SDG 11.2 Living environment

The second part of SDG 11 is about creating safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable living and working environments. Space is scarce in the Netherlands, and the living environment is under pressure.

• The living environment is becoming cleaner. Emissions of substances that lead to acidification and harmful exposure to particulate matter are both in decline.
• Nature in urban areas is becoming less diverse: urban bird populations are declining.
• More people frequently feel unsafe in the areas where they live.

Dashboard and indicators

Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being

Given the considerable pressure on the amount of space available, maintaining pleasant local living environments is a challenge. SDG 11.2 is about all aspects of the living environment, including the state of nature, safety and cultural facilities.

Resources and opportunities concern the available space and the expenditure on protecting the quality of the living environment. After Malta, the Netherlands has the second highest population density in the EU. The population of the Netherlands continues to increase, and as a result, the total space per inhabitant is becoming ever smaller. In 2025 an average of 2,302 square metres of land area were available for every Dutch person to live, work and provide for other basic needs (approximately one-third of a football pitch).

In 2023, the Dutch government spent a larger share of its budget on environmental protection than other EU countries, with the exception of Greece. Environmental protection encompasses waste and wastewater management, pollution control and the protection of biodiversity and landscapes. Expenditure on this amounted to 1.6 percent of GDP in 2024. This percentage is increasing.

Use refers to how people use their local environment. They do this in different ways. The monitor measures people’s engagement in local cultural activities and how these have a negative impact on their environment through the production of waste by households. Most people are culturally active in some form or other: in 2024, 68 percent of the population aged 6 and over engaged in a cultural activity – such as playing a musical instrument, dancing, sculpting or writing – at least once. In the same year, 91 percent of the population attended one or more cultural activities.

The quantity of waste collected by municipalities is trending downwards. However, between 2023 and 2024, the amount of waste increased by 1.4 percent to 512 kilograms per inhabitant.

Outcomes relate to the quality and safety of the living environment. Air quality is improving. There are fewer emissions of substances that increase the level of acidity in soil and water (sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and ammonia). Urban exposure to particulate matter (particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, also known as PM2.5) is also decreasing.

Nature in the living environment link naar SDG 15 generally has a positive effect on people’s physical and mental health and can contribute to reducing air pollution, heat stress and noise. Birds in urban areas are a measure of the quality of the natural environment. The populations of the 83 bird species that are currently being monitored are on a downward trend. Nearly half of bird populations show a moderate or significant decline since measurements began in 2007; far fewer species are increasing in number. The decline is seen especially in species that are characteristic of the three main ‘green’ habitats: forests and parks, shrubs and thickets, and open green areas and meadows. Conversely, waterfowl and marsh birds and the peregrine falcon are doing better.

Besides nature, quality of life is also influenced by the degree of social cohesion and safety in the living environment. In 2025, people rated the social cohesion in their residential neighbourhood slightly lower than in 2023. Social cohesion has been fairly constant since measurements began in 2005. Social cohesion in residential neighbourhoods is inferred from the frequency and nature of interactions with other local residents, satisfaction with the neighbourhood’s demographic profile, and the extent to which people feel at home where they live. Traditional forms of crime are relatively stable. In 2025, 20 percent of people aged 15 and over reported that they had been victims of crimes such as burglary, theft, violence and vandalism.

Subjective assessment refers to how people experience their living environment. Disruption from noise caused by neighbours or traffic is no longer trending upwards. The proportion of households experiencing disruption from noise was almost 27 percent in 2025. Between 2006 and 2010, this percentage dropped from 33 to 24 percent. In the following years, it gradually rose again. This proportion is high compared with other EU countries: in 2023, the Netherlands ranked 24th in the EU-27.

Although most people either engage in or attend cultural activities, a smaller share of the population aged 12 and over are satisfied with the cultural activities available in their area: in 2024, the figure was 56 percent. The percentage of the population aged 15 and older who often feel unsafe in their own neighbourhood is increasing. From 2019, the percentage increased from 1.8 percent to 2.5 percent in 2025. Many more people sometimes feel unsafe. In 2025, 37 percent of the population said they sometimes felt unsafe, up from 33 percent in 2019. Young women are more than twice as likely to feel unsafe as young men.