Nijmegen unstoppable on its way towards sustainability
Nijmegen and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment joined forces signing an agreement to work to improve air quality and reduce noise pollution beneath the “Smart and Healthy City (DU)” program. The program promotes better air quality, less traffic and a smart and healthy urban layout in Nijmegen, one of the pilot cities where the project will take place over the coming years.
One of the main points of the program resides on citizen participation, as they are responsible for the air quality measurement with sensors. Thanks to this kind of involvement citizens are expected to be more aware and, at the same time, serve the community with their data collection. The city uses fifteen percent less gas and electricity compared with 2008, and it has a new heating network based on waste to heat-energy. The fact that there are many kilometers of fast cycling routes and that buses are the greenest of the Netherlands makes Nijmegen one of the cleanest places in the country. Nevertheless, the city’s ambition is becoming a carbon neutral city as soon as possible.
The city of Nijmegen has also won the award of the Best Cycling City of the Netherlands. Councillor Harriet Tiemens said that, "It's a nice reward for our efforts, but also a great incentive to harder continue to develop our cycling policy. So far the cycling has increased by nearly 20 percent. That's good for the traffic and parking problems in the city, but also for air quality and the health of Nijmegen.
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