Eindhoven: a green, innovative and lively city

Real equal opportunities begin at an early age. That’s why we have early childhood education. In addition to that D66 wants what we call ‘a rich school day’. That means plenty of sports and culture in the classroom, so all children can experience their benefits. Homework support and a healthy meal are also part of a rich school day. In this digital age, a laptop or tablet must be available for every child.

There is a great need for well-educated craftsmen (MBO-educated). But MBO-students have trouble finding an internship. The municipality must address this issue together with local businesses. Together with the successful businesses of Brainport we can create more internships for these students, but also for refugees who want to start working in their new country. But Brainport-businesses can also help by investing in our neighborhoods and by sponsorships of our sport and culture clubs.

In Eindhoven we need everybody. Everybody is valuable. Young people that come to rely on benefits often lack a diploma. That’s why D66 wants an Eindhoven Development Fund. All people on benefits should be able to turn to this fund and be helped with investing in their future, by following a training program or getting that education to get that diploma. Seniors who have lost their jobs and are looking for new skills should also be able to make use of this Fund.

Everybody can contribute in the fight against climate change. That’s why we want to make it easier to insulate your home and make it more sustainable. When you buy a house you should be able to get good advice on sustainable renovation quickly. We believe it’s best to separate garbage at home. But we want to make it easier, by collecting all of it at your doorstep. Big bulky waste should be collected in every street, once a year. This will help to prevent dumping of garbage.

Greenery and nature in peoples surroundings improves their lives, it makes us happier. Eindhoven is a relatively green city. D66 wants to cherish and strengthen the green character. In all areas of the city people should be able to enjoy nature. The municipality should therefore plant more trees in all neighborhoods and the city center.
We want more Tiny Forests (the size of a tennis court) where children can learn about nature and neighbors can meet.

Clean are is of vital importance. To improve the air quality D66 wants to introduce car restriction in the city center and only zero-emission vehicles will be allowed. Inhabitants of the city center and people with disabilities will of course be able to use a car. As an alternative to flying we want better international train connections with Düsseldorf, Aachen and Brussels, to reduce noise pollution and particulates from aviation. Before expanding further, Eindhoven Airport first needs to clean up its act.

We are happy that our city grows and flourishes. But this growth also worsens the housing shortage. Housing prices and rents are ridiculously high. To many young people can’t afford to move out and are forced to live with their parents. And seniors who’d like to move to something smaller and more accessible can’t find good senior housing. Therefore D66 wants to build more and more affordable housing. We need to build at least 3000 houses a year. These should be houses of all types and categories, for students, young people and seniors, fitting to the demand of our inhabitants. We want to keep renting out rooms to students by individual landlords possible, next to bigger social housing for students. And we need to build more student housing. We should also build a lot more senior housing. This way we can stimulate movement in the housing market, giving young people a chance to buy family homes that have become to big for seniors.

We see a great demand for more affordable housing. That’s why we want 30% of all newly build houses to be social rent housing. But we also want to make way for collectives who want to build together.
Building initiatives take a long time to actually get build. Without impairing citizen participation, D66 wants to shorten procedures. The municipality should remove obstacles for building permits and mediate where necessary. Let’s bring all parties together to see how we can build more houses faster.