Towards eco-effective sustainable sanitation for the city of Almere

Abstract

The city of Almere (The Netherlands) has a current population of 190.000 residents. Because of its attractive location (close to Amsterdam and Utrecht) Almere was designated by the national government to expand its population with 160.000 residents (60.000 houses) between 2010 and 2030, becoming one of the fastest growing European urban areas. Almere has formulated the "Almere Principles" containing ambitious goals to achieve this future development, aspiring to become a landmark in sustainable urban development. The "Almere Principles" are based on the Cradle to Cradle\xc2\xae 1 philosophy in which improvement of public health and environment is emphasized, rather than limiting negative impacts of the future expansion of Almere. Thus, a distinction is made between the conventional interpretation of sustainability, focusing on eco-efficiency and the Cradle to Cradle\xc2\xae approach, focusing on eco-effectiveness. These principles are used by relevant stakeholders to formulate a vision of the future sanitation system. Following, design criteria based on sustainability pillars People, Planet and Profit are formulated, thus translating the vision into tangible scenarios, which are then mutually compared. In this paper the methodology and preliminary outcomes of the development of the sustainable sanitation system for Almere are presented