Bike culture extends outside of the cities to the beautiful Dutch countryside.
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Back in April, I had the amazing opportunity to embark on a week-long infrastructure tour in the Netherlands with the ITE Georgia section. If you missed my initial takeaways, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Houten review pieces, be sure to check them out!
The final day of our journey took us on a ride through the countryside from Delft out to Uitkijkpunt De Maeslantkering – one of Netherland’s massive water control systems.
Delft’s Downtown is another example of Dutch downtown’s feeling way bigger than what they are. The When you walk out of the beautiful new train station with buried tracks, you feel like you’re in a major hub but in reality the population is barely over 100,000 residents and you’re just a couple of miles from vast farmland.
As I mentioned in earlier posts, the line between city and country is so well defined in The Netherlands. One second you’re completely immersed in city life and then all of a sudden you’re surrounded by farms and a canal.
The 12-mile journey out to the water brought us through a variety of street and land-use typologies ranging from low stress shared streets to side paths on busier roads along with a couple of small villages dotted in between.
Uitkijkpunt De Maeslantkering is a massive water control system out by the coast. These massive movable barriers close of Rotterdam’s harbor when major storms threaten. With much of the country at or below sea level, they have made massive investments into sustainability and water control. De Maeslantkering is one of the many water control systems near the coast.
While not part of the official tour, I did manage to squeeze in a visit to Den Hauge and De Pier.
The architecture and vibe of Den Hauge really blew me away. As the administrative capital of The Netherlands, there’s a good mix of modern and historic architecture and of course, tons of transit and car-lite spaces. Perhaps what strikes me the most, is the completely different feel of the four major cities compared to each other despite all being in the same region.
Lasting Takeaways
- I’d seriously visit every year (or more!) if I could – from the way the cities are structured, the transit, the biking, the development, the overall feel, The Netherlands represent so much of what I believe in when it comes to city building
- This trip reaffirmed my commitment to what I do professionally and blogging wise
- It took weeks to “get back into the swing of things” back in the US
- Obviously, we can’t become The Netherlands here but there are so many aspects we can apply
- Connected, cohesive and safe cities rule
- Density is not always towers (there’s nothing wrong with towers either though)
- Places function best when transit and biking are deeply interconnected and not seen as competitors
- You can still accommodate cars and have a high functioning environment
- Dense, mobility-rich infill rules! Nothing fuels me more than seeing these places and using them as motivation for my sketches
Special thanks to the Dutch Cycling Embassy and ITE Georgia Section for hosting and organizing.
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Phil Veasley, PE, CNU-A, The Urban Connector, is a Professional Engineer with Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates focused on creating safer, more vibrant cities through strategic multimodal infrastructure design. With expertise spanning traffic analysis, hand sketching, conceptual design, and full construction documentation, he thrives on transforming roads into great streets where people of all ages and abilities can flourish. Based in Atlanta, Phil is a passionate advocate for walkable, dense, and equitable neighborhoods. Outside of work, his passion is exploring urban life through sketching infill ideas and navigating cities primarily by bike or foot. His on-the-ground perspective informs his professional work, helping him design transportation systems that are not only functional but also people-centered and inspiring. Phil brings both technical depth and a city lover’s enthusiasm to every project, drawing on the belief that infrastructure and urban form must go hand in hand to support vibrant, inclusive communities where everyone has access to opportunity and quality of life.
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Phil Veasley 
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