The municipality of Utrecht presented the urban plan for the Merwedekanaalzone, Utrecht’s most significant new-build location where approximately 10,000 new homes will be built in the coming years. Interested parties may respond to the plan from the end of January. Later this year the city council will adopt the plan. Then the building plans can be worked out in more detail. To this end, OKRA works closely with the municipality, urban planners, owners, developers and users of the area.
The Merwedekanaalzone is to become a green area, car-free and friendly for cyclists and pedestrians. The new district will be climate-adaptive, based on the principles of circularity and resilience. OKRA has developed an integrated water management strategy linked to the regional scaling system, intended to maximize water retention and facilitate reuse of rainwater. A new biotope for the area has been designed to enrich biodiversity and compensate for environmental changes due to urban expansion. Utrecht hopes that the first pile can be driven into the ground in two years.