Utrecht: ready for the future!
Volt has an ambition for Utrecht.
We believe in an Utrecht that is ready for the future. An Utrecht that doesn’t balk at the challenges of the 21st century, but faces them pragmatically and full of confidence. An Utrecht that in every way can be a model for the Netherlands and Europe, be it for democracy, digitisation, sustainability or social policy. We make Utrecht together. This conviction is in Volt’s DNA. As a grassroots party, we stand with Utrechters, better to understand where we need to act, and to think together about how this can happen. With the development of our manifesto, we have spoken with many Utrechters. And in the coming years, we want to extend our network further still, in order to engage with Utrechters ever more often.
Our city is in the heart of the Netherlands, and through the rail network is connected with all of Europe. Utrecht represents a link between the Randstad and the Ruhr regions. Utrecht commune is in every way intertwined with the EU, and works, amongst other things, with many European cities to build a circular economy. The region has a profile in Brussels as an innovative pioneer, a ‘living lab’. Our ambition is to maintain these links and to strengthen them.
In many ways, things are good in Utrecht. All of Europe takes inspiration from our cycle paths and cycle parks, and draws on our neighbourhood teams (buurtteams) as an example. And we are a leader in the transition to a circular economy. On other fronts, however, there is much still to improve. There is an urgent need for housing, with many people unable to find a place to live in our city. The care sector for young people is struggling with long waiting lists. Moreover, the energy transition will raise tough questions for the city in the coming years. In this manifesto, we set out how we want to address these problems. We present these solutions under five themes.
A sustainable Utrecht
Society must in the coming years become more sustainable. That we need to make changes is clear, but what exactly we should do is a harder question. Volt wants to focus on an effective, fair and social transition. We make proposals for a greener and more sustainable Utrecht, and want to spread the costs of this as fairly as possible.
A liveable Utrecht
Housing problems are also serious in Utrecht. Many people would love to live in this city, but for a long time, far from everyone is able to find something affordable. In order to keep a handle on Utrecht’s growth, it is urgent to think about tourism and mobility in the city, and so ensure and maintain a liveable Utrecht into the future.
An engaged Utrecht
Citizens today do not just want to discuss, but to think and plan together. We want to engage Utrechters from the beginning, in order to think together, both at the planning and the delivery stage.
A social Utrecht
Social inequality has only grown deeper in the past few years, between poor and rich, between those with higher and lower levels of formal education, and between people in employment and the self-employed. We need to make a major effort now to reduce these divides, with a policy that is focused on those who are suffering most.
An innovative Utrecht
The challenges facing us as a society, and as Utrecht require us to take a new approach, and find new solutions. We move around in different ways, more and more work digitally, and expect more and more in this sense from the commune itself. We need to innovate in order to reach citizens more simply, and to engage them in policies. We are creating new opportunities by building better digital access to the commune, and by supporting innovative projects for sustainability and the energy transition.