Smart cities in the Netherlands

The latest instalment of the blog series based on our smart cities in Europe, enabling innovation report takes a look at the findings on smart cities in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is making progress in implementing smart cities.

Research by the
European Parliament places the country
in its second tier of European countries
that have successfully implemented smart
cities, meaning 51-75% of its cities with a
population over 100,000 have at least one
smart city initiative.*

The survey data indicates that the Netherlands
outranks other European countries in terms
of its commitment to integrate intelligent
transport systems – 56% of Dutch survey
respondents indicated that the roll-out of
intelligent transport systems is a priority for
its transport authorities, compared with a
European average of 46%. 

In contrast, the Netherlands ranks slightly
below the rest of Europe in terms of its
acceptance of smart meters – 27% of survey
participants based in the Netherlands believe
that energy consumers generally understand
and are convinced by the benefits of installing
smart meters, compared with a Europe-wide
average of 31%.

In April 2014, the Netherlands announced
plans to install 15 million smart gas and
electricity meters by 2020 as part of its
national roll-out programme. This followed
a pilot of 600,000 meters that has been
running since 2012. However, the majority
(55%) of survey respondents do not believe
this target will be met.

Amsterdam, the country’s capital, is furthest
ahead in rolling out smart city initiatives. In
2009 the Amsterdam Smart City (ASC)
programme was established. It is a partnership of businesses, public authorities and research
institutions that work together to make the
Amsterdam Metropolitan Area a sustainable
and more environmentally friendly living
environment. When established, the primary
focus of ASC was to develop, test and then
introduce energy smart technologies and
initiatives capable of contributing to the city’s
target to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% by
2025 compared with 1990 levels. Since then,
the ASC has evolved to promote a range of
smart initiatives, including ‘smart mobility’, ‘smart
living’ and ‘smart society’. Since its inception,
the ASC has grown to over a hundred partners
involved in more than fifty projects.

More smart cities information

Download the full smart cities in Europe report here.

* European Parliament Policy Department (January 2014), “Mapping Smart Cities in the EU”