Green space never far away in the Netherlands

For 89 in every 100 Dutch residents, a green environment, e.g. a park or public garden, an open natural space or woodland area is within a distance of 1 kilometre.

Average distance of 1 kilometre to park or public garden

Dutch residents do not need to travel over large distances for a walk in a green environment. The average distance to the nearest park or public garden 1 kilometre. In various neighbourhoods, residents only have to cover 100 metres to reach the nearest park or public garden. The name of the neighbourhood sometimes holds a reference, like the Oosterparkbuurt in Groningen, the Weteringpark in Wassenaar or the Julianapark in Rijswijk. Parks and public gardens are frequently found in urban areas.

Most woodland areas situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands

Besides parks, public gardens or open natural spaces, Dutch residents can also go for a walk in the woods. The average distance to the nearest woodland is 2.1 kilometres, but differs widely within the Netherlands. In the Groene Hart (Green Heart) and in the province of Friesland, woodland is relatively far away. The total area of woodland is larger in the eastern part of the country than in the western part. The provinces of Gelderland, Drenthe, Overijssel, North Brabant and Limburg have many wooded areas.

Distance to nearest woodland area by neighbourhood, 2008

Distance to nearest woodland area by neighbourhood, 2008

In Azië neighbourhood in Delft a park, open nature and woodland are close by

Some neighbourhoods are in close proximity to a park as well as open natural space. This also applies to the Randstad region, e.g. in the Azië (Asia) neighbourhood, south of the municipality of Delft. The average distance for the 2,800 residents of this neighbourhood to park Abtswoude and a large green belt to the south of the town is 200 metres. They also live at an average distance of 200 metres from a small, natural, wet area at the edge of the town. People living in this neighbourhood can also go to the Abstwoudse Bos, which is situated at an average distance of 1.2 kilometres.

Ingeborg Deerenberg, Marijn Zuurmond and Chantal Melser