Zoetermeer: the ideal residential city
Zoetermeer is a fine city to live in. Residents are very satisfied with this city. There are many spacious houses with gardens and special examples of unique architecture. In addition, Zoetermeer is a green city, with many parks and beautiful polders nearby. The city has a good infrastructure. You can easily cycle there and public transport will quickly take you to cities such as The Hague, Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam. In short, Zoetermeer is a complete city: a nice place to live and a city where you can do enough in your free time.
Social and physical challenges
Zoetermeer faces several housing challenges. Many neighborhoods in the city were built in the same period, so many homes now need maintenance at the same time. In addition, in some parts of the city, social contact between neighborhood residents has become less. This social contact is precisely what is important to live pleasantly and safely together in a neighborhood. We notice that these problems often occur together: in neighborhoods where maintenance is lagging behind, social contact is also often less. As a municipality, we see it as our task to tackle these challenges. In this way we ensure that Zoetermeer remains a city where people can live pleasantly and socially together, now and in the future.
Getting started on new public housing program
Zoetermeer is also facing the national housing shortage and changes in the housing market. This makes it difficult for some people to find housing in our city. The current Housing Vision from 2015 no longer reflects today's situation. Therefore, the municipality is working on a new Public Housing Program with goals for the future of Zoetermeer towards 2040. With this we want to ensure that Zoetermeer remains a fine residential city where everyone feels at home.
We will complete the new public housing program in early 2025. In September 2024, the main points of the program were discussed with the City Council. These can be found in the Outline Memorandum.
Fine living in Zoetermeer, also with care and support
How do we ensure that Zoetermeer remains a city where everyone can live comfortably? What facilities, care and housing is needed to continue living comfortably as you age or become ill? The municipality and organizations in the fields of care, welfare and housing considered these questions in 2021. The results have been compiled in the Residential Care Vision.
Major challenges
Zoetermeer faces major challenges in the coming years in terms of housing and care. Due to an aging population, the number of elderly people in the city is likely to increase by 30% over the next 10 years. Many older people will continue to live at home for longer, sometimes needing care or support. Young people and vulnerable groups also have different wishes and needs when it comes to housing and care.
There is increasing demand for new housing forms and locations where people can live independently with care and support close by. At the same time, it is difficult to find enough care staff, informal caregivers and volunteers to meet this growing demand. This makes care and welfare more expensive and possibly unaffordable. Therefore, it is important to look for new ways to combine living and care.
Working together on solutions
To make this possible, there must be housing suitable for this purpose. Care institutions, housing corporations and the municipality have had discussions about this. They have discussed what they themselves can do and what they need from each other. The housing wishes and needs of Zoetermeerders play an important role here. Many people would like to have their own place in their familiar neighborhood, meet others and feel free.
There is a need for new, attractive housing options for people who would otherwise remain in a home where they do not have enough freedom of movement or feel uncomfortable.
Getting Started
The City Council approved the residential care vision. But, a vision is only the beginning. In 2025, the parties involved will present an implementation agenda. This contains concrete actions and projects to implement the plans from the residential care vision.
Who are participating in the residential care vision?
The Residential Care Vision was drawn up together with Fundis WelThuis, Humanitas DMH, Middin, Jeugdformaat, LIMOR, Fonteynenburg, representatives from Zoetermeer 2025 - a healthy Zoetermeer region, Palet Welzijn, Stichting Piëzo, health insurer CZ, Stedelink (formerly Vestia), De Goede Woning, Vidomes and representatives from the City Building Agreement (Bouwinvest, Syntrus Achmea) and residents' organizations.