Eindhoven is a green, innovative and lively city. Democrats 66 (D66) strives for an inclusive, vibrant and sustainable city where everybody feels welcome and free to be themselves. The future Eindhoven offers something for everyone, at all hours, day and night; a sustainable city with lots of greenery, a pleasant city to live in.
Democrats 66 (D66) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. Founded in 1966, the D66 consists of two parallel streams, namely the radical democrats and the progressive liberals. These two currents complement each other as both emphasise the self-realisation of the individual.
“Let everyone free but no one fall “
The above line is the mission of the party. D66 believes in equal opportunities for everyone and helping those in need. Their mantra is, “One is not free until everyone is”. This party has a strong presence among the urban population, dominating the Randstad region, university towns and other major cities.
Summary of D66 Election manifesto 2022
Investing in education
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 that 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 neighbourhoods and sponsoring sports 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 secure a diploma. Seniors who have lost their jobs and are looking for new skills should also use this Fund.
Green and Sustainable aspirations
Everybody can contribute to 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 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 the dumping of garbage.
Greenery and nature in peoples surroundings improve 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 enjoy nature. The municipality should therefore plant more trees in all neighbourhoods and the city centre. We want more Tiny Forests (the size of a tennis court) where children can learn about nature and neighbours can meet.
Clean air is of vital importance. To improve the air quality, D66 wants to introduce car restrictions in the city centre and only zero-emission vehicles will be allowed in future. Inhabitants of the city centre and people with disabilities will, of course, be able to use a car. As an alternative to flying, we want better international train connections to Düsseldorf, Aachen and Brussels. This way, we aim to reduce noise pollution and particulates from aviation. Before expanding further, Eindhoven Airport first needs to set right some measures.
A home for everyone
We are happy that our city grows and flourishes. But this growth also worsens the housing shortage. Housing prices and rents are ridiculously high. Too 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 suitable senior housing. Therefore D66 wants to build more and more affordable housing. We need to develop 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, in addition to social housing complexes for students. And we need to build more student housing. We should also develop 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 too big for seniors.
We see a great demand for more affordable housing. That’s why we want 30% of all newly built houses to be social-rent housing. But we also want to make way for collectives who wish to build together.
Building initiatives take a long time to become a reality. 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.
We hope for your support! –D66.
You can read in detail about the election manifesto here.
Content cooperation & source: Jessica van Eijs, campaign manager, D66 Eindhoven and ex-parliamentarian.
