An environmental impact assessment (EIA) describes the potential positive and negative effects of the development of Zuidas on the environment and the physical surroundings. Will Zuidas still be a pleasant place to live, work and spend time once our plans for housing, offices, public space, greenery and mobility have been completed? Over time, these plans have been amended and expanded, and their effects had not yet been fully assessed. An update has therefore now been prepared: the Zuidas EIA Supplement. This is currently open for consultation, together with the proposed amendment to the environmental plan for the development of Zudo (redevelopment of Gustav Mahlerlaan 10).
Key areas of attention
The Zuidas EIA Supplement gives us a clear picture of the impact that additional offices, amenities and homes in Zuidas will have on areas including traffic, air quality, noise, climate adaptation and greenery. For example, the assessment looks at future traffic volumes and noise levels. We also examined water storage capacity and energy consumption, taking into account existing policies and planned measures.
Examples of measures
One example is the Zuidflank Sustainable Accessibility Mobility Plan, which aims to ensure that Zuidas remains accessible in the future. Different measures have been devised to reduce noise levels at new homes, such as constructing office buildings alongside the A10 to act as a noise barrier for the homes behind them. We also want the area to remain safe and comfortable. As Zuidas continues to develop, we will therefore also take account of heat and extreme rainfall.
Why is a supplement needed?
Now that around half of the area development has been completed, we can test the predictions made in the earlier assessments. In addition, the overall programme of homes, offices and amenities planned up to 2040 has grown beyond what has been assessed to date. This update also takes account of current issues such as climate adaptation and energy. Together with the existing environmental impact assessments (see box), the Zuidas EIA Supplement provides a comprehensive picture of the effects that the future development of Zuidas will have on the physical surroundings.
Existing assessments
In 2011, we prepared the first environmental impact assessment, the Zuidas-de Flanken EIA (in Dutch). This was followed by the Vrije Universiteit/Vrije Universiteit Medical Center EIA (2011, in Dutch) in connection with developments on Vrije Universiteit land in the Kenniskwartier. The most recent assessment is the Verdi Zuidas EIA (2019, in Dutch) for the Verdi area.
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