The Netherlands Is INSANELY Well-Designed | American Reaction

[@HailHeidi]

Thank you so much for watching! The Netherlands seems really incredible. :) Thanks to Factor75 for sponsoring today's video. Go to strms.net/factor75_hailheidi and get 50% OFF your first Factor75 box + Free Wellness Shots for Life! Two free wellness shots per order with an active subscription.

[@danielrobertgorman3257]

That Factot 75 food seems to be a very needed solution since Americans seems to be forgetting how to cook...and the price Is accessibile

[@dimrrider9133]

Carmel Indiana is doing it the Dutch way, i try to share a link but YT delete it. BicycleDutch have a video on his channel about it, so there is hope for America.

[@deano5756]

What the Netherlands has, you can call it more freedom

[@janvanleeuwen2535]

Thanks, Heidi. 😊 But not everything is fine. Here also, the government is messing things up 🫣

[@robvoncken2565]

yes we are

[@nukubulibre]

People who only want cars do not want easy, safe and affordable transportation for everyone. Children in the USA are dependent on their parent for transportation until they got their driver's licence. In the Netherlands they cycle there themselves. THAT IS FREEDOM.

[@TheJoaveck]

And a bicycle is 1/100 the price of a car. So you don't have to lease it. Americans life in debt and call themselves free....

[@la-go-xy]

Those who have never experienced good life quality in public space, might not even know to want it, because they don't know its worth.

[@barend1389]

Here in Rotterdam it's so cool and cute 😂 to see a parent driving with a 4 and 5 year old on the bicycle lane. Everyone should have that freedom.

[@Trazynn]

It's due to urban zoning. In most of the US it is prohibited to mix commerce with residence. That's why everyone lives in suburbs far away from everything else. It's well intended but there's no good reason people can't live in walking distance of their grocery store.

[@marcovtjev]

What @nukubulibre says. The main motivator is children in the later years of primary school and secondary school going everywhere (school, clubs, friends) alone. _HUGE_ timesaver.

[@melwashere135]

tbf this guy is somewhat wrong about why the size of houses are smaller. I'm a planning student in the Netherlands and some suburbs where the houses are a lot bigger (and more expensive), still have great cycling infrastructure. We do not build smaller homes because of bicycle infrastructure or shops for that matter no, (although we do aim for 10 minute to 15 minute cities). The reason why we have smaller homes is because the land you purchase is simply much more expensive because it's so densely populated. Lots of people can't even buy houses here (40% rent) and rent is very expensive outside the social housing system (about 40% of all rented homes in the Netherlands are social). So it's natural for us to build smaller, more densely populated housing projects so everyone can actually live somewhere. But there are lots of places where houses are bigger (in cities) with great cycling infrastructure, but if you want a house as big as in Florida, you need a lot more money than in Florida unfortunately. It's basically for the super rich, especially in cities. In the Netherlands more densely populated = more expensive.

[@melwashere135]

Also, cars are still the most popular use of long distance transportation in the Netherlands. Even more popular than in most European countries. Public transport is crazy expensive here.

[@vals_loeder]

To add to that is that family size has decreased a lot since the 60s which also means we need more houses for smaller families. One way to achieve that is by building smaller houses.

[@Joliie]

@@vals_loeder the bonus is less floor space to vacuum and cheaper to heat doing the winter months.

[@melwashere135]

@@vals_loeder yeah. Worst part is, most big Dutch cities like Rotterdam had a bigger population in the 1960s than nowadays with the same amount or even less housing than now. Effect of individualism basically and suburbanisation

[@atarvos8686]

Hebben we gevraagd om 15 minuten steden? Of dat jij plannen uitvoert van Klaus schwabb? Daarvoor betaal ik je opleiding niet voor. Wel fijn dat je zo eerlijk bent. En eens kijken of we je opleiding hiervoor kunnen aanpakken. Heg is te gek voor woorden.

[@mwarnas]

The original video skips over the fact that the major reason the Dutch wanted to improve their streets and make them safe for pedestrians and bikes was the huge number of fatalities, not least among children. The slogan 'stop de kindermoord' or 'stop the child murder' was used to campaign for better, safer infrastructure. And that was nationwide, not just Rotterdam, in the seventies.

[@jimmybgood982]

kids dying in street and schools is just proof america is the richest and best place ever! GOD BLESS

[@jimmyryan5880]

You dont really lose space in a walkable area, you lose space that's 100% your but you gain parks, cafes etc and you still have some space thats yours. You dont need a home library or home cinema when you just have a library or cinema.

[@la-go-xy]

And once ypu meet your neighbours without metal encasements, you might gain friends, be less afraid, so it becomes even safer.

[@twanvancreij6203]

Hi Heidi, I am Twan van Creij from the Netherlands. I know the US is a car-driven culture, but I was really supprised by the city of San Francisco. They have actually seperated bike lanes throughout the city. It is different then in the Netherlands, but I realy respected that. Hope this info is of value to you. have a great day.

[@Sam-pv7bd]

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has 1 runway called Polderbaan which is 3.1 miles from the terminal building. It’s a 10-15 minute taxi to the runway. The last time I flew out of Amsterdam, I took off from Polderbaan and I saw a farmer tending to his crops close to the runway. Also in the Netherlands they have wildlife bridges. They are these super cool bridges that go over roads so animals can cross safely. You should look them up. They are very cool and very considerate to the needs of our animal friends.

[@ronaldjesse9892]

@@Sam-pv7bd and the Dutch are complaining they have to pay so many taxes. Not realising all these infrastructure needs money to stay so smooth and excessive to all different kind of transportation.

[@dimrrider9133]

@@ronaldjesse9892 thr rothchild getting very ritch from everyones taxes but that is what you don know pik

[@TheJoaveck]

It's funny how Americans always think we cycle just because our country is flat and dense populated. But New York (yes, just the city) is half the size of The Netherlands. It's dense populated and flat as well. Yet you Americans rather sit on a comfy chair waiting for the light to become green than getting to work faster by cycling. I life in the south west province Zeeland (Sealand) where the Delta Works are and this is absolutely not dense populated. As a kid I went to school 5 towns away and had to cycle 45min single trip everyday.

[@dimrrider9133]

Its all about infra

[@TheJoaveck]

@@dimrrider9133 The roads in the US are twice is wide as in the Netherlands. All you need is a line that seperates car and cycle lane.

[@dimrrider9133]

@@TheJoaveck the they still have a lot to do Traffic calming, Make roads and streets and get rid of the stroads ;p they bulldozed their citys for stroads wich are very dangerous. The Netherlands have no stroads.

[@la-go-xy]

Kids in NL learn traffic from a young age on, whereas in the US kids sit in the backseat until they are allowed to drive as minimal trained teenagers: Guess, who is the better driver?

[@dutchafrikaner1204]

@@TheJoaveck We barely have any traffic light compared to the USA as well. The interstate is stupid too. Keep your lane is such a stupid rule. The European idea of the place of a car is as right as possible. This would mean that cars can overtake trucks and slower vehicles easily. Saving time. And saving time is one of the reasons why we would take a car.

[@Pannekoek.]

It is true that the USA is less densely populated, but more then 90% of bike trips in the Netherlands are trips within a city. So that is viable all over the world

[@evdweide]

Exactly! And that also puts an end to "... but America is so much bigger!" - size of the country doesn't matter if you're not regularly traveling that distance anyway.

[@Brozius2512]

Only 2% of the US landmass is used for urbanization! In US cities a cycle infrastructure could certainly work.

[@kevartje1295]

@@evdweide Yeah but I can also see that in america you'd have to ride your bike 10 km before you reach a supermarket. Not saying its impossible but if they would want a bicycle infrastructure they'd have to think about changing residential zones in shopping zones.

[@la-go-xy]

​@@kevartje1295 -mixed zoning, midrises, corner shops... -no allmighty HOAs -street design for the intended purpose, no horrible minimum parking numbers ... Just need an understanding of what's possible and then go for it!

[@johnsmith-cw3wo]

@@la-go-xy public transport and bikes are for broke boys... Americans drive cars because is the greatest country in the world and RICH.

[@Tykatyk]

There's one thing that is rarely mentioned in all these videos about The Netherlands. And that is our roads. We not only bike a lot but we drive a lot too. Did you know that the vast majority of our asphalt roads are paved with open asphalt? It drains rainwater away immediately so even when it rains heavily there's hardly any spray so visibility is a lot better even in bad weather. We're so used to it by now we just forget. And it's not just the highways, main roads in a lot of the towns and villages are paved with open asphalt as well. I think driving here is really different compared to the US. Shorter distances, the design of the infrastructure plus the amount of and variation in traffic participants demand that you're super alert all the time.

[@bujin1977]

When I went to the Netherlands last July, I was driven around on probably about 2-300km of roads. As someone coming from the UK in its current state, it was massively eye-opening. In all that distance, I saw maybe 2 or 3 potholes, or areas where the road surface wasn't quite flat. In the UK, you can't go more than about 100 metres without encountering several potholes. I know you probably pay more in tax to pay for your road infrastructure, but to be honest, I'd be happy to pay more in taxes if we got something like that out of it. It would certainly be better than the current situation in the UK where nobody wants to pay for anything, but then get upset when things are in such a poor state.

[@benwouda]

@@bujin1977 we safe money on tires, shocks and rims

[@paulwassenaar8351]

@@benwouda The Dutch hardly safe money on shocks. Not with all them speed bumps. Great for reducing speeds, hell for ambulances, firetrucks, policecars, busses, closeby buildings and nearby residentes

[@Googlium]

Americans that say ''thats not what we want'' are simply oblivious to the rest of the world. They've been told their entire life the US is the greatest country on planet earth so when there is a bit of criticism they feel offended. They simply don't know better, so why not stick with what ''works''. Also it's hard to point out what makes everyday life kinda awfull in the US. Infrastructure plays a major role in that but people fail to notice its effects because they've never thought about it and never had better infra.

[@peterrijnsdorp6617]

After the waterflood of St. Louis, they hired Dutch engineers with their expertise of managing water. St. louis will be a lot saver now. Thats The Netherlands/Holland too!! Greetings from Holland😊

[@darkknight8139]

Great reaction vid :) Fun fact about the largest bike parking garage in Utrecht. The bike parking is on one end of the train station, there is another one at the other end, having a capacity of around 4500 bikes. Not nearly as big, but still really big. And the next two garages are not far away either. All those parking facilities have cctv and permanent watch, and they are all free for 24 hours. I live in the outskirts of Utrecht. If I go by car, it takes me 25 minutes to get to the parking garage, which costs around 10 euros per hour (!) to park there. Cycling takes 20 minutes (which is less) and parking is free. This really encourages people to go to the city center by bike instead of the car. Imagine 20 million cars in such a small country, it would be permanent congestion everywhere.

[@jezusbloodie]

A levee is another word for Dyke or stop bank, seperating land from water. A dam, in this context, seperates water from water and often have locks that can control flow and waterlevels

[@Tyrope]

Levee / Dyke: No water goes through during normal operation. Dam: Water can flow through during normal operation, but at a reduced and controlled rate. Locks are basically boat elevators; having doors on 2 sides and flowing water in/out of the central "chamber" (the lock itself) so that ships and boats don't need to brave any rapids-like elevation changes.

[@jezusbloodie]

@@Tyrope nope, dam can be build to not allow water to through in normal operations. In both Dutch nor English. Just take the second sentence on the english Wikipedia page on "dam". Anyway, in a Dutch context, the dams are mostly used to block and redirect water to other natural or artificial streams of water, rather than to limit flow. Meanwhile, the afsluitdijk or the Enclosure Dyke that seperates the large internal lakes from the north sea, does allow flow from in to out and is named a Dyke..

[@rovanderby759]

@@jezusbloodie Perhaps we call it a dyke because in the first drafts of the 'drooglegging' that were made after WW1, they were thinking of poldering the entire Zuyderzee, turning it all into land. These plans were changed at a later date for both economic and environmental reasons. Or perhaps it's just because to Dutch ears, it sounds better than 'Afsluitdam' - that sounds more like the name of a non-existing town.

[@stbabylon]

The best example for this working in other cities, is Paris. They've implemented this since a couple of years and it's a HUGE success.

[@HailHeidi]

Nice! I don't remember noticing the bike infrastructure, but I LOVED the metro in Paris. 💜

[@stbabylon]

@@HailHeidi it's a very recent thing. Since 2020 they started doing it, but it's going very fast. A very good example of a modern city switching to bikes/pt and away from cars.

[@DenDave_]

The size of a country argument is completely irrelevant to be honest. We dont cycle from one side of the country all the way to the other side, we use it to get to school, work, to do shopping, go out with friends etc, all things that - a lot of the time - you can do within a reasonable distance of your home. It all depends on how your cities are designed. For the Netherlands bike paths are given as much a direct route as possible, while cars are made to drive the long way around. In contrast in the US, even if you need to go get something trivial like a bottle of milk from the nearest convenience store, you're already forced to go by car because thats the only option the civil engineers and urban planners have given you.

[@andrewso781]

Yeah that argument about country size is mostly irrelevant because 95% of journeys are ordinary. You go to work, school, supermarket, shops, parks, and maybe some extra places like a library or cinema. All of that can fit within 2km radius. The US has a weird mentality where they build everything far apart (with lots of empty space in-between), then require everyone to buy a drive. It's like if you lived in a mansion with long corridors that required a golf cart to go from room to room.

[@gwaptiva]

I'm old enough to have know the Netherlands when it didn't have all the brilliant bike and public transport stuff, and believe me, the Dutch took about 50 years to get things sort of right. There was a lot of trial and error over the years. The main problem is that other countries (does't matter which one) never believe that what works once can work again. They all want to invent their own wheel, over and over again, and then they get discouraged and give up.

[@dikkiedik9463]

Schiphol airport was once a treacherous piece of water that often wracked ships. The 'shiphol' consists of 'schip' (ship) and 'hol' (hole) as it was a (hell) hole or a grave for ships.

[@herbayum76]

@@dikkiedik9463 schiphol means ship wood (hol(t) betekent 'hout')

[@paddotk]

I always wondered what was up with that weird name!

[@nico09231]

Read the history. De naam Schiphol komt al voor in een op 11 september 1447 gedateerde, perkamenten brief over grondoverdracht (vier maden lands, liggende in Aelsmerbanne in Sciphol).[7] De exacte oorsprong van de naam staat niet vast, de deskundigen verschillen hierover van mening. nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luchthaven_Schiphol One thing is correct With 500000 flights day and night its became for the people in the cities around it a real noise and pollution hell most people overhere call it after 2000 when the 5 track opened a Schiphell thats for sure

[@dikkiedik9463]

In the 70's, as mentioned briefly, there was an uprising,a national protest with the slogan 'stop child murder!' Referring to the many road deaths that predominantly took children. That eventually swivelled the political environment to the bike-centered planning we have today. It did not come easily. About if other Americans want it also. Remind them that if you focus your planning on pedestrians and cyclists, the car drivers are equal winners. They could drive their cars just to the outskirts of the cities and take public transportation or a bike. But even if they still prefer to only drive their car the roads would have a lot less trafic and driving will become more pleasant. The only thing they need to give up that will really hurt is 'right on red' which is a lare killer of cyclists and pedestrians.

[@captainchaos3667]

Regarding people not wanting change: I'm convinced that _most_ of those people don't know any better. They just can't imagine what it would be like because they have no experience with it and can't relate to it. But most of those people _would_ start to cycle, for instance, if cycling became safe and convenient where they live, and then not want to go back.

[@JanuitGroningen]

I'm curious, greetings from the Netherlands, founder of New Amsterdam (New York) ❤

[@ronaldderooij1774]

There is one city on the right track in the USA. Search for Carmel Indiana.

[@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff]

I live in Groningen, located in the north of the Netherlands and 6th biggest city in the country. The city where they tested rain sensors on traffic lights, so when it rains cyclist get a green light more often and people sitting nice and dry in their cars have to wait a bit longer. And the only city in the Netherlands where at many traffic lights give a green light to all cyclists from all directions whithout causing a lot of accidents. Unlike some other city's where they tried this. Want to know more? Streetfilms made a great video about Groningen: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKeWaX1tiLB7lcksi=vI7pC89nJoxLsLOc

[@raisan5989]

@@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff Almelo has these all bike go on green lights as well. The test in Rotterdam was a big fail a few years back

[@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff]

@@raisan5989 Ah, nice to know it does work in other places.

[@thedutchhuman]

What they actually have to do in the USA is, when they build a new neighborhood, immediately build a decent sidewalk for pedestrians and children to play, that is already a big improvement in terms of safety and it takes less space than what they think there in the USA. usa. In addition, they can build a shopping center in the middle of the neighborhood, no, not those ridiculous megastores but smaller ones like here where you can buy your stuff every day, it saves a ridiculous amount of time, traffic jams, travel time and many more benefits. anyway, they love the car

[@MarceldeJong]

Sadly mixed use zoning is still illegal in many places in the US. Suburbs with their own corner stores would solve so many problems.

[@thedutchhuman]

@@MarceldeJong dat dus

[@neilfleming2787]

I loved living and cycling in Holland. I don't drive a car and I was only ever 7km from work so cycled every day to/from work. So nice to have a seperate cyclepath from car traffic

[@amberflokstra88]

I have 3 bikes. The first is an e-bike, and my main means of transport. I use it 5 days a week to get to and from work. I live 13KM from work, which is just over a 30 minute commute. The other two are a bike I use whenever I take the train. It’s a bike I don’t care if it’s stolen. The third is a bike I use recreationally. It’s not a race bike, but one that is build for higher speeds and longer distances. It is build to take a lot of bagage. It’s called a “trekking bike.” On my commute, 10 of those 13KM are completely separate from cars. The rest is on either bike lanes, or quiet residential streets, where cars don’t go faster than 30km/h (19m/h).

[@melissakalberg5751]

Utrecht girlie here, growing up i didn't realise how lucky we are with how easy it is to get places without a car, we have biking garages all around the city, plus it's much easier for kids and teens to travel before they get their drivers liscence, and growing up cycling everywhere also gives us experience with traffic situations, wich will help in the futere when driving a car

[@Gert-DK]

CPH. Copenhagen Airport has one more benefit. The railroad also goes into the airport, not only the Metro. You might have seen all the red ticket automates, before reaching the Metro in the airport. Here are escalators to the airport train station, you can board a train to the rest of the country or a train to Sweden. That's why many Swedes use this airport, it is easy to come home to ABBA-land.

[@c.e.g7448]

At Schiphol airport, you get on the train, not the metro! The train station from the NS (national railways) is underneath the arrival and departure halls. From the train station platforms, take the escalator or lift, and you are in the departure hall. After arriving at Schiphol by aeroplane, you go down the escalator of the lift to the train station platforms and board a train to any train station in the Netherlands. There are even international trains that stop at Schiphol. You can go to, for instance, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, and more.

[@Gert-DK]

@@c.e.g7448 Same in CPH.

[@kwarts]

@@Gert-DK or Oslo, or a number of German airports.

[@geoffbeattie3160]

I moved to Holland full time after working here for 9 months a year over 4 years. Now 10 years on from that move I see my working life ending here aswell.

[@jeffreyscholte4737]

The Netherlands! NOT Holland! Because that is only 2 provinces!

[@TheJoaveck]

​@@jeffreyscholte4737They never learn 😂. Just like they still call it The Netherlands while it's been only one Netherland since centuries. The other part is the Dutch speaking half of Belgium

[@jeffreyscholte4737]

@@TheJoaveck Hahaha yes, true! And I'm a proud Dutchie😊😉

[@rambok-gi7zp]

@@jeffreyscholte4737 Nope just Holland . It's Hup Holland Hup en niet Hup Nederland Hup !

[@jeffreyscholte4737]

@@rambok-gi7zp Nope. It is OFFICIALLY The Netherlands! Totally not Holland anymore!

[@PacificEmperor]

If you want to compare Schiphol with American airports, six airports currently have more annual passengers: Atlanta with 104M, Dallas Fort Worth with 81M, Denver with 77M, Los Angeles with 75M, O'Hare with 73M, and John F. Kennedy with 62M. Amsterdam is currently at 61M. For Chicago airports, there are two O'Hare and Midway. O'Hare is the main one and has a subway connection.

[@DschongHo]

9:09 "But some people do not want to live this close to their neighbours". - That's exactly the point: what do I see myself and my fellow human beings as? As a group of individuals who just happen to live within sight of each other? Or as a community that is there for each other, helps each other and - yes - sometimes gets on each other's nerves, but that's part of it. One is the American model, the other is the European model. I prefer the second. :)

[@ChristiaanHW]

living in a neighbourhood where you're close to each other has so many benefits. yes, some times you end up getting irritated by some neighbours (yelling children or someone's bbq blowing right into your house) but the benefits outweigh them by a lot. think about things like: - people that can keep an eye out when you're at work or on vacation. - always a few neighbours who are able to see the neighbourhood children playing, so the chances of something happening to one of them is really low. (there are always several adults within helping distance) because our children play without adults constantly hovering around them, this gives them more independence. - people that can help out when you need it

[@anouk6644]

Also, it helps to build tolerance for other people and the different ways people do things. It creates a less individualistic society and greater willingness to help each other. Either directly or through the support for social programs (like universal healthcare). I think a lot of problems in the US could benefit from a little more (forced( social interaction.

[@NielvanSteenderen]

I have just become a citizen in the Netherlands, after living here 6 years. It is actually a lot better than shown here. Inter city travel is not just possible but easy, on completely dedicated cycle paths. The scale of things needs to be remembered, I am at least 3 cities/large towns away from Amsterdam, but 35km as the crow flies. In South Africa, I considered myself part of a city up to 40km away. Property size was a hard adjustment 😂 but the convenience is next level.

[@Paul9601EX]

The bike lanes are forming a network of recreational or fast bikelanes through the whole country. You can ride your bike through the whole country without having to share the road with cars

[@marissa9321]

5:58 you mention that Americans like their cars but from what I’ve heard the driving experience in the Netherlands is much much better than in the States because the infrastructure is so good. We have less traffic, better roads, better behaved drivers (to do with schooling but also with driving not being a necessity and therefore only people that want to drive, drive) and therefore a better experience. I know this is not reality but it seems to me that Americans should actually want to aim for this sort of infrastructure.

[@la-go-xy]

And driving is not a competition, just a means to get around. Public space is shared with everyone, even those without metal around them.

[@tarquinmidwinter2056]

I'm originally British, but now live in NL. I also visit USA regularly as I have family there. Because of its size, not everywhere in USA could benefit from Dutch-style infrastructure, but there are plenty of places that could. What I like least about USA are all the stroads and strip malls that are so ugly and impossible to access without a car. My wife and I have 2 bikes each, and ride them most days. We also have a car which we use for longer distances or large loads. When we visit the USA, there is a train that will take us directly from our local train station to Schiphol in one hour. The escalator then takes us up one level from the train platform to the central concourse of the terminal. I think I'm going to live out my days here. (NL has almost exactly the same population density as NJ, btw.)

[@daphnelovesL]

I love when he talked about mills to drain the land and showing the famous mustard mills at Zaandam

[@MarceldeJong]

In his mind: Windmills is windmills! 😄

[@davidvandersterre]

From what I understand you could say that a levee is a piece of land that gets used to keep other land dry, or to make other land available (i.e. for building housing and using it as land to grow crops on). A dam is a single wall that is also supposed to stop water, but is used in other pieces of water like a river. And is often still capable to let some water through. In other words: levees separate water from land and dams separate water from water. I looked at some pictures of the two, maybe that helps understanding it.

[@ArumesYT]

4:10 So if you use a bike to get to a transit station, then public transport... Then how does that public transport take you to your final destination? If public transport is that good, then why do you need a bike to get to public transport in the first place? If there's a gap in public transport at the start of your journey, then surely there'll be a similar gap at the end... Remember sharing walls doesn't just save space. It saves a lot of energy too. Connected homes are easier to keep cool in summer and keep warm in winter, because the amount of walls exposed to outside elements gets cut in half. And no matter what kind of privacy you like, at some point energy is going to be a problem for all of us.

[@Steyvan]

For example: when i go to work I take the bike to go to the train station(About 2 miles from my home). I go on the train to Amsterdam for work( 25 miles) I get out on Amsterdam Central Train Station and take the bus or tram to work(about 4 miles) The busstation is on a one minute walk from my work. Alternative method is to take the bike(rental bike)to work from Amsterdam Central Station. Did i answer your question?

[@tarquinmidwinter2056]

At every main railway station and a lot of smaller ones you can hire an OV Fiets (bikeshare - €4,55 per day at the moment) using the same card that you use to ride the train, i.e. your credit or debit card. So if they have to be somewhere in another town, a lot of people will either ride their own bike or take a bus to the train station, then pick up an OV Fiets when they get off the train and ride it to their final destination.

[@jeffreyscholte4737]

I am from Amsterdam myself and am a tourguide in the only working polder windmill of Amsterdam. You are always welcome!

[@Kevin-ct3ht]

As a Dutch person living abroad, I never realized how good our urban planning was until I lived abroad for several years. If you watch a few more videos from channels like @NotJustBikes or @CityBeautiful you will understand a lot more about urban planning, transport and the impact it has on most importantly happiness of the people. What I noticed was that a lot of people seem to think the Dutch have less cars per capita than most other countries. We are considerably high on the list of cars owned per capita with 588/1000. The top 20 is mostly dominated by Micro-Nations and USA is number 8 with 908/1000. In the city I currently live motorbikes/mopeds are pretty much the only convenient method to get around conveniently. Cycling or walking is way too dangerous and cars will certainly get stuck in traffic and parking is a disaster. I would never let a child get around here unaccompanied anywhere until they are old enough to drive a motor vehicle while I could pretty much bike anywhere I wanted from age 7/8 back home. Which is why I will almost certainly be saying goodbye to the lovely tropical weather I am currently enjoying to get back to unpredictably rainy Netherlands when I have children.

[@edzedeboer9230]

levee: a wall made of soil or other materials that is built next to a river to stop the river from overflowing (= coming out of a place because it is too full). dam or dike: a long wall that prevents water, esp. from the sea, from flooding a place.

[@dawatcherz]

we also have neighborhoods like the one shown in florida, but they're rich neighborhoods with villas. they too have excellent public spaces and (bike)infrastructure. also, next time someone tells you they want to keep driving their cars all you need to do is tell them that nobody is trying to take their car(s) away or stop them from using them. we have plenty of cars and excellent infratructure for them AND a very good bike infractrusture, it's not an either-or situation at all. and for when you encounter someone that is against placing bike infrastructure... maybe this argument works: 'would you rather have a three-lane road that's constantly congested or would you rather have a two-lane road where congestion is rare because a bunch of people decide to take their bike instead of their car?'

[@Toby-NL]

The infrastructural overhaul of Dutch infrastructure did not start in the 70s . It already had started in begin of the 50s . But due to the economical and financial bad time after WWII it went slow . How ever as time progressed , so did the economy and so the mega infrastructure overhaul project caught speed .

[@dimrrider9133]

in the 7ties they bulldozed Amsterdam for cars till de kindermoord came up

[@citizenkane4831]

If you fly to Stockholm, Sweden you can take the Arlanda express from Arlanda airport to Stockholm central station. And worth spend money on compared to the snail busses

[@Gert-DK]

Bloody expensive, not worth the money.

[@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff]

Visited just over a month ago and the friend I was visiting advised me to take the bus because the train wasn't worth the cost.

[@Gert-DK]

@@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff Very expensive.

[@neilfleming2787]

I lived/worked in and around Assen for three years (whilst I had a home in the UK), I took a train from home into London and over to Gatwick, flew to Amsterdam and walked to the train up to Assen direct from the airport all without going outside once I got to the train station in the UK - of course I only did this trip when I was taking a break for some reason.

[@theonijkerk3012]

Size of the country doesn't matter. It is a choice, you you choose for cars, or do you design you city's more centered on cyclist and pedestrians.

[@Gert-DK]

Yes it does. Some places in the US you would not be able to live without a car. No trains, no buses, and 50 km into town in 35 Celsius. I once saw a docu about a German farmer. He bought himself some land in Russia. Going into town for shopping, it took 36 hours, each way. I believe he was glad he had a car.

[@Trickaz94]

@@Gert-DK that's the point, because everything is designed for cars in the US that's why you need a car If the US had better infrastructure you wouldn't need a car to go anywhere

[@Gert-DK]

@@Trickaz94 You do not make a railway to service a few hundred people out on the prairie. The US is huge, you need cars if you don't live in a city. Look at the Midwest, just long and straight roads through farmers fields. Yes, the infra structure in the big cities are getting better overthere. Hundreds of US mayors have been in Copenhagen, to see how the infrastructure is made there. They are working on it.

[@Trickaz94]

@@Gert-DK that's just a lie Americans keep telling each other, sure if you want to travel from state to state then you gonna need a car, no discussion there But most people don't travel from state to state on a daily basis Also the way American cities are designed is just not sustainable, if all the stores are miles away yeah it's logical you take the car, but that's the point, if cities could build stores and other necessities near where the people actually live outside the cities, people wouldn't have to drive everywhere The suburbs are to spread out for public transport to be feasible or for people to walk or bike anywhere It's not just a matter of "slap a bus stop or bike lane on it and call it a day" For the more rural areas you do have a point, that's just not doable, but that's the same in the Netherlands

[@Gert-DK]

@@Trickaz94 You don't have a clue how big the US are and how the demography looks. In the Midwest, there are very few people. But they are needed there. They produce food. Not only for the US, but also worldwide. There are also raw materials and more. Without a car, no food or no raw materials. It is as simple as that.

[@MrLapin85]

Copenhagen airport is just bis. As a swede living on the southwest coast of Sweden I just take the train that goes all the way from Gothenburg over the bridge in one go to take the flight from there instead of Gothenburg/Landvetter, which is a bit outside of the city so it actually takes longer to get to that even though its half the distance from me. So convinient. And you get flights to so many more places as well. And everything is clean and fast.

[@BramBergs]

Levees keep water on one side, dams have water on both sides, but control the flow from one side to the other (opening and closing dams).

[@misterivo4141]

as a proud Dutchie this vid makes me even more proud :) well done, Heidi! :) Keep up the good work and welcome in The Netherlands! :)

[@theonijkerk3012]

Many cities in Europe have a pedestrian only city centre.

[@Gert-DK]

What do they have outside city centre? 🙂

[@jannetteberends8730]

Im 71, when I was 16, I demonstrated for a car free city centre. It’s funny that what started so small, is now normal everywhere. In that days people thought we were idiots. 😀

[@jannetteberends8730]

@@Gert-DKiin the Netherlands they have a system within the city there are 3 kind of roads. One for going to another neighborhood. One kind for getting in the neighborhood. And one to the houses in the neighborhood. For example there is a road that goes between different neighborhoods. In my neighborhood there are three roads that go from that road into the neighborhood. With bicycle paths and roundabouts. And from there you go to your own street. These streets have speed bumps, one way directions for cars, and a speed limit of 30 km. The pavement is also different. The highways go normally around the cities. But in one city, Maastricht, it was not possible to have it around the city, so the highway went through the city. 10 years ago they decided to make it under the ground. What once was a highway, is now a long park.

[@Gert-DK]

@@jannetteberends8730 Ahh, I saw that. It was from a very "red" city. Forgotten the name. A small but compact city.

[@jannetteberends8730]

@@Gert-DK a red city? What is that?

[@AdSchrijver-d1t]

Dutch here: a levee is a river dam that holds the water when river water is high (springtime), a dam hold up high tides from ocean water (twice a day up to four meters normally) the gates only close during very high tide with strong winds...

[@JanuitGroningen]

The Netherlands is always fighting against water, because The Netherlands is below sea level. The Netherlands also helped New Orleans to make it safe for the future because of Katrina . Because of our experience

[@KaiHenningsen]

I believe Amsterdam and New Orleans are almost exactly the same size and the same average height below sea level. There's a video about that somewhere.

[@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff]

And warned newyork years ago about the potential danger it was in. Now they are helping in the planning to improve things so flooding won't happen again.

[@davidvandersterre]

I'm dutch, and I love the efficient system we have with our homes. I wouldn't (necessarily) want to have a whole building to only myself or my family (it just sounds like more maintenance if im honest). The only problem I have with our home (which isn't the same case in every city) is that our garden is pretty small. You can only just sit outside and have dinner, but there is not enough space for much activities. But because the system is very efficient with the space we have, we don't have to travel far for pretty much anything. I can visit several malls (like 3 or 4) by bike in less than an hour (half an hour if I'm doing groceries fast) and visit a library on the way back if i want to. Building with more efficiency and less centered around cars also allows for more space to just walk, or for more kids playgrounds (and we usually build walking paths around those so you don't have to look like a creep). In fact, roads in my area are so safe that kids (used to) play football/soccer on the roads when there were no driving cars in sight. I am having a hard time imagining how it must be to live in America, but from the things I understand/hear I'm more grateful that I'm raised up here.

[@mizzya]

The argument you mentioned that people don’t want that is so ridiculous to hear for me 😅 I mean better bike infrastructure in cities does not mean you can’t travel by car anymore. You give people freedom, to choose their preferred way to get around safely. Freedom is something that should sound appealing to US citizens haha 😜

[@thijsblankestijn3614]

A dam closes of a waterinlet or waterway, a levi keeps water inside the waterway or prevents it to go to dry land or places we don't want it.

[@kwarts]

With one nitty gritty addition: levees were originally formed naturally (oeverwal) and from around medieval times onwards developed in the now high dukes along rivers.

[@Alvvays667]

Schiphol airport (AMS) has the train, subway and bus as options. And you probably can also rent a bike (you can in combination with the train btw).

[@SkillmanS]

If someone says “we dont want that bc we love cars” the perfect awnser is “how more ppl chose public transport or commute via bike the less cars on the road the better the traffic flow”

[@EricSneppen]

Levee's and dams. A levee is a dike. Simply said a raised amount of ground along the coastline so the water can't get over it. A dam is an amount of ground, concrete or other stuff that closes a waterway. With other words, you have a kind of fjord and you close the entrance with material. In the Netherlands there are also permeable dams. They are open when the waterlevel is normal, but can close when it gets to high.

[@paddotk]

Along the coastline you'll find dunes, not dikes. I think you mean alongside rivers and canals.

[@EricSneppen]

@@paddotk Yes dunes, or dikes when there are no dunes.

[@vogel2280]

Dam vs levey vs dyke: A dam closes off a waterbody. So you can create a lake behind a dam in a river or you can change a part of sea into a lake. A dyke keeps the water within the designated limits of its regular bedding. It prevents rivers or in this case the sea of getting places where it should not be. A levey can either be a dam or a dyke, but refers to the construction. For it to be a levey it must be constructed out of earth, dirt and/or clay.

[@markkoolhaas537]

When it comes to the size of the houses; don't forget that there is alot more available space in the Netherlands. For example; Arizona had seven to eight times the area and les that have of the number of people living on that land.

[@Mus.Anonymouse]

In a country where a 1 hour commute by car is considered a short commute, it will not work. a 1 hour commute on bike is around 10-15 miles this is a long commute on bike. One would also need shops close by, schools close by, work close by. this is all engrained in Dutch culture and infrastructure. No mega supermarkets like Target or Wallmart, but more smaller grocery stores and supermarkets. The closest supermarket to my home is around 10 minutes by bicicle, around 6 minutes by car (you have to drive differently) and then there is a parking problem, making you wait a few minutes to be able to park. So going shopping by bike is more efficient for the small groceries. If I have a lot of groceries, I can order on-line and most of the time get it delivered for free (by either buying certain products, or buy a subscription for about $15 per year with unlimited free delivery if your cart is above $60, which is easy for the big shopping)

[@HailHeidi]

I don't think many Americans would think that a 1 hour commute by car is a "short" commute, haha, but I see what you're saying.

[@captainchaos3667]

The size of the country is a red herring. The cities may be further apart, but even in the US most of daily life happens in an area that could be easily walkable or cyclable if only it was safe or convenient, or it could be, if zoning rules were changed so that convenience stores etc. could be built in residential areas.

[@paddotk]

Not so much in rural areas.

[@Brozius2512]

Exactly... only 2% of US landmass is used for urbanization.

[@ThePixel1983]

For living closer together without hearing your neighbours talking, we Europeans invented something called "brick walls". You should try it! 😉

[@HailHeidi]

Haha very true!!

[@paddotk]

A concrete wall (you only use bricks on exterior walls) unfortunately doesn't isolate sound well enough. If only...

[@ThePixel1983]

@@paddotk We usually use bricks for indoor walls as well. They're thinner, but still bricks.

[@paddotk]

@@ThePixel1983 Ok, I didn't know that. What country do you live in? And isn't concrete more practical though?

[@ThePixel1983]

@@paddotk Germany, and you said it yourself, concrete is less insulating, both for sound and heat. (In case you don't heat one room on a floor.)

[@chrisbodum3621]

I'm sure it wasn't politicians listening that changed things, it was activists who became political and even became politicians themselves that created the conditions for change. Nearly every benefit in working and living conditions that 'the people' gain is hard fought for over decades and even centuries. There is hardly ever a kindly benevolent government that does this without being elected with that in mind.

[@annebokma4637]

Difference between a dam and a levy (dijk) is that a dam will have water on both sides. A dijk has land on one side

[@ericdenissen1229]

Hello Heidi, come to the Netherlands to visit it, there are already more Americans who now live in the Netherlands, including Alex and Michelle, greetings and it was a nice video about the Netherlands

[@vals_loeder]

Nice to have you react to this video and the interest in our small country. One of the new issues we are currently dealing with is bike lane traffic jams... I kid you not.

[@patje89]

I see why you don't wanna share walls with your neighbors, as most of your walls probably are made of cardboard not? Thats not the case over here, walls between houses are build from 2 layers of concrete or bricks, (with their floors floating on isolation so you don't hear clacking heels) which prevents direct contact noise but also lowers the transition of noise through them. Next to that, grounds pace is expensive as their is so little of it and can go up to 50% or sometimes over of the part the property price build-up. (Hence you see more layered housing instead of spread out)

[@pizzaslice3394]

i have lived in the N etherlands all my life and i can say traveling is very smooth

[@PaulaBean]

Hey everyone! Just to clarify, a levee and a dam aren't the same thing. A levee is like a barrier built alongside rivers to prevent flooding of nearby land. Think of it as a long wall. On the other hand, a dam is a structure built across rivers or streams to hold back water, creating a reservoir or lake. It's more like a big block. So, levees = flood prevention on the sides, dams = water control and storage across. Hope that helps! 👍

[@EyesOfGehenna]

The thing is that bigger houses doesn't necessarily mean that it cannot be done. You can keep bigger houses and have more bicycles and bicycle paths, because of electric bicycles. You can move much faster and over further distances without a lot of effort. As for Schiphol airport, there's a trainstation below the airport directly accessible from the airport. Just one escalator down.

[@JanuitGroningen]

By the way, our King is visiting Atlanta at this moment and later this week New York.

[@Gert-DK]

No he is not, he is home. 🙂 But he will soon be going to Greenland. He should have been in the Faroe Islands right now, but it was cancelled.

[@eckligt]

@@Gert-DK I think you are referring to different kings.

[@Gert-DK]

@@eckligt There can be only one King 😁

[@classesanytime]

Who gives a dam(n)?

[@JacobBax]

Who cares? 🥱

[@gterhorst]

Since housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable, smaller houses should be considered. Also in the USA. Probably more people would consider it if the where available.

[@stephenhickman304]

Copenhagen airport is so efficient and clean. Love The Netherlands and Denmark

[@BlackWolfLeon]

If you want to see more about the waterworks there's a cool video you can react to "Op de Schouders van Reuzen - On the Shoulders of Giants".

[@ivowalvis9228]

Sweety, I have been living here all my life, and at the moment I am shootng and throwing "seed-bombs" of beautyful flowers all over my aerea, so the world will be more beautyful, with more butteflies etc. Different mindset from people that just want to gass each others kids, you know. Little efford, a lot of beauty.

[@Mr.Barber]

I have got a challenge, try to live here (in the netherlands) for a week or 2. You could use our pullout sofa and make a tour with us through the Netherlands.

[@jeffafa3096]

The Netherlands is about the same size as an average-sized state in the US. So it's basically a very well-designed state, in comparison to the US...

[@Schachtschabel]

Yes you should not compare the US with the Netherlands but only heavy populated states or parts of them or just metropolitan area's.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

The average US state is much larger. The Netherlands is only a big bigger than the smallest US states. But has an economy comparable to Illinois. If small US states had so much money they would be able to afford infrastructure as well.

[@saikoshizzle]

A dutch guy here. I still own a car, but i own it for pleasure. I just use it for fun, and dont have to rely on it. We sure do have a good car scene here, and still i ride my bike for commutes. And about the housing, its really hard to get a house and expensive to rent or buy. Size of the house depends on the size of your bankaccount...

[@bosoerjadi2838]

In the Netherlands it's not an either-or proposition regarding transport. Most dutch households own at least one car and several bikes, they'd also at least occasionally use public transport (train, bus, tram, metro) and people aren't shy to walk. The key is to focus on safety (for all) first, efficiency second. Sustainability then usually has automatically follow as the third principle.

[@paddotk]

Several bikes? You must live in het Gooi or something, that's really not a normality. As the guy in the video says, it's 1.3 bikes per person.

[@Airplaneuploads]

I am a dutchie and I can say that we bike a lot cause if I go to School and in need to bike 10 KM almost my whole ride I only can see bikes it is amazing how there are so much bikes

[@peterhuiskens6548]

as a dutch guy i have something interesting to share about car usage ; i work close to home and bike there 4 out of 5 days on average. I have a total yearly car usage of around 5000 miles per year because most of the things i want to do can be done by bike. I have my car mostly for my hobbies and the rainy days ... Not everyone is as lucky as i am, however , if someone is really driving a lot, like almost yaw dropping , that would translate to more then 60000 miles per year.... curious to know how that is in the US? what are the averages ? and @hailheidi , sadly you didn't cover the Netherlands in your Europe trip, but if you ever decide to go to Europe again, I'd suggest you visit the Netherlands .

[@eefaaf]

Most of tulip fields are just behind the dunes, and not in the polders. Only the oldest of polders were made dry by wind-power. All the newer (starting at the Haarlemmermeerpolder, on the bottom of which Schiphol is located in the mid 19th century using 3 steam pumping stations, one of which -Cruquius- is now a museum en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_De_Cruquius ) have been pumped out by steam, electrical or diesel pump stations. The largest and newest polders in the IJselmeer (former Zuiderzee) aren't part of the Deltawerken, and were planned long before those.

[@basvanleusden3230]

The difference between a dam, a dike or a levee: a Dam is a manmade structure that cuts a body of water. Hence: to start, a dam has water on both sides, later you can pump out the water on one side and strengthen the dam to keep the water out. A Dike has water on only one side and mainly lays on the side of the water, sea, lake or river and prevents the water from getting onto dry land. A levee is designed to keep water in, therefor most of the time lays on both sides of a stream. Greetings from The Netherlands.

[@paddotk]

What do you mean 'keep water in'? Isn't a levee the same as a dike?

[@basvanleusden3230]

@@paddotk yes, only the purpose is different.

[@konstantinasnavardauskas4495]

I live in the Netherlands and i must say the best things about cycling and public transport were not covered in the original video :). Things like smart intersections which means very little waiting time. The trains here run like a metro system, even at night, the single payment system etc.

[@qui33ten]

The bad thing is that Utrecht still needs more room for bikes

[@hushus10021971]

Hello Heidi. What do you think would happen if the taxes on cars and gas was the same as in Europe...? And the extra taxes goes to proper public transportation...! I am danish and I love that we don't have your addiction to cars. It is possible to make USA like the Netherlands and Denmark with proper sidewalks and bike cycle lanes

[@TheRyanpullen]

The us is the literal opposite of the Netherlands if we talk about house / infrastructure sizing. So that may be one of the reasons why bicycles are so populair in the Netherlands. Its just easier and more convenient because of the close distance of most facilities, like grocery stores and for short distances your likely to be faster on you destination, and in the big cities its a lot easier to find a spot to park your bike than park your car. Also most people don’t have much traveling distance to school or work. In the Netherlands the average commute is about 14 miles where 38 percent of the people dont leave their municipality at all for work or school.

[@LarkspeedNL]

You should watch the video from not just bikes about traffic lights in the Netherlands as well, this says a lot about why travelling around this country is so much nicer than the US. The video is called "Why the Dutch Wait Less at Traffic Lights". Having grown up in Canada and driving in all of the lower 48 states and now living in The Netherlands I can honestly say it blows me away how nice it is to live and get around in this country.

[@danielrobertgorman3257]

Levees are walls built to keep water OUT from some place. Like in New Orleans. Dams are walls built to keep water IN somewhere like Hoover dam near Las Vegas and lake Mead.

[@witte_raaf]

You mentioned Denmark as great too, they are the most similar to the Netherlands in many ways.

[@mortophobegaming6454]

A levee is something you drive your chevee into. Preferably when it isn't dry

[@maartenvandam344]

It's good that it's pointed out why we have that cycle infrastructure. It wasn't for environmental all public health reasons, it was a matter of safety. The bikes were there before the infrastructure. As the people got richer and bought cars, cyclists deaths went up, and a lot of them were children. It's normal for children here to cycle to school by themselves, and suddenly, children started getting killed in traffic. Something had to be done, and separation of traffic flows was the sulution. And it works. It's not really that difficult, it just takes a bit of urban planning. And a bit of money, sure, but it's worth it.

[@erics607]

I'm curious how well major bike infrastructure would do in the northern climates. From what I understand, it does snow in the northern part of the Netherlands, but I don't think they get as much snow as places like New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakota's, and many other states. I wouldn't mind biking to my job, BUT thinking about biking there this past winter when we got 14 inches of snow one day, the roads had ice on them for a week straight, and the temperatures were single digits or below zero for a week.......I don't think I would want to deal with that.

[@nybergnicholas]

we in europe can buy studded bike tires

[@AlexSeesing]

A little snow is not a problem. In case of more snow, it's going to removed with snow shovels from the primary bike lanes and sprinkled with brine to keep the roads accessible for bicycles. And that includes the bike path between cities, towns and villages too. Fresh snow isn't even a problem with the type of tires we generally have on our bikes, it's the consolidated and compacted snow that froze over and turned into ice that's tricky. Just walk on those patches with the bike. Usually from any home to a primary bike road is less than a 2 minute walk.

[@erics607]

@@AlexSeesing Where I live the weather is way more severe. I would have to travel around 10 miles to my job, and trying to get there on a bike when the temperature is negative 15 Fahrenheit isn't going to cut it. I wouldn't mind going to work that way, but it's way too dangerous for me. The closest bike path for me is about 3 miles away, and it doesn't go anywhere near where my job is. It would probably take me over an hour just to walk to it.

[@AlexSeesing]

@@erics607 That's a -26°c and I don't think anyone would go outside when it's that cold. The last time -27°c was reached in the Netherlands was 82 years ago so pardon me I'm not familiar with these kind of conditions. The coldest temperature I have encountered was only -16°c back in 2012. But there was no snow as an upside so biking was still a valid option.

[@erics607]

@@AlexSeesing We have to go outside in that type of weather. Almost nothing closes when the temperature drops that much. I live in the southern part of my state, and it gets even colder the farther north you go. We have a very similar climate to Germany, Poland, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. A lot of people from central to northern Norway have immigrated to my state and surrounding states because of how similar the weather is. For us, a temperature of -2 degrees C would be considered warm.

[@yvobroekhoven972]

I live in the more rural part of the Neterlands in the North-East of the country and still have a choice of transport, car, walking cycling, reasonable public transport... but by bike would still be my commute of choice over everyting.

[@nuuwnhuus]

Believe it or not, the Dutch sometimes also fight against infrastructure like this. 😅

[@davevanbeers6944]

Even if you won’t react to them “Not just bikes” is a great channel on the subject of Urban development. I always have fun watching their channel. 😊

[@erikc8284]

We also have direct transportation at the Barcelona airport. You can directly go into the train from the airport after landing, or take a bus as well. Direct public transportation should be a mandatory on any airport around the world if possible, I don't see the point in building all infrastructure around the car.

[@Matjo7588dk]

When you say others can learn. Fun fact. Denmark who is also known as the bicycle capital of the world. And The Netherlands and Denmark are by far the most bicycle insane people. But Denmark have actually been hired by other nations to teach them on how to improve and build this mentality into road/city design. Countries in in South America, Europe, Asia and at least on city in the US, have had official people from Denmark to come and show how its done there, from idea to getting it done. And making it part of the infrastructure. So it has become an export. Bicycle infrastructure design. Also, to keep with the Danish aspect. ( The Netherlands have a long history of shared events, and in many ways do many of the same things, Bicycles is one. Windmills is the 2. Denmark is the country in the world with most Windmills per cap. ) But Netherlands water design, and water history. And how Rotterdam is sometimes called the Port of Europe. Going back over a 1000 years, when all of that was mostly swamps, where very few people lived, Danes started showing up. The Swamps was perfect for the fleets as they sailed south to France, or further down to Spain and Italy. Because they could sail in, and be protected from the sea, live sheltered in the swamps, with plenty of game and wildlife and timber to sustain them. And protected from land armies because of the natural landscape. This meant many of the first big settlements that formed there, was build or expanded by Danes or as people call them now "Vikings". And many Danes became Lords around there, and was given titles and so on. Also why The Netherlands still to this day have a fair amount of Scandinavian DNA in them.

[@JdeB-h2o]

Ever checked out the Strong Towns channel ? Lots of info on US city design opposing car-dependency.