Beautyflex & Fomapan 400 (2022)
This is where I have to explain the concept of a vinex wijk. Somewhere in the 1990's it was decided that a lot of new houses should be built on the edge of major cities. Not a couple here or there, but complete neighborhoods. It was intended to have people move here who could afford a more expensive house, freeing less expensive housing stock.
Some design considerations were that it should support existing shopping centers and other facilities. It should limit the outflow of people (especially families) from larger cities, while also protecting the limited amount of green space in the Netherlands. And as an important difference from American suburbs, it should promote walking, cycling and using public transport above using a car.
And to be fair, they did a decent job at fulfilling these requirements. There are some downsides however. The houses, streets, and other infrastructure were all built in a relatively short time from similar designs. This results in a very strong cookie cutter look. It didn't have the chance to decay at different rates, amplifying the effect.
While it was very easy for me to get there by train, people still want cars. They fought that a bit by giving people centralized parking spots, but now you have clumps of cars all over the neighborhood. The flip side is that there are streets where you can have kids safely play around.
I think what bothers me most about vinex wijken is how different they are from the town I grew up in, or the city I live in now. Those places grew block by block and you can feel that when walking through them. Different people with different ideas and needs built things there.
Still, while it is not for me, I can imagine they provide a lovely home for a lot of families.