ABSTRACT
The Randstadt in the Netherlands metropolitan core includes Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, all traditional urban centers. Houten's early focus on urban design is a key to the city's current level of transportation sustainability. When designing the city, Houten's planning advisors considered how the location of housing and layout of roads and bicycle paths would affect resident travel behavior. The City of Houten has incorporated many open public spaces and green areas into its design. In the Netherlands, many companies compensate employees for their transportation to work. While the car ownership rate of Houten is not necessarily low compared to large cities such as Amsterdam, it is extremely low compared to other suburban cities, such as the nearby City of Zeist. Distance traveled is a key measure for evaluating transport-related emissions. Resident surveys found that residents of South Houten have shorter commute times than residents of Veldhuizen, even while more people commute to work by bike and fewer by car.
