Dual challenge: housing and climate. The Netherlands faces a major housing task. Population growth, changing household compositions, and lengthy planning procedures make the realization of new homes complex. Solutions are often sought in expansion at the edges of cities and villages, while green space is precisely what we need to meet climate goals, ensure food production, and provide recreation — in short, to create a healthy living environment.

What about Deventer? Deventer is also facing a housing shortage. The Hanseatic city on the IJssel aims to remain attractive to its residents, entrepreneurs, and young professionals, while preserving its unique proximity to nature. The combination of the historic city center with the IJssel, its floodplains, and surrounding green landscape makes Deventer distinctive and highly livable — a quality to cherish.

Studio Groen+Schild explored how Deventer can use space more intelligently. The design-driven research project Deventer, EROP of ERONDER | A Plea for Smart Land Use demonstrates that densification within the existing city is the most sustainable and effective solution. We advocate a development strategy for Deventer that places densification at its core. The key lies not in expansion into the countryside, but in the smart use of existing buildings, business parks, and village centers.

The publication is structured around five themes (ON TOP, WITHIN, IN BETWEEN, NEXT TO, and BELOW) and includes intermezzos on circular construction, housing typologies, and inspiring examples. A fold-out overview map reveals the city’s densification potential. Deventer, EROP of ERONDER calls for collaboration to unite the housing and climate challenges in a healthy, future-proof city.

Projectteam Studio Groen+Schild:
Ellen Schild, Arnold de Bruin, Thijs Bongers