We are proud to share that Healthy Cities was recently featured in ROmagazine, the leading Dutch publication for spatial planning and urban design.
Full article originally published in the hardcopy magazine of February 2026 of ROmagazine, and online published on 16 February 2026 in Dutch, to be found here.
The article explores how our tool, Healthy Cities Generator, transforms the health approach of municipalities in area development. Our colleagues, Sebastiaan and Anne, were interviewed alongside Cynthia Kootker, Project Leader for the Municipality of Dijk en Waard, to discuss our recent collaboration on the Heerhugowaard Station Quarter.
Cynthia highlighted the impact of our visual approach:
“What immediately appealed to me was that they combine social data and geodata and make everything visual. Those spider diagrams are so clear! I thought: this can really help us to engage in dialogue with our social partners and to set priorities within the municipality.”
Why the Healthy Cities Generator stands out for them:
In the article, three key factors were highlighted as distinguishing features from traditional planning tools:
- A Connecting Layer:
Healthy Cities Generator translates complex health impacts into tangible urban design. This enables planners, developers, and public health professionals to align on the same data and speak a shared language from day one. - Evidence-Based & Targeted:
The tool replaces abstract health goals with a concrete method that links spatial and social data, allowing the municipality to visualize health impacts directly within their designs and processes. - Speed in Decision-Making:
The Generator yields results quickly, allowing health to be integrated early in the process-preventing costly adjustments later and making the development process smoother.
For the Municipality of Dijk en Waard, the goal was to build a sound foundation for health in their new station area. Cynthia sees the application of Healthy Cities Generator as a starting point.
“I hope the Healthy Cities report will serve as the starting point for the further development of the Stationskwartier. And that this will allow us to structurally build on collaboration with the GGD, housing corporations, and welfare partners.”
By using the Generator, they were able to investigate exactly how both existing and future residents will benefit from the new development.
Read the full article in ROmagazine here! (in Dutch)
