A day in the life of resident Christel (27).

“I’ve been living in this innovative district in Brandevoort for a year now. A nice neighborhood with a colorful mix of neighbors. My neighbor is already elderly. I help him with the groceries. Opposite me lives a family from Lithuania. I give the son extra lessons to help them learn Dutch. Of course, I shouldn’t forget Gijs. He lives around the corner, has a mild mental disability and lives independently. I am his ‘buddy’. We are connected via the neighborhood app. So there is always someone Gijs can turn to. It’s called social alert. If necessary, we call in care provider ORO. In our neighborhood, we take care of each other wherever possible. But one of the main reasons for me to live here is the clean air. I have asthmatic bronchitis and breathing healthy air is extra important to me.

It is so green and clean here. I now live in the middle of nature and there is even a small central park, just like in New York. Trees are a natural filter for fine dust and they act as a big umbrella in hot weather. I learnt this last week during the Urban Farming course.

The Clean Air Brainport Smart District working group makes sure everyone knows how clean the air is. Participants regularly come up with new ideas about what we as residents can do ourselves. Some residents have a mobile particulate meter on their bikes. A real win-win situation, I think. Cycling reduces CO2 in the air and gets you moving.

Mh3>Outdoors

The other day, I installed the smart-move app on my phone with some girlfriends and we walked a route. During the walk, we came across movement poles that give light and make sounds. We played a game from the app. The environment here invites you to go outdoors: streets and squares are really suitable for walking or cycling and during a stroll you always meet someone to have a chat with. Last week, someone became unwell in the street. Sensors in public spaces had noticed and alerted the emergency services. What technology can do, incredible!

In my home too, an app takes care of my food inventory management. Healthy food, produced here in the neighborhood in the various vegetable gardens, the community garden and the production forest. There is a whole ‘healthy eating vibe’ going through the neighborhood, especially after the pandemic. Our health hub regularly organizes fun events for residents. Like the other day, a walking dinner in the neighborhood. A mix of getting to know each other, eating together and useful information from a dietician. Now I know that healthy food can make many medicines unnecessary. That was a feast for everyone. I want to grow old vitally here.”