can strengthen this knowledge base, and develop instruments and tools for better integration of soil and water into the spatial planning and design.