HOUTEN: A Resident-Led Bike Tour ~ An Intentionally Designed Dutch Cycling City Success Story

This ride-along episode features an on-bike interview with Houten resident Kylie van Dam and Professor Billy Fields from Texas State University. Kylie treats us, and now you, with an amazing introduction to this intentionally designed community that prioritizes people over cars and has been recognized as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in The Netherlands, which is no small matter.
Thank you so much for watching! If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs-up, leave a comment below, and share it with a friend. If you'd like more content like this, please Subscribe to the Active Towns Channel, and be sure to "Ring" that notification bell to select your notification preferences.
Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
- The Green Embraced GoFundMe: www.gofundme.c...
- Shortcut to my Houten Playlist: bit.ly/Active_...
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Channel, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Join the Patreon community: / activetowns
(Note: Patron benefits include early, ad-free access to content and a 15% discount in the Active Towns Merch Store)
2. If you enjoyed this video, you can also "leave a tip" by clicking on the Super Thanks button right here on KZbin or thru "Buy Me a Coffee" www.buymeacoff...
3. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my store: bit.ly/ActiveT...
Credits: Video and audio production by John Simmerman
Music via Epidemic Sound: bit.ly/3rFLErD
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live: bit.ly/3rwsUup
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite: bit.ly/35DBDDU
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
Website: www.activetown...
Twitter: / activetowns
Newsletter: bit.ly/Subscri...
Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 30 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.
Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2024

[@captainchaos3667]

I love how knowledgeable she is and how passionately she speaks.

[@ActiveTowns]

Indeed! Me too. Thanks so much for tuning in.😀

[@kylievandam3723]

Fantastic John!!!! Thanks so much for making this and for getting the info out about the book too. Was great to ride around with you and Billy, even if it was 1000 degrees out there that day 😆

[@ActiveTowns]

Yay! So glad you enjoyed it. It was really fun going back and editing this together. Great memories for sure, and really important messages to get out there. Cheers! John

[@KeesBoons]

Thank you Kylie. Good work making John's videos even better.

[@srinip]

I'll come right out and say it - this is a little slice of heaven on earth.

[@ActiveTowns]

And I'm so glad you did. Clearly, Kylie and many others agree. Thanks so much for watching and chiming in. Cheers! John

[@srinip]

@@ActiveTowns Always love your videos, John, but this one is especially good.

[@ActiveTowns]

@@srinip 🙏 🙌

[@MrSHWP1]

I'm always amazed about how amazed Americans and other people from abroad are with how we set up our livingspaces and roads and so on. Fun to watch!

[@ActiveTowns]

Hehe, yeah, y'all just don't know how good you got it.😂 In all seriousness, the Dutch land use and mobility systems, although not perfect, do serve as inspiration for countries around the globe. Thanks so much for tuning in; I'm glad you enjoyed it. Cheers! John

[@MrSHWP1]

@@ActiveTowns my pleasure!😊😊

[@briancook2717]

Great tour of Houten. I've been there (from Australia) several times...yes, Kylie is my daughter. Well done team.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yay! Thanks so much for tuning in 😀

[@JustClaude13]

School pickup: we sort it out, to an extent. In my neighborhood the cars started lining up in the bike lane during the pandemic. It's actually been an improvement. Before I would have to go to the front of the line and try to cross the cars as the cars were crossing over the bike lane at the school entrance. Sometimes there's not enough room between cars, and sometimes the car pulls forward without looking as I try to cross. Now the cars line up in the bike lane, leaving a half lane to their left. Too narrow for a car to drive, but plenty of room for a bike. It makes an excellent impromptu bike lane. I hope the city is watching the workarounds the people are sorting out. It would be nice if they see what's been working and make it official.

[@ActiveTowns]

I dream of a day where parents don't even think of driving a car to a school for drop off or pick up.

[@hellmuthschreefel9392]

So awesome! At 25:00, bicycle traffic jam of kids on bikes in front of a school. How refreshing and wholesome that is!

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes, exactly! Such a good opportunity for communities around the globe to do this for their schools as well. Paris has fast-tracked hundreds of school street installations (you may have seen my profile video that highlights one of them: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGOXoKF6hsuqmKcsi=IEm2qCJRkAmghhbX&t=1356 ) Note: this link starts at the school street Cheers! John

[@JJR89]

Hey John, Thank you for this video. It is absolutely wonderful. I like how you enjoy and are amazed by Dutch public spaces. However, showing people how amazed and impressed you are by Dutch public spaces is not your mission. You want to promote a more active lifestyle in Boulder, in Colorado, and in the wider US. I can imagine it must be great to see a place where a lot you advocate for works well. And I can imagine it must be equally frustrating to see some cultural norms, policy decisions, or a pre-existing history just not working or translating well into your community back home. You see a lot of solutions that just don’t fit well into the context of Boulder, Colorado, or the wider US. This video - however - shows you (seemingly) finding and revisiting a suburb that shows a lot of potential of being reasonably attainable and achievable in a US context. That’s what makes this video great to watch. I hope you find many more towns and suburbs that promote the lifestyle you promote AND can be translated into the context of your community.

[@ActiveTowns]

Hey, thanks for watching and for the comment. Dive into the channel - you'll see video profiles from all around the globe, including a lot from where I'm based, here in Austin, TX, and, yes, quite a few from Boulder, where I used to live. btw The Dutch experience is very helpful for us here in Austin, be sure to check out my Austin Playlist for context. Cheers! John

[@Siriusly_Sirius]

Always great to see Houten. Greater seeing Kylie back on a bicycle!

[@ActiveTowns]

Indeed! 🙌

[@iamjoestafford]

Wow - that has to be one of your best videos John! It was absolutely fascinating to see Houten through Kylie's eyes - I have visited before as an active travel geek, but there are so many details about the intentional design that I had missed. I had no idea, for example, that each of the areas has an entrance road flanked by tall buildings in the style of an old medieval gate - so interesting!

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks so much! Delighted to hear that you enjoyed it and found it helpful. More videos in this vein are to come. Cheers! John

[@ukrytykrytyk8477]

Entertaining video! I see some people complained about Houten, in relation to other places in the Netherlands, but to almost anyone outside it seems like really convenient place to live!

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks! So glad you enjoyed it. Yes, good point. Convenient, comfortable, and connected - with both transit and automobile connectivity. I think it is human nature to have a visceral reaction to a planned community like Houten, which, in my opinion, is why Kylie emphasizes having people actually come and really experience it personally. I first visited the community in 2018 as part of a study tour and was able to hear from the city manager, in council chambers, all about the city history and why it was developed, but it wasn't until I got to chat with Kylie did I really start to comprehend how powerful the place is in its totality from the perspective of someone who has lived there for many years. Thank you so much for watching and commenting. Cheers! John

[@LTimotheus]

It actually is a really convenient place to live. I live there. Being a planned community is pretty much every Dutch town as we're such a small country.

[@DW-lh6rd]

Great video. Around the 29-31 min mark you’ll see detached houses with loads of cars and you can see cars throughout the entire video. Then mentioned car park right in the center is what I use if I go to the cinema in Houten. Might scare north Americans less if you point out cars are still everywhere and you can still take your car to get close/closer to city center or supermarket. Even in cycle friendly environments.

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks! Yes, exactly! In my oringinal Podcast-style interview with Kylie from a couple of years ago, she made the point that most residents own cars and park them at or near their houses or dwellings but that the point of Houten is that cars are not given unlimited access to travel through the entire Village. That accessibility is provided to people walking, cycling, and using other small mobility devices. Here's the link to that first conversation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6PIlp6maq2ji6s Thanks so much for tuning in and for your contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@DW-lh6rd]

@@ActiveTowns I’ve seen that as well. Now I’m not an urban planner or even close (I’m in IT). I started getting interested in this through Not Just Bikes (yeah youtube algorithms). And yes, being Dutch, a little pride in me kept me watching videos like this. That said,I live in a ‘small town’ south of Houten(Culemborg) and yes I can safely bike anywhere. But I still often take my car (5 min drive). True if I go into the real Culemborg center to get some fresh bread… I always have a choice to make.. few min in car and few min walking or… few min by bike straight to the shop. I’ve done both… think the ‘freedom of even taking a car’ does come from the fact that many will not (or I will not in some cases). So yes, love taking my car (also as I have private parking in front of my house) and I do not take public transport (even if it’s cheaper,faster, etc, I’ll take my car) Think I’d be the perfect nothern americanin transition🤣 yeah got the bike, but use the car (and I can, with a little extra parking costs). My wife will take the bike 99% of the time. And honestly, after watching sooo many hours on Dutch cycling, I’m looking to grab my bike more often. Keep up the great vids. Not being an urbanist my point would be show how ‘car friendly’ cycle friendly places are. As many cycle they clear the road for cars. IMHO I’ve not seen very strong emphasis on that (though there’s a yt vid on ‘why driving is better in europe’, but that’s mainly based on quality of drivers)

[@ActiveTowns]

@@DW-lh6rd Thanks so much for this! Yeah, I have mentioned several times during various videos here on the Channel and on the Podcast that the Dutch have rated as the most satisfied drivers in the world primarily because in most cases there is mobility choice versus what we have in North America - car-dependency due to a lack of viable mobility options. I hope you continue to enjoy the videos here on the Channel. Pace yourself, there a lot of them. lol 😂

[@reneolthof6811]

Halfway through the video you went by the old white train station building, which was literally moves a few hundred meter in order to preserve it! A remarkable action even in The Netherlands.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes! A keen eye. Kylie mentioned that, and Billy went over to take photos. Unfortunately, I needed to swap batteries, so I missed this discussion. Thanks for watching and sharing this beautiful factoid. Cheers! John

[@HenkJanvanWijk-mx6ey]

Funny to see my own neighborhood here! Did not expect to the see the bike lanes I regularly also walk by.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yay! That's always fun. Tomorrow's video will feature my ride from Houten to Utrecht. Thanks so much for tuning in. Cheers! John

[@colleenharrison2942]

Really enjoyed the tour of Houten. Lovely biking area.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙌

[@johanwittens7712]

Except that it's not really a specific biking area. It's just a liveable town where people live, work, shop, go to school, etc etc. Or a place where people go about their daily lives and then commute to and from work. The cycling isn't something done for leisure here. It's part of every day life. All those people they meet on the streets cycling and walking are people that are going somewhere, to school, to the shop, to go for a drink, to go to a friend's house, etc etc. Calling it "a lovely biking area" sort of diminishes what this is. Also, most of the Netherlands is largely designed this way, with road hierarchies, biking separated or intertwined when needed, local quiet access streets, through traffic made impossible through modal filters, etc etc. Houten is just a prime example of planned, relatively new town design focussed around cycling and alternative modes of transport, when most of the world designs for the car first. Great example is the main road acces she talks about where businesses went out of business. The central road is for through traffic. But the side streets where they are biking are accessible by car too. They're meant as side streets and acces streets to those businesses. But again, through traffic is impossible on them, and acces to the main through road in the middle is limited to certain points. So only cars that need to be at that business use the acces street. And of course the acces street is a bike street, so that if a car uses it, it needs to yield at all times to bikes. It's all about road hierarchy. But these are almost all streets where cars ARE allowed, they just don't drive there unless they need to be there as through traffic is completely impossible. Imagine it as the American cul-de-sac car suburb, but with a completely connected grid patterned cycle network overlayed and intertwined. Cars can access, but need to take the long way. But bikes can go the direct and fast route in-between and through modal filters. And roads/streets are narrow to keep speeds down. Most streets they cycle on in this video are accessible by car! It's just almost no one does unless they need to be there locally.

[@ActiveTowns]

@@johanwittens7712 Well said. Thanks so for tuning in and sharing your thoughts. Cheers! John

[@KeesBoons]

Thank you John. Great video with 2 excellent ( recurring) guests on the channel for this one.

[@ActiveTowns]

You are quite welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for tuning in. Cheers! John

[@highwaysbyways4281]

Great video. Would dearly love to visit someday. Thanks John, Kylie and Billy.

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks so much! Yes, obviously, I highly recommend a visit, ideally touring by bike. Cheers! John

[@ChrisTop-k9p]

For a few seconds I actually thought "why a wooden bicycle?" 😂

[@ActiveTowns]

😅

[@ageoflove1980]

This design of Houten is already kind of outdated in The Netherlands. Because what its really is, is trying to make an American style suburb "work". And it does a great job at that, but ultimately its still a suburb. And while its perfect for families, it is lacking for young adults and possibly elderly. Further more, like a true suburb, its designed with a commute in mind. The idea now in the country is to limit commuting as much as possible and really build a lot denser right near transportation hubs, not unlike you can see in Japan for example, where the direct vicinity of the important hubs are the most densely build and most expensive places to live. Ultimately that leads to a much more effecient use of land, which is very important in both The Netherlands and Japan. So, very dense urban enviroments needing less infrastructure at the same time because those factors work in tandem. Because the problem is, while Houten is pretty much the perfect suburb, it still takes up a lot of space, especially with all the infrastructure needed to connect it cities like Utrecht. But for the US, its design is probably still very relevant because turning suburbs in to Houten-style areas is probably a lot more doable in the short term, rather than building true high density transport hub based urban enviroments.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yeah, I suppose my keen interest in Houten is in just that, turning suburban developments elsewhere into Houten-style areas in the short term to help reduce car dependency within the overall context that many people would find it an attractive alternative to the high-density urban or low-density typical suburban dichotomy.

[@reneolthof6811]

There is no such thing as an outdated formula. Concepts and ideas tend to be cyclic. Ultra modern infrastructure can be unusable 5 or 10 years on because of accidental trends or occurances. That’s why constant change is essential, all the time adapting to new developments. Houten is a perfect example. Great video with deep insights.

[@ActiveTowns]

@@reneolthof6811 Excellent points! Thanks again for tuning in. 🙌

[@jackmassey574]

A great video as always. Houten is certainly one of the most interesting places in the active transport world. Hoping to be able to visit in February. Do you know of any active transport tours or resources that would be helpful?

[@ActiveTowns]

Thank you so much, Jack. I'll drop you a line with some ideas for tours and resources.

[@BogFiets]

Tried so hard to move here but ended up in Hilversum thanks to the lack of rentals 😞 Amazing place though!

[@ActiveTowns]

Yeah, I've wondered about that. Oh, wow, Hilversum! I also visited there this summer. I got off the train there and rode my bike to Naarden, where some of my ancestors lived in the 1600s. Thanks for watching! I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

[@BogFiets]

@@ActiveTowns lol I know you did, I showed you around!

[@jayandreas1131]

Just wondering which bike had that seventies kids thing applied to it: the coaster rattling against the spokes. 🤔😁

[@ActiveTowns]

Hehe 😅 Not sure, but at least for once it wasn’t my bike. 🙌

[@jandejong2430]

The "15 minute" issue was from the beginning connected with coercion. Oxford I think. What a PR disaster.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yeah, Oxford is where things went off the rails a bit based on the framing and communication, but to be fair, the car-brain status quo was primed to promote a conspiracy theory because of their belief that cities and streets are for cars and cars alone and drivers should be able to drive everywhere, anywhere, and as fast as they want, whenever they want. I address this in an on-bike interview while visiting one of the LTNs being threatened by a politician in a London borough in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKW2gqeEjbJkaqs Thanks so much for tuning in and for the comment. Cheers! John

[@henkoosterink8744]

Ride a bicycle in the Netherlands is not left or right.

[@ActiveTowns]

Nor should it be... unfortunately in most of the rest of the car-centric world, the ability to do anything other than drive a car everywhere, all the time, as fast as is desired is devolving unnecessarily into a political culture war issue. It's sad, really, as it should be about creating places where people, everyone, can thrive. Thanks for tuning in. Cheers! John

[@hondaryder3779]

Ik hoop toch dat je rechts houdt.😏

[@Nico-uit-brabant]

Sorry, I am not a fan of Houten when it comes to cycling. Years ago they had won an award of being Hollands best city for cycling. That might the case when you ride locally. When you come from Utrecht to pass through Houten towards the south like Culemborg then on to Den Bosch, every time Houten is a new unpleasant surprise. Many times the signage is wrong, roads that were there a year ago have now become dead ends because of something new build or, well, it goes on and on. Not Houten related but related to these Fiets-snelweg, bike roads numbers starting with an F. Those who design those roads probably rarely cycle or go on longer rides. Many of those F cycle paths are a disaster. Looking very good on a drawing board but never in practive. For some of those I know alternative routes that are way better and older then these new routes screaming, we had the budget and we needed to spend it. The Netherlands has a certain reputation when it comes to biking and bike lanes, a lot of things are really good. But, unfortunately with a lot of new cycling lanes, when things go wrong, they really go wrong. Sorry for the rant but just hearing the name Houten just makes me feel annoyed ;-)

[@KeesBoons]

I can agree with you on the Fiets snelwegen. I'm afraid this "trend" has been influenced by the press the London cycling highways got. The disaster of those is almost equal, despite the fact that the environment is totally different. I think the cycling infrastructure is really good in Houten, but it has not been designed for through traffic. The infrastructure is for the local population first and foremost, as it should be.

[@ActiveTowns]

Glad this was able to help in some way. Thanks for tuning in.

[@Nico-uit-brabant]

@@ActiveTowns On a different more philosophical note. 8 months ago you made a ride along video of you going from and to the Phoenix airport. I really loved those two video's were the landscape/sights are slowly passing by and I was wondering, why, what is it about these video's that I love so much? Authentic is what I came up with (not that others are not), but it is you riding your bike to a destination, it could have been any of us taking the same route. Most of your video's were you ride your bicycle are more like an organised tour, very informative but a different vibe and energy. The video you just riding though a landscape, that I can watch all day long on a separate screen. For those who do the long distance cycling, you wonder about what would be around the next corner, what comes after the hill etc.

[@ActiveTowns]

@@Nico-uit-brabant ​​⁠Yeah, the rider POV (point of view) videos have a kind of zen quality to them giving viewers an opportunity to “experience” what it would be like to ride somewhere new… as you alluded to, wondering and then discovering what might be around the next corner. I always shoot a healthy dose of these videos when I’m on my Active Towns Tour travels, so yes, more of those to come soon.

[@Nico-uit-brabant]

@@ActiveTowns Nice, thanks!